Angel Nails Salon

She has created her own path and worked diligently to achieve the American Dream of owning a business. She is now one of the 35,000 women-owned businesses in Rhode Island.

With traveling money from her mother, Lilly came to America. The language barrier prevented her from finding work as a geometry teacher. She worked three jobs, raising two children and getting as little as four hours of sleep a night. She finally repaid her mother. When the loans were paid off she decided that education was the best solution to better her life. She went to CCRI and Arthur Angelo receiving certificates and eventually got a job in a nail salon where she gained experience in managing and running a business.

The entrepreneurial spirit hit Lilly hard in August 2006 and she wanted to realize her dream of running her own business. She found a location, legal advice from Casby Harrison Esq.; counseling from Monah Rhode at the Rhode Island Coalition for Minority Investment (RICMI), and her last stop was at the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center (RISBDC) at Johnson & Wales University. RISBDC provides entrepreneurs the best fit network to help them create, transform, and sustain their business. And create she did! She met with Sixcia Devine, Providence Regional Director and received one-on-one counseling services. They met for an hour an a half and reviewed some of the paper work Lilly needed to fill out in order to launch her business. Accounting, legal, and marketing issues were also discussed. Two weeks later, she had received financing and was ready to begin adding to Rhode Island’s thriving economy!

On August 24, 2006 the Angel Nails Salon, located on 15 S. Angel Street, officially opened its doors. Mayor David Cicilini performed a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and presented Lilly with a proclamation. Sixcia Devine from The Small Business Development Center presented her with a certificate of achievement followed by a bouquet of Lilly’s appropriate for Lilly.

It is paying off for entrepreneurs like Lilly that have taken advantage of the small business resources in Rhode Island. Her sales have increased 70% over the last year and she will be excitingly celebrating her one year anniversary August 20, 2007. Lilly’s Cambodian name is Channevy Men. She lives in Providence with her two children and her mother.