Fourth Grader's Nail Salon Raises Money For Charity

Rhuin Eisley, age 9, with a customer showing off her fresh mani. (Photo: Facebook/Rhuin Eisley)
Rhuin Eisley, age 9, with a customer showing off her fresh mani. (Photo: Facebook/Rhuin Eisley)

Sometimes the best ideas are born from boredom. When 9-year-old Rhuin Eisley of Minneapolis found herself with nothing to do on a summer day last week, she asked her mom if she could bring a table and some chairs to the corner and offer to paint people’s nails for one dollar. Out of concern for her safety, Rhuin’s mom Sarah Stevens allowed her to set up shop in their front yard instead, while she watched her daughter from the living room, according to Inside Edition. “Rhuin was kind of bored one day,” Rhuin’s aunt Amy Stevens told CityPages.com. “She wanted to find something to do outside and just kind of set up her own little shop. And she said she would donate some of the money to the homeless kids.”

Rhuin posted a sign, “Rhu’s Salon,” and waited for customers to show up. At first, there were no takers. Then came neighbor Daeja Carson, who agreed to get a manicure by the young entrepreneur and posted about Rhuin doing her nails on Facebook. The post quickly went viral and has been shared more than 12,000 times. “I watched 3 people tell her no, and each time she put her head down in disappointment,” Carson wrote on Facebook. “As she was getting ready to sit down, I yelled from my bike, ‘Hey, whatcha up to?’ She turned around with a big smile on her face and said, ‘I have my own salon and I’m doing nails and hair for one dollar. … Do you want to get yours done?’”

Rhuin with a young customer. (Photo: Facebook/Rhuin Eisley)
Rhuin with a young customer. (Photo: Facebook/Rhuin Eisley)

While giving Carson a manicure, Rhuin told her that people would pass by her “salon,” declining to get their nails done and saying they’d come back tomorrow. “She also said she thinks people only said they would be back tomorrow because they didn’t trust her nail painting skills because she was a little girl,” wrote Carson. “Rhuin promised me that she would be extra careful with my nails so I can tell all my friends about her.”

As word spread and the business grew over the past week — Rhu’s Salon now has a Facebook page, keeps business hours, and is fully booked — Rhuin decided that she’d like to donate some of the money she makes to help children in Minneapolis who are homeless and hungry. The family is still deciding which charity will benefit from the earnings of Rhu’s Salon, but in the meantime, they’ve created a GoFundMe page to raise more money for charity.

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