Good Vibes Only: El Paso siblings nail it, turn business dreams into reality

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)- El Pasoans Elizabeth Wyant and Arturo Amaro took a leap of faith, turning their business dreams into reality. Now, it's paying off!

In 2024, the duo opened Chéri Nails and Spa in West El Paso. The salon is reinventing the beauty industry locally, giving customers a modern salon experience while using unique nail techniques.

Wyant always knew she wanted to enter the beauty space with the goal of one day opening her own business.

Both siblings graduated from Franklin High School. Wyant was part of El Paso ISD’s Center for Career and Technology Education. CCTE offers a variety of programs to help equip high school students with real-world skills.

She wanted to learn more about makeup specifically. After the two-year program, Wyant would receive a cosmetology degree. The program helped her gain various beauty skills, including hair, facials and nails.

"The program actually gave me the ability to get other skills, not just one single thing,” she said.

After graduating from Franklin High School, Wyant would pursue a journalism degree from UTEP.

During her university years, the opportunity arose for her to do nails as a side hustle. She loved it!

Wyant would move to South Korea to study abroad. It was an eye-opening experience for her; she realized El Paso was behind in the beauty space. She hoped to bring her new expertise to the Sun City.

After returning to the Borderland, she earned her teacher certification and became an elementary school teacher. While it was a stable career, she felt unfulfilled professionally. She quickly realized she needed to follow her heart and pursue the nail industry.

“So that's when I told my brother, and he had always told me, like, let's open it now, salon!"

Amaro had previously been pursuing a degree in law enforcement. After his plans changed, he started his own business ventures.

Now, both siblings are living the best of both worlds! Wyant helps run the creative side of the business, while Amaro assists with business operations.

“It just brings the artist out in me, and I really enjoy that. I also enjoy seeing when people come out of the salon, and they're happy,” Wyant said.

The leap of faith has paid off for the siblings.

They want to continue inspiring other generations of business entrepreneurs. They have even hired other EPISD CCTE graduates.

“We hope we inspire people to, you know, encourage them to open their business if they have that little, you know, passion for something,” Amaro added.