Don’t be afraid to give up the good and go for the GREAT!

Don’t be afraid to give up the good and go for the GREAT!

Fixer Upper, Property Brothers, oh my gosh…..Renovation is everywhere! Why or why do they make it look so easy?My dream had always been to own a salon.  There was a darling green house that was located right off the main drag in East Grand Rapids-The Coiffeteria Salon. I heard through one of my besties that the owners were looking to sell.  This was so incredibly timely and had been a needed answer to prayer.  At the time, my career with Aveda took me on the road and away from the 3 most important peeps in my life- my husband and 2 kiddos. I went in like “WHOHOO”…Wish that had worked the way I had expected.  Change is hard for people, and I found that to be particularly true when it came to trying to manage the old, while creating the new.  I had the business acumen and the  street cred at Aveda, but when it came to my new team…not so much. I tried to implement the Aveda business model that I was so aligned with, but as someone that wanted to be liked, it wasn’t fun or easy.  For anyone-team included. Over the years, I began to realize that my own insecurities led to my wishy washy-ness. I had been  confident and secure in my role at Aveda and the direction I gave on behalf of them.  This was all new to me! I made changes to the Coiff…some well received and others not as much. 11 years have passed, and now it’s time to reinvent again.   This time, I am healthy-physically, mentally and spiritually, where as before I couldn’t say that.  I had been trying to pay homage to the old owners and their vision of what they had created. I began to really ask myself- what is MY vision. What do I want the salon to look like, and feel like for my team and guests. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am colorful, loud, sparkly and a bit quirky. HOWEVER….that said, I also am sophisticated, and chic, if I do say so myself. I want the salon to have that same sass, with a huge helping of class! 

I thought-how hard could this be?  I know exactly what I what to do for the first time EVER!  Every possible hiccup, setback and road block I assure you, I have encountered.  There were times where I thought-SERIOUSLY?  There has been rezoning challenges, unhappy neighbors, tons of delays- and this is the best one-NO ONE TO DO THE JOB!  It was enough to drive any sane person CRAZY!  Fortunately, I have the BEST team ever-they kept encouraging me to keep moving forward, no matter how slow the pace. Listen, I use the analogy of running because its so fitting-this is a flipping marathon.Although I hate running, I do it- the feeling at the finish line trumps it ALL! Tonight I sit here, Finally confident and ready to share this journey with you. PRAYERS APPRECIATED AND WELCOMED!