IT’S MY 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Hello Everyone,

Today marks 15 years at Miracles Salon. It has been quite a ride……a good one. Alot of people ask me why I named the store Miracles…….I will tell you.

The year was 1994, I was a divorced mother with two little girls, an old mom to take care of, and myself. The previous year my taxable income was $ 12,500. We were living on very little, but that was ok, I was young and never afraid of work.

A friend of mine, Theodore, told me of a hair salon that was for lease in Arlington. I drove past and I fell in love with the place. The very next day I called the landlord and scheduled an appt to go and see him to talk about the lease. Anthony was his name and he was the son of the building owner : Westfield Realty. Anthony was very nice and polite, he gave me a financial statement to fill out……..and I did. He came back in to see if I was done with the form……only to see me laughing. He asked me what was so funny and I told him that if his father approved of this lease…….IT WOULD BE A MIRACLE. You see my net worth after all expenses was $83.00. He took the form and went to see his father, he came back about 20 minutes later with a SIGNED LEASE. Anthony told me that his father was happy to have someone like me take over the space at 1501 Wilson Blvd, He said that it is people like me that make this world a good place, and that I deserve a chance to work and raise my kids. I have never forgotten those two men and I remain very grateful.And that is why I named the store Miracles and NOT 1501 Hair Design. So I had a store…….but still no money to open it. That is when I called an old friend of mine Rich Barkett. I said “Rich I need a loan” , ” I will pay you back within a year I promise”.

Well…….he was on his way out of town, so he told me to go to his mailbox later on that night to get the check. I thought he was kidding…..until my little girls and I drove up to his home, opened up the mailbox in the shape of a huge cow, and found a check for $ 10,000. That is another person that I will be forever grateful for. I hear people all the time say that they are “SELF MADE” what a bunch of crock. We all need help, everyone of us. Yes, I was in the right place and the right time, But it took alot of help and support from others to accomplish this.

SO WHAT DID I LEARN FROM 15 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS ?

1. Trust in God

2. When in doubt…do nothing

3. Dont wait to ride out the storm……..do something

3. If you want to be self employed…….dont expect a paycheck

4. There is no “get rich quick “formyla

5. Finding the right balance between work and home is very hard

6. If you dont love what you do…….do not do it

7. If you are doing it for money…….you will fail

8. Take care of humanity and humanity in turn will take care of you

9. It takes 15 years to become an over-night success

This is my time to finally accept the slice of pie that life has given me. It has not been easy, but it has been exciting. I have, like all people, been through my share of pain…….but its OK. I was never promised a bed of roses, besides, who wants that? So boring, dont you agree? Thank you for reading my post, and thank you for helping me these last 15 years. The salon is doing well and that is because of you and my staff.