I started with a mobile kit and a lot of ambition. No business degree. No investor. No roadmap. Just a skill, a belief that I could build something real, and a very steep learning curve ahead of me.
By the time I sold my salon, it was doing seven figures. And I had learned more in those years than I ever could have learned anywhere else.
This is not a success story. Or not only that. It is a breakdown of what actually happened - the parts that worked, the parts that failed, and the things I would do completely differently if I were starting again today.
The Beginning: Bet on Yourself Before Anyone Else Does
When I went mobile, most people around me thought it was a stepping stone. A temporary thing until I got a real job or found a salon to work in. I did not see it that way. I saw it as the beginning of something I was going to own.
That mindset shift - from employee to owner, even before the revenue reflected it - was the first important thing. You have to see the bigger version of what you are building before anyone else can. If you are waiting for external validation to start believing in what you are doing, you will be waiting a long time.
The early days were scrappy. Long hours, low rates, figuring things out as I went. But every client was a test of the product. Every experience taught me something about what people actually wanted, what I was good at, and what kind of business I was trying to build.
The Growth Phase: When It Starts Working (and Gets Complicated)
There is a moment in every growing business where you cross a threshold. Things are working. Revenue is coming in. You have more demand than you can handle alone. And instead of feeling good, you feel terrified.
That fear is real information. It is telling you that you are about to have to change - hire people, build systems, lead a team, stop doing everything yourself. Most business owners stall here because it requires becoming a different kind of person. Less hands-on operator, more strategic leader.
I made every mistake in the book at this stage. Hired too fast, too slow, the wrong people, without clear expectations. Held on to control when I should have delegated. Let things slide that I should have addressed early.
But I also built something. A team, a reputation, a brand that people trusted. And I learned that growth does not reward the people who work the hardest. It rewards the people who build the best teams and the clearest systems.
What the Numbers Taught Me
Revenue is not the same as profit. This sounds obvious. I promise it is not obvious when you are in it.
We had years where the top line looked impressive and the bottom line was barely covering our costs. Because growth costs money - staff, space, equipment, marketing. If you are not watching your margins as closely as your revenue, you can build yourself into a very stressful situation.
Get clear on your numbers early. Not just turnover - profit margin, average spend per client, cost of acquisition, lifetime client value. These numbers tell you what is actually working and what is costing you more than it is worth.
The Sale: Why Letting Go Was the Right Call
Selling the salon was one of the hardest and best decisions I have made. Hard because it was something I had built from nothing and it held a lot of my identity. Good because it gave me the capital and the freedom to start the next chapter.
The lesson here was one I did not fully understand until I was on the other side: you are not your business. The business is something you build. You are the builder. And builders can build more than one thing.
Holding on too long to something because it is yours is one of the most expensive mistakes a founder can make. Know when to evolve. Know when to exit. And know that moving on is not failure - sometimes it is the most strategic thing you can do.
What I Would Tell My Earlier Self
Charge your worth earlier. The clients who respect your price are better clients than the ones who negotiate it down.
Build systems before you think you need them. You will need them before you think you do.
Invest in your network. The right connections will change your business faster than almost anything else.
And take the leap before you feel ready. You will never feel ready. The learning happens in the doing.
I put everything I know about building a business - the honest version - into The Messy Middle. It is the playbook I wish I had ten years ago. Not a theory. A lived experience, documented without the highlight reel.
If you are in the middle of building something - whether it is just starting or hitting a ceiling - I wrote it for you.