Goodbye Corporate America

August 31st, 2018- my last day in Corporate America! Boy -oh-Boy did it teach me a thing or two…I always knew that I wanted to “get out,” but it was never the right time. Luckily, I did not have to find the right time, it found me. On August 21st I was one of 131 employees laid off. This was a complete surprise to me, as I was just awarded “sales executive of the quarter” a few weeks prior. I was informed that the publication that I directed was ending publication after 27 years. August 21st and the days following seemed surreal. Is this really happening me? Why me? Why now?

Reflections and Humor:

Who is corporate and why are they anonymous? “The customer is always right,” says corporate. But Corporate doesn’t have a name that I can talk to when the customer isn’t right. So who do you call outside of Human Resources when your commission is on the line and the customer is NOT right? The HR Hotline!? So now you can be in the hot seat for being a tattle tell.

“Get an attorney they say!” The going rate for a retainer fee is around $5k and good luck finding an attorney to represent you against “Corporate America.”

“Open door policy” is only for complainers and non team players. So why even have it? This policy may be free counseling so the managers can start planning for your replacement. Or perhaps they contact the IT department to “stalk” your email for reasons to fire you.

Mandatory morning meetings before your scheduled hours. Occasionally, Corporate has mandatory weekly morning meetings or employee brainstorming sessions after hours. But it is before or after your “scheduled” working hours, so shouldn’t this be voluntary? Perhaps the labor laws changed and you no longer get paid overtime.

“You have ample experience and you are a top performer,” says your boss…while he/she “awards” you with additional responsibilities because your “team member” quit or got fired.

Forming the Biz Plan

I knew it was time to start putting my dreams into action! So I set down and started writing my future. I never knew how hard it truly is to write a “Business plan.” Objectives, Company Summary, The Market, Analysis, Five Year Financial Projection…this is just a few of the things that I had to Google. Where will I get the money to start the business, who is the best attorney, what licenses and permits do I need…the list goes ON AND ON.

After countless hours on the computer, asking advice from everyone I could think of and calling the Small Business Administration to ask numerous questions, I finally had my 32 page Business Plan.

 Hold on For Dear Life

(But at least I have my mom by my side)

Fast forward- It took months of trial and error to find a commercial broker. After submitting the business plan to MANY commercial developers and having my hopes set on certain locations that eventually fell through, I signed my life away on August 1st, 2018. Blow Out! Beauty & Dry Bar will officially be located in Fort Mill, SC at the EarthFare Shopping Center. Let the planning begin!!!

The Design

Whatever good things we build end up building us.

First meeting with Arch

Through this process I learned that architecture drawings are MUCH harder than I ever imagined. I never thought that I would have to call the SC Cosmetology Board to find out how many feet has to be between each stylist chair. I had my own vision of the salon, but the county codes and state regulations over ruled my vision.

We have something to look at

Seeing your vision on paper is such a surreal feeling. It is very exciting, scary and frustrating. It is frustrating when you try to explain a “vision” in your head to someone who envisions everything through CAD (architecture software for drawings).

Playing chess

Now that we have our vision on paper, it is time to make the space work. Making sure there is enough retail space for products and separating the shampoo bowls from the hairdryers for a more relaxing experience.

Moving Pieces

My favorite drawings were the “options.” Giving me three different options made the process helpful. It also sparked new ideas that I may never would have though of.

Bingo

Now that the final drawings are complete, the waiting process begins again. Hopefully the county will approve the drawings and the General Contractor can start building the dream.