Dear friends, family and community of Whidbey island, last year I took on the endeavor of opening my own private salon studio and it has been an amazing opportunity. Not only did I pour my heart and soul into creating a space so special for me and my clients that I was very very proud of, but also lots of my own hard earned money.. less than a year later my landlords, Whidbey Telecom, decided my building is a liability and offered me a different space to move into that is safe for me and my clients. They gave me no warning whatsoever (initially a three week notice without thinking about the fact that I would have to keep running my business AND start all over in a space that didn’t even have plumbing) and have been incredibly unhelpful through this entire process including going back on their word of initially committing to helping me renovate the new space offered which was plumbing, floors, lighting and painting. Not only did they go back on their word but the amount of time I spent waiting and waiting because it took over two months to secure a meeting with one of the “higher ups” who’s name and contact was being withheld from me. This contact ended up being very rude and condescending which ended up making me realize that it just was never going to work. I have no faith that they won’t do this to me again considering the building I was supposed to move into is also in horrible shape. On top of that the new lease terms stated a hefty rent increase should I ever choose to grow my business and hire another stylist. This is a HUGE problem on Whidbey island and beyond. The big fish are weeding out us smaller people when we already are struggling to pay for overpriced housing, groceries, gas, medical expenses, etc. I feel so disrespected and devastated to lose my salon with zero help from them…

So here’s where we say, “screw them!”, move on and create something even better. My incredible husband and I decided to go ahead and open up a home studio that will give me the opportunity to thrive! We are already chugging along with the process and I couldn’t be more grateful for my family that has been busting their asses helping me. I lost about $4k in this process with the money I spent on the current studio (which they refuse to refund at all) and the money I’m spending to open this new space. I do not like asking for help but anything would be helpful at this point. $1,000 will help pay for renovations that it is taking to make this happen and I would be beyond grateful to anyone who can give anything. As stressful and exhausting as this has been, I am very excited to find power in the situation and the knowledge that no one can take my space from me again. Thank you to whoever contributes and Godspeed to all the badass small business owners out there. ❤️‍