Im fighting to keep something I built from the ground up from slipping away from me.

Salon Aquarius began in my apartment. Client by client, reinvesting every dollar, working additional shifts at a café to keep the vision of Salon Aquarius alive. I built something real from nothing. This wasn’t a shortcut or a lucky break. It was years of work, risk, and consistency behind the scenes to build something really beautiful.

I started as a sole proprietor. Excited to build something of my own, that supported my mental health and gave me the opportunity to create a space in the beauty industry where everybody feels included and welcomed.

This space is my dream coming to life.

I live with a disability and building this business has been a huge part of creating a life that actually works for me and supports my health. Even the location of the salon was intentional, its close enough for me to walk or bike which is one small, but important way I manage my disability.

This goes far beyond just the business. I moved back here in 2020 when my nephew was born so I could be closer to my family, and having that support system has been essential to my mental health and my ability to build this life.

Salon Aquarius is something I am incredibly proud of. By far my biggest accomplishment. This salon represents my independence, my stability and it reflects the growth and years of hard work and dedication to a life that is sustainable for me.

That is why this situation is so devastating to me. I can't walk away from Salon Aquarius without knowing I did everything possible to protect the life its helped me build and the stability it provides for my health.

At some point, I made the decision to bring my partner at the time into the business. I trusted that we were aligned both personally and professionally, as he had salons before. He assured me and any one that asked us about it, that if our personal relationship ever dissolved, that Salon Aquarius would not be affected when we transitioned into a professional partnership.

That decision has now put everything at risk.

What I believed would be a stable foundation quickly became the most vulnerable part of the business.

Shortly after opening the salon, our personal relationship ended. I made the decision to focus on the business and move forward professionally. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been mutual.

After the break up, actions were taken that I never could have anticipated, decisions completely outside of my control that have directly impacted the business' ability to operate. Instead of a clean separation, the situation has escalated, and funds that were previously available to support this brand new startup—loans, leasehold investments, and operating capital—are now inaccessible to me. Unnoticed to me all our business funds (minus roughly $1200) were removed from our shared business account and that essentially drained us of all operating cash flow. My business partner is now accepting payments directly to his personal bank account as well as using products and color that are the salons which is leaving the company without proper cashflow.

Agreements we had in place have been broken and I have been left without access to the funds needed to run the business.

As I used nearly every cent I had getting this business off the ground I can't afford the legal fees required to take action right now. Which is why im starting this GoFundMe fundraiser. This is a very urgent matter. After getting quotes by 5 different law firms, I have been quoted $5000 as the base fee and $315/hr to have a lawyer immediately recover those funds back into the business account so operations can continue.

Right now, my newly opened salon has been left without the working capital it needs to function and its creating stress not helpful to the success of Salon Aquarius.

This Salon means everything to me, It was crafted to be a space people can come and feel supported and also create something stable for my future and my family.

I am now in a position where I am actively fighting to protect something I built from nothing.

Please help me protect this beautiful dream business of mine. A business that's beautiful and brings a wonderful community of people together. That I dreamt and made become a reality through so much hard work.

It's heartbreaking to see the way things can feel like they're falling apart so fast without access to the funds needed to keep things running.

It feels like my brand, my salon, my identity as a hairstylist, and years of work and dedication are being pulled out from under me. But this is something I can address with the right support.

Right now, I need help raising $10,000 for two critical things:

• $5,000 urgently for the retainer, to obtain a letter from my lawyer, to restore essential operating capital for the business, and restore misplaced property essential for operations. (ie ipads)

• Legal fees (starting at $315/hour) to take the necessary steps to stabilize the company, enforce accountability, and protect my position moving forward in the company.

This is time-sensitive. Without immediate action, I risk losing control of the business entirely—not because it failed, but because it’s being destabilized at the worst possible moment.

I’m still showing up every day and doing everything I can—and even in the slowest season, the business is growing.

But right now, that progress is at risk of being undone if I can’t act quickly to protect it.

This support would allow me to shift from survival mode back into growth—where this business was always meant to be.

I didn’t come this far to lose it like this.

Edit: If you’d like another direct way to support me right now, booking an appointment with me at Salon Aquarius would make a huge difference. Every service directly supports me and the business.

I am beyond grateful for the support I’ve received so far. More than I can truly put into words.

I will attach the Link to my booking app here

Katy