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The Best BFF Ever

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 In middle school I met a guy that would become the very best friend I ever had. Only I didn’t realize it at the time. 


Then, there I was … a middle-aged woman trapped in a “job“ where I was disrespected, unheard and unappreciated by my coworkers, manager and owners of the salon I worked for. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my career… I was just in the wrong place.


You see, since 2001 I have always been self-employed and at one time I operated two salons with booth renters. In March 2020, one week before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, my salon, The Beauty Shop, burned to the ground. It was devastating. 


With no place to go once things opened back up from quarantine, I was hired at a local “walk in“ salon and was thankful and grateful for it. Most of my clients followed me there and I actually picked up several new ones.


About nine months into my employment things started to change. It was quite obvious that the manager was very partial to the younger stylists there. They were all under the age of 25 and some even fresh out of cosmetology school. Her behavior towards me was definitely not one of leadership but one of control and anger. She often referred to it as “her shop” but it indeed was not. She manipulated every situation to her favor and eventually turned everyone in the shop against me, including the owners who were rarely there and she told them only what she wanted them to know. 


I lost respect for her very quickly and decided that I would not tolerate her behavior towards me. I was miserable. I only talked about these things to one person. My best friend.


After months of seeing me dreading to go into the fiery pits of hell, he texted me to tell me he had an idea. His idea was for us to become business partners and open a salon of our own. In the beginning I was unsure about it. But the encouragement and motivation he poured out on a daily basis to me was what I needed after being discouraged for so long.


So we set out to do just that! He had the means of securing the property and I had the means of securing the business and together we put our skills and talent together to launch the first ever salon/spa in our area! 


As soon as we had our ducks in a row and most of the details worked out I gave notice to my employer. 


I don’t even care that rumors flew. I was so happy just to know that my best friend had enough faith in me that we could do this. And we did! 


I can never, in words thank him enough for being 100% real and transparent as a friend and helping me realize the value of my craft to our small town. 


He is truly the best friend ever in the history of best friends.



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