We see others’ highlight reels and victories but not much of the process that led to it. There’s wisdom in selective sharing when you are in the thick of a battle, but is it a disservice to showcase wins without the fight? I’m not telling you anything you don’t know when I say anything worth doing is tough.
I had been praying for a space in my favorite business district to open up when a friend and I decided to go into business together. We could tell the salon was struggling so we popped in to ask if they were staying. They said yes, which was disappointing, but we started looking elsewhere in hopes that we could relocate back eventually.
A turnkey salon was available just blocks from where I was working in the center of the city, but after some thought and prayer, we sensed it wasn’t the right spot for us. My partner then caught wind from one of her clients who owns a business in Downtown College Row, that a space was becoming available. It was a Taco Del Mar that would need a lot of work to become a salon. It logistically seemed like a nightmare.
I was pregnant with my second child, and we turned our eyes to Old Town and started working with a commercial real estate agent. We had a meeting with an unpleasant old man who owned most of the area, and I can imagine how two young women who’ve never owned a business seemed to him. He offered one of his smaller spaces, but we were persistent in wanting to be in a visible location.
As the skin of my belly grew thin, so did my patience with this grumpy man. I was ready to give up until after my pregnancy when grabbing my morning coffee, I noticed a for lease sign went up on the salon I originally wanted. I called the number before even calling our agent. They received several better offers but took a chance on us because we were ready to go.
We thought we were ready when we started, but we needed that preparation process to learn to keep going when we experienced adversity. We would later face the threat from the state to shut down our business model and endure a pandemic. What seemed like roadblocks, were necessary detours to longer but better routes, leading to the same place with invaluable lessons along the way. It’s something we can usually only see in hindsight.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
James 1:2-4 Message
This last year has been another ride on that rollercoaster of excitement, frustration, letdown, and doubt. It’s too fresh to share just yet, but I’m grateful for every yes, no, not yet, and not here, that led to more than I could have imagined. What appear to be setbacks, I’m finding are setups.
Keep going,
Kristal
“January is the quietest month in the garden. But just because it looks quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. — Rosalie Muller Wright