A diamond is a precious stone consisting of a clear a colorless crystalline form of pure carbon. It's the hardest naturally occurring substance known to man. Without intense pressure and heat over an extended period of time, a diamond would never form. This is what I had to remind myself of throughout pretty much all of 2018. To be honest, there were so many times I thought that I might not be able to withstand it all. Every time I thought I might break, I just told myself, I can survive. Pressure creates diamonds. Indellibelle started as a home-based business in 2016. By the end of the year I moved my one-woman operation to a basement storefront in downtown Frederick, MD. By January 2017 everything was up and running, the clients were coming in, I’d hired an additional employee. I had accomplished the first step of my dream to own and manage a chain of permanent cosmetic shops. I was so happy! Of course, anytime you start a new venture or put yourself out there in any way, you’re going to feel some pressure. I thought I was under pressure at this point, but I had no clue what 2018 had in store for me. Once the shop was established, I brought my sister across the country from California to help me run it. The better part of Spring 2018 was spent scouting areas and rental space for a second Indellibelle location. It wasn’t just me anymore who needed the business. Indellibelle had become a family of three, who were all counting on me to help them earn a living. Talk about pressure! Let me tell you…it was a roller coaster. I had my hopes up so many times, and was let down so many times. It was hard, frustrating, stressful, exciting, and exhausting. As it turns out, though, it was a good thing nothing came to fruition because mid-May began the most intense period of my life. Little did I know, a diamond was beginning to form. The evening of May 15, 2018 Frederick saw a ridiculous rain storm. I woke up in the middle of the night to a message from a fellow business owner informing me that Indellibelle was literally under water. Several businesses were flooded, but ours was one of the worst. My dream, my shop, my life, everything I’d poured my heart and soul into over the previous year was under two feet of water. Thanks to the love and support from our friends, family, and community we were back up and running within two days, right back in the house where it all started just a year before. Furniture was cleaned and set up, new stock was rush-ordered and had arrived, the entire space was organized, and we even managed to create a reception area - something I hadn’t had before when the home-based business was just me doing my thing. We worked out of that little space for about six weeks while I tried to figure out what the heck I was going to do and how the heck I was going to do it. Oh, and I hired our fourth employee during this time, because hey…why not?? Talk about pressure! I still had a lease at the flooded basement location, but I just couldn’t imagine moving back in there, even after all of the repair work was completed, so I decided to find something new…above ground. After much panicked searching, and trying to balance that panic with logic, we found the spot, signed the lease, got the permits, and planned Indellibelle’s third move in less than a year. Talk about pressure! But wait…there’s more! Just a week after the flood my Real Estate Agent contacted me about an opportunity to lease a storefront in Columbia, MD, about forty-five minutes east of Frederick. Because this is just the way the world works sometimes, of course the opportunity and location were too good to pass up. So I didn’t. I figured I’d be in negotiations for the second location for a while, which would give me time to focus drying out in Frederick before I had to really think about what was next. And as I’m sure you can guess by now, it didn’t quite go that way. Four, yes I said FOUR, days after I signed the lease for the new location in Frederick, I was signing a lease for the location in Columbia. You want to talk about pressure?! Starting two shops from scratch at the exact same time while keeping the clients coming in and trying not to have a mental meltdown every other hour was the epitome of pressure. But, once again, we pulled it off. The new Frederick location opened in July of 2018 and Columbia (along with our fifth employee) opened in October. To be honest I look back and wonder what I was thinking and how I managed to stay at least semi-sane throughout it all. All I know is that there were so many times that I wanted to crack under the pressure, and all I could do was remind myself “Without pressure diamonds wouldn’t exist.” 2018 was a hell of a year, and I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty happy it’s behind me! Yes, at the time I wished the pressure away, but in the end that pressure helped to create something amazing. Something that wouldn’t be here otherwise. So…here’s to 2019, to Indellibelle, to our amazingly supportive clients, and of course to
shining bright…like a diamond.
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