FOURTY AND A HALF

I wrote this in January… and finally feel ready to put myself out there. Timing is everything and as we enter Q3, I’m inspired to share some overall framework of where I am in my life. Sending prayers and love to my family and friends. Love to you!

BLOG 1:  So far, my 40th trip around the sun has been the best year yet, and I'm determined to keep it that way with anything in my control.  After 2 years of hustling, healing, and wrestling with myself, I've discovered my worth, and finally feel like I am ready to add value to this world by sharing parts of my story publicly.  Today, I’m inspired to share a bird's-eye view of what’s happened in my career-life, over the last 3 years; Jan 2019 - Jan 2022.

I left my 15+ year career in entertainment, where I had the opportunity to work with iconic media brands like Entertainment Tonight/The Insider, Warner Bros, and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” where I quit paused my career after being there for nearly a decade.  

My last 3 years at ELLEN, I was traveling back and forth from Nashville, after my husband and I moved there from Los Angeles, to be closer to our families.  As much as I loved my career in TV/Branded Content and keeping my fancy job in entertainment, the travel across the country was brutal.  My body loves to sleep (I sleep from 9-5a most days), and with Monday morning 6am CT flights, working late and entertaining clients at night, it would take me a week to recover physically and re-establishing my routine at home, each time I traveled for work, which was at least once a month, typically more.  The travel also made it difficult to build meaningful friendships here, because I was always canceling plans and meetings, to accommodate last minute deal opportunities, being needed on set, or even going to LA to negotiate with my bosses face-to-face.

One thing that helped my travel schedule to and from LA and NYC, was going to Drybar.  It allowed me to pack light, and not lug around my haircare products while traveling.  Walking into a boardroom with a fresh blowout gave me the confidence I needed and wanted for meetings & presentations… I was obsessed.  

When I’d get home to Nashville days later, I’d be ready for another blowout and while there are lovely blowout salons in Nashville, my love for the smell of Drybar, the sound of Drybar, and feeling of being at Drybar wasn’t replicated anywhere.  Drybar is all about the experience and I wanted to bring that experience to the women of Nashville!  Long story short, I did my due diligence, went to California to meet & present slides to the founder, Alli Webb & her support staff  explaining “Why Nashville - and Why Me.”  With the help of my business partner, investors, and my husband, Jesse, I was approved to be Drybar’s Nashville Owner & Operating Partner.  I quit my job at ELLEN, and went for it.

The plan was to take Nashville by storm with 3 Drybar locations over the course of 5 years, but with my real estate options, that plan turned into opening 2 Drybar locations in 1 year, which felt doable.  Add permitting & legal back and forth, the timeline had me opening 2 Drybar locations in 5 Months.  Not sure if the gravity of this plan comes through on paper, but no other franchisees had done this before at the brand, and I veto the idea to anyone considering it.  And last but not least, 5 months after launching two brick-and-mortars, covid-19 shutdowns began.  

I went from making an amazing salary in entertainment, to taking a 82% pay decrease.  I had negotiated a fair salary for myself with my partner and investors, but it was based on net profits, which on paper were guaranteed to exist quickly since Drybar was considered recession proof.  After all, Drybar was started in 2010 as we were still recovering from the 2008 crash, and it scaled to over 150+ locations, so what could possibly stop this amazing brand from killing it in the fastest growing market in the US, Nashville?  The answers; civil unrest & a global pandemic paired with a staffing crisis, and inflation to name a few.  

    Drybar has gone through significant changes since I joined the company.  In Jan of 2020, Drybar announced they were being acquired by Helen of Troy for $255MM.  One very difficult year later (abcdef-covid), Drybar Corporate, my franchisor at the time, sold their franchising rights to WellBiz Brands, an owner of other wellness franchises like Amazing Lash, Fitness Together, and Elements Massage.  Cha-cha-cha-changes!  

The point of sharing these details is to showcase some of the reasons I went through a very dark time of depression and regret, which I feel confident saying now that I am past the regret and am on a journey to make it all work for me & my family.  As for the depression part, thank you Prozac!    

I had to do something in my control, so I did what many people have done over the last couple of years… I started doing the work, digging deep to find my purpose, growing as a human, understanding my triggers, and paying attention to what I enjoy doing (negotiating, making shit magic happen, and working with women), and noticing things I don't enjoy like seeing the mailman (paperwork).  

(PS:  How do I find someone to just handle all of my paperwork from the TN Dept of Labor & Workforce, Dept of Rev, IRS, Davidson County, Williamson County, two landlords & more… Is there a person out there I could trust to handle all of my paperwork & filing? Back to my story…)

The heaviness of all I was going through gave me a huge craving to be creative and make some fun projects come to life, so I started my first business from conception, Miss Pink LLC.  It started as a mobile glam idea, which was perfect during the pandemic when people were afraid to go into a busy salon, but with labor troubles with Drybar, I pivoted towards my past passions and finalized that Miss Pink LLC was going to be a brand and media consultancy, where our goal is to work with & support other kick-ass females.  

This personal development work led me to start a new business where I could lean into my creativity. At my core, I consider myself a creative person, with a love of art, music, and television.  Thank God, I was gifted with a keen business sense, too!   Miss Pink Media (MPM) is my media and brand consultancy, owned & operated by women, who happen to be on a mission to generate media opportunities for women.  This is what my 40 year old dreams are made of!  We offer services to brands, talent and media clients.  My small team is incredible and we’re excited to see where this next year leads us, but our goals are high and our mission to focus on and help women will not waiver… It's a lot, but I believe in myself, my team, and the amazing women we serve both at Drybar Nashville locations and Miss Pink Media.

The lessons I've learned have been priceless and the personal growth I've worked so hard on are finally coming to light in my life.  The young women I’ve met and hired through Drybar & MPM have made this journey worth it!  I love my teams and they are my favorite part of my days & discovering that celebrating women is part of my purpose here on planet earth.  

At one point, I considered getting my Master’s Degree in Business.  I can say confidently that what I've been through as a franchisee has taught me more than any school could have, tuition free.  

If you got here, thank you for your interest and support.  

Love, 

Bonnie