What motivated you to start your business and what is your vision for the future of the company?

I started my business by renting a room out of someone else’s old salon. I found that while running my business in someone else’s space was amazing, I just never got that sense of community. Being an entrepreneur in my field is hard as it’s hard to find a community as most people view you as competition. I decided that I would just make a space where I could finally find that “community” while still running my own business. My business started as just a rental space where other business owners could come and work together. We have over 10 indivudally owned businesses now running out of Urban Vanity Lounge and we get to create this amazing community of entrepreneurs who can grow together and learn from each other and push eachother to be their very best. I have recently brought on employees and now we have both employee and rental opportunities at Urban Vanity Lounge. My goal would be to expand our space and either get a larger area or open up another location to continue to grow our community.

Why do you deserve to win the Best Youth Entrepreneur Award?

I opened Urban Vanity Lounge as a 26 year old women who was pregnant with my 3rd baby. I now am 29 years old and my children are 6, 4 and 2 years old. I remember I signed my lease to my space and found out we were expecting a 3rd baby the next day. I built my entire space by hand, literally doing the flooring, installing bathrooms, painting, building rooms, finishing electrical and plumbing all while pregnant. I finally opened up the doors over 30 weeks pregnant and have built the business while raising my kids. I brought my newest baby (our daughter) to work with me from 10 days old to about 6 months old so I could be there to help the business grow in those first few months. I now just view this business as another child. I work when my kids go to bed sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning and I work while they go to daycare or school all while trying to raise them and be present and show them how strong and resilient a mom can be. I’d love to raise them to see that women can do anything. I can be a great mom and a great business women and have an award winning business and do them all simultaneously. I grew this business from just me, to over 18 people in just under 2 years. I give my heart and soul into my business and I can’t wait to see what amazing things my team and I will do in the upcoming years. I love everything about owning my own business and I love working alongside all of these fierce men and women in the industry. We have created a strong dynamic in our space and we are all truly one big family. My win is Urbans win and everyone in that space deserves this award.