I have some semi-exciting news: The space on Broad is all but nailed down! The next step is putting in the business plan, tax info, and deposit. If everything goes well I will be in by mid-March.

Now the only thing I need to do is start my Indiegogo campaign and get part of my funding started. At the moment, I have a Groupon that went live today and it gives me a revolving door and some extra lump-sum cash. I feel like if you use the daily deals as a stepping stone and a filler rather than expecting to make a living off of it, it can be beneficial. This time of year tends to be slow, so running this Groupon right now can be good for my retail sales as well.

The next part of my funding is a small loan from the bank, only if I need it. With the help of my father, boyfriend, and close friends, I will be repurposing and custom building quite a bit of furniture in the salon, so the bulk of the money is going to plumbing and building materials. This project is a personal one, I'm not hiring people for every little thing and I'm not getting brand new, top-of-the-line everything. I want my salon to have major character and my industrial-chic vision all through it.

Something I have learned recently: If you do not update your business plan yearly, when you finally get to it you're lost and so far behind it will take you forever! I'm eight months behind and having to turn in my business plan this week is really stressing me out. That's the thing that sucks about being a small business owner -- you are everything to your business if you can't afford employees. So now I'm wearing the accountant/business manager hat and this, plus meeting deadlines, are my greatest weaknesses.

On the lighter side of business, I opened my online store this week. I'm working diligently to add more inventory before I move to the new salon since my main complaint was that I don't have enough retail space. So more soap making, body butter mixing, and accessory crafting for the next couple of months!

— Lauren, Graffiti Nail Bar, Memphis, Tenn.