As I write this, my nail business has been turned upside down. In February 2007, we moved our family from Palm Harbor, Fla., to Raleigh, N.C. (My husband had hit a wall with his job in Florida and recognized more opportunity in the Raleigh area.) With all the growth in Raleigh, I felt I could rebuild easily. But there was a slight glitch — I was seven months pregnant when we moved. My second daughter was born in April 2007, and all of us settled into our new home in August. (We’d been staying with my sister in Graham, N.C., in the interim.)

In the midst of all of this chaos, I was looking for somewhere to rebuild my business. Sort of by accident, I found Hair, Body & Sole Salon (HBS) and Spa in Apex, N.C. I was looking for information from the Chamber of Commerce, and the woman who responded let me know HBS needed someone in its nail department.  I met with the owner, Cheri Kinney, to discuss what she was looking for. The set up is exactly what I wanted (private nail room, lots of open space), but Cheri’s only been in business since January 2007, and her business model has changed a number of times. Cheri and I talked and compromised, trying to come up with a solution to benefit us both. I’ve been working as an employee in the salon since Sept. 18.

—Adrienne, nail tech