Normally, when people say “location, location, location,” they’re talking about the critical importance of location to a plot of real estate. When I say “location, location, location,” I’m referring to: 1) the original Beverly Hills, Calif., salon site I couldn’t get the funding for; 2) the signed lease that fell through when the landlord didn’t remodel the building as promised; and 3) my current Studio City, Calif., salon location — which, did I mention, almost completely fell through as well.

It’s been two years and countless days/months of borderline depression to get to this point in opening my first salon. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert, but I’ve learned a lot in the past two years, and even with the keys in my hand and a construction crew in the building, I’m learning new things every day. I’m going to be straight with you about my experiences opening a salon because I’m sure a lot of you have gone through similar experiences, and you’d call me on it if I tried to bluff. With this blog, maybe we can learn from each other.