From a $10 Blow-Dry to a Business Built With Soul

As we step into a new year, we often find ourselves making resolutions for change. But sometimes, the most powerful transformations unfold gently over time. Through small steps, courage, curiosity, and a willingness to listen to the inner call for something more. This is a story about one of those transformations, and a reminder that coming home to yourself can change everything.

From a $10 Blow-Dry to a Business Built With Soul

I first met Harley by chance. I had gone to a salon recommended by a friend, and after my haircut, my stylist didn’t have time to finish blow-drying my hair. Instead, I was sent to the back of the salon—to a young, new stylist who would do it for ten dollars.

But there was something about her.

She was only a few years older than my son, quietly working at the bottom of the totem pole, eager to learn, willing to do whatever was asked of her. She told me she was taking makeup classes and traveling to New York to build her career. Her hunger to grow, and her quiet determination touched me deeply. I wanted to support her.

So, the next time I returned—much to the irritation of my regular stylist—I asked for Harley to finish my hair. Over time, her ten-dollar blow-dry became fifteen, and I watched her confidence slowly grow.

A door closes…

Two years later, the salon closed. The building was slated for demolition, and the stylists scattered in different directions. Harley took a leap of faith and opened her own salon. She worked endlessly—cutting hair, sweeping floors, cleaning up, doing everything herself. She was building something from the ground up.

Harley dressed like many young women—head to toe in black, her blonde hair striking against the dark clothes. She stayed up late watching horror movies with her boyfriend, and while her entrepreneurial spirit was clear, there was little hint of who she would one day become.

Others continue to open…

After her breakup, something shifted. She began a journey that, as she put it, made her the “odd one out” in her family. She changed—deeply. She healed old wounds, especially with her mother. She discovered her intuitive gifts, cleaned up her diet, and traveled solo to Bali, Sedona, and other sacred places to reconnect with herself. 

Recently, she attended a styling conference in Ibiza.

“How was it?” I asked.

“Fantastic!” she said. “Ibiza was everything you’d imagine—but I didn’t need alcohol or gummies, even though they were everywhere. I felt present. Grounded. I met incredible people, got amazing ideas for my business, and most of all, I felt like myself.”

I noticed the change the moment I walked into her salon. The metallic gray and pink were gone, replaced by a soft, warm cream. "Better than beige” the color was appropriately named. Cold metal stations had been swapped for cane. Shelves were now recycled, refurbished wood. Plants filled the space. Inspirational books rested on a table. Even her music had changed.

She, too, seemed more at peace, more at home in herself. She had traded her sharp, structured clothing for flowing fabrics that mirrored the calm she now carried within.

It’s been ten years since I first sat in Harley’s chair for a ten-dollar blow-dry. In that time, she has found her voice, her essence, and her gifts.

Her family has noticed. They turn to her for advice. Her niece adores her.

In traveling home to herself, she became the very “medicine” she had once been searching for.

Her salon is now an oasis—an invitation to pause, to breathe, and to recharge. For herself and for others!

That’s what dissonance within does. It grows so loud that you can no longer silence it’s call for action. It’s a call to change and move forward!

May 2026 bring you home to yourself, so your presence too can become healing medicine for others! Healing that you once might have needed!

Happy New Year! ✨

With love,
Anu

PS—If there’s a quiet discomfort within you, trust that it’s not random. It’s your soul asking for something more. My online healing course, Flourish, is designed to help you move through old patterns, reconnect with your inner wisdom, and become the medicine you’ve been searching for. ❤️‍🩹