Despite the challenges, there were also friends and people that helped along the way. Maintaining faith in myself and pushing through the fear is challenging at times. There was a lot of fear and doubt circulating in my head when I started my first little salon, and it showed up again with my plans of expansion. Sometimes I was my own biggest obstacle to moving forward. Despite the accomplishments in my 20s, I made many poor decisions also. There were plenty of emotional obstacles as well. Then later when I started taking college courses, I paid for each semester as I went. When I was in cosmetology school I worked to pay for the tuition and my personal needs. Unfortunately, it was totaled in a wreck six months later. By the end of the summer I bought an ’87 Toyota Corolla for $1500. When I was 16, I worked two jobs all summer to save for my first car. Many of the struggles along the way were financial. handmade soap of course! It will open August 2020, and is located in “new” Magnolia, where the edges of The Woodlands, Conroe, and Magnolia all meet. It will also have a unique retail area featuring handmade local items such as handmade jewelry and decor, and Foster Gardens Bath Co. It will be a booth rental salon with other independent stylists. I am currently working on opening a salon- The Beauty Garden.
This year I have another big business adventure in progress. I started selling these products in my salon suite, and later started an Etsy shop and online store. This quickly turned into a side business, known as Foster Gardens Bath Co. I loved the quality of the products, the control I had of the ingredients, and the creativity. Nearly three years ago I started making cold process soap and other DIY bath and body products. That same year, I left the salon I had worked at for eight years, and started my own business, renting a suite within a larger salon. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BBA in International Business from SHSU.ĭuring that decade, I purchased my first home at 22, then several years later purchased my second home at 28, and began renting out my first house. It took about ten years of going to college part-time while working full-time, but I finally graduated just as I turned 31. Once I had taken as many classes as I could at Lone Star, I transferred to Sam Houston State University and commuted. Shortly after that, I started casually attending college classes at Lone Star Community College, and a few years later I decided to get serious about it. I became a receptionist at a salon when I was 16, went to cosmetology school at 18, and became a full-time hair stylist at 20.
A couple of years later I was experimenting with cutting and coloring mine and my friend’s hair. When I was 13, I talked my mom into letting me color my hair with temporary box color from the grocery store, and from there it just escalated. I knew I wanted to be a hairstylist early on. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. Thanks for sharing your story with us Amy.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Foster.