“The Climb From the Bottom”
We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test
– Isabel Allende, writer.
Life throws us into situations that sometimes feel hopeless. We are sometimes faced with challenges that at many times, we just want to give up. How do we go up from being so low? How do we learn to survive when we start from scratch. It was a long struggle for Kim but it was not one without a fight.
Kim was married to a man she loved for 10 years. They had 2 beautiful girls and things were good at the beginning of their marriage. After 5 years, their marriage had began to hit very hard points. The remaining 5 years had ultimately led to the need for her to break free. She noticed a shift in his behavior and how he treated her. He became mentally and physically abusive and she was torn with the idea of their marriage not working out. The fear of being alone and fending for herself and her children versus staying in an abusive relationship scared her. So she seeked help from friends and family. Attending church and seeking counsel, she noticed a lack of interest on his part. As if he was just there to entertain the idea but never put in the effort to resolve his own issues.
One evening during a cab ride home from dinner with their friends, and argument sparked that turned into a physical altercation. The cab driver proceeded to call the police. This began the initial push for Kim to say “no more.”
Kim felt alone and was constantly fearful of never being able to get out of this whole she felt she was in. “Growing up I was raised with the idea that women are incapable of being successfully without a man” Kim stated. Her family deeply frowned upon her divorce and believed she was doomed to be alone. Kim felt more than ever that she wanted to prove to herself and her family that she could get through this low point in her life and that she could accomplish anything.
She stayed with her children at a friends house, trying to distance herself from her ex-husband. Seeking for answers to a better life without him. She began her first journey into the Beauty Industry by going to school to be a licensed Nail Technician. Kim recalls thinking “I knew there was going to be a high chance I would leave. So I began to prepare myself for that moment.”
Unconvinced of her new found steps into independence, her ex-husband would come by uninvited at very odd hours. Leaving her feeling threatened and very uncomfortable. She then had to relocate to a women’s shelter in San Clemente with her children. After some time there, he found her again and began contacting the shelter. Threatening that they release her. Kim was then reassigned to a shelter in San Diego. It was there that she began the process of Welfare to support her children. She was so grateful for every helping hand that was extended her way.
Kim had already been working as a nail tech at this point and felt strongly that this was not the business she wanted to pursue. So she began the process of getting her Esthetician License. She knew she wanted to continue down this direction and really pushed herself to figure out what it is she was passionate about. Briefly going into massage therapy and being a facialist, Kim still felt that there was still something missing.
This when Kim discovered eyelash extensions. She found it so fascinating and loved how beautiful they looked. Unable to afford official classes, she began teaching herself and utilizing the internet.After much practice, she was finally able to afford taking a course with Borboleta Beauty. She was in love was this new found career. This is when she began to see a shift in her entire career, attitude and finances. Kim began in her first suite, renting out space just enough for her. As her skills and clientele grew, so did she. Kim was ready to take on more space! She felt that is was finally time to build a larger business. This soon bloomed into her first location she flipped from a Pawn Shop in Costa Mesa to a full on Beauty bar! This began a 3 year journey into now 2 locations. Eventually, her discovery into the world of microblading and permanent makeup shifted her career into something she did not expect.
It’s amazing what we are capable of doing once put into a difficult situation. Our “Fight or Flight” mentality kicks in and you can choose to push forward or sulk in your own self pity. No one wants unfortunate events to happen. But there’s a lot to be said about yourself on how you get out of that situation.How you grow from it! At times we may feel lost, lonely and want to give up, as if there’s no way out of the hole you may be in. But Kim refused to let her drama and lack of life experience stop her from choosing a better future for herself and her children. That no one was going to stop her and accomplishing her dreams. Still today she carries this mentality and is so blessed to be where she’s at now. The only person she needed most to believe in was herself.
Stayed tuned for the next blog entry on how Kim came from zero to now being a successful business women of two locations!
-Jessica Fox