Parlor Games

Moving my blog . . .

2010-10-30T13:14:00.001-07:00

I'm moving my blog to: www.seejaneparkrun.com.

Please join me there!

Cyoot and Osom

2010-10-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

My six-year-old daughter Yumi’s list of top ten words that describe herself include:

1. fantastic

2. prfct

3. byootiful

4. osom

5. cyoot

6. icsiting

7. loving

8. cind

9. sopr

10. sopr fun

How “osom” is that? And when do we as women begin to lose this awe for ourselves that Yumi clearly has in spades?

I belive that how we tend to view ourselves and our capabilities is profoundly influenced by our gender – particularly as we grow up. When I was in law school, I saw this first hand in looking at the applications for Supreme Court clerkships, the pinnacle of “just out of law school” achievement. Although about half of all law school students were women, less than 10% of Supreme Court clerks from our law school were women. And when we looked deeper into the application pool, we found that more than 10 times as many men applied as women. Basically, many of my male law school colleagues believed they were brilliant (despite their mediocre grades), and very few women believed they were brilliant (despite their amazing grades).

One of the things I love most about Julep is that we are a group of women helping other women to remember to feel good about themselves in ways both big and small. I especially think about this for my team – who are truly “byootiful” and “sopr fun” and “cind.”

Sisterhood is Happiness

2010-10-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

I wholeheartedly agree with Deborah Tannen’s recent article in the New Yor k Tim es describing how having a sister can make you happier. I love being a sister, and I love my sisters so much I feel a physical pain in my chest just thinking about them. I have been a sister longer than any other role I’ve cherished in my life – except for being a daughter (which I also love). For example, I have learned from my sisters:

· The difference bewteen “LOL” (laughing out loud), “ROFL” (rolling on floor laughing) and “BWL” (bursting with laughter) – because my sisters make me do all 3 of these.

· The secret to loose waves is owning a professional grade 1.5inch barrel curling iron – and wrapping hair around it starting 2 inches from your scalp and stopping 2 inches before the ends.

· The perfect pair of jeans can LIFT your butt. According to my sisters, I do not own any such jeans.

But most importantly, I have learned that life is long, and sisterhood, being the inescapable relationship that it is, can be frustratingly suffocating and exhiratingly freeing - often all at the same time. So thank you Jenny and Alice for being my first loves. And for saving me from saggy jeans.

(Photos: Alice, Jenny and Jane (with perms) circa 1985; Alice, Jenny and Jane in Ottawa circa 1988; Jane, Alice and Jenny at Alice's wedding, 2008)

BATNA

2010-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

One of the questions I am asked frequently is whether my background as a lawyer has been helpful to me in starting Julep. Although I LOVED my law school years (being the only time in my life where I have ever felt remotely close to “cool”), there’s actually not much about the study of law that is related to my day-to-day work in growing a company.

One of the rare exceptions is the concept of “BATNA”, which was introduced to me by Lee Van Der Walde in our second-year Labor and Empoyment law class. In between passing notes to Ali and Renata (my then-boyfriend, now-husband, refused to sit next to me in class because he thought I wasn’t paying sufficient attention), I learned that making the most of any bargaining situation is all about your BATNA – “best alternative to negotiated arrangement.” From what I can recall (now decades later), the principle is that your ability to get what you want in any negotiation is only as strong as your next best alternative. So if Person A wants to buy your car for $500, you have a “BATNA” of $500 when you go into your conversation with Person B. You can tell person B they need to pay you at least $500.01 or you’re walking away. You got BATNA, baby. If you walk around and create higher and higher BATNAs, you will ultimately get the best price for your car.

BATNA is everywhere. In fact, “the greatest love of all” (a-la-Whitney Houston) is really all about improving your life BATNA. Learning to love yourself is just good relationship economics. It improves the value of your “BATNR” or Best Alternative to Negotiated Relationship. Improve your BATNR, and you’ll be in great shape to negotiate what you need from any relationship.

When you feel like you have no BATNA, as my daughter Yumi must have felt when she asked me for hot chocolate first thing this morning, then a “no” means disaster. Your world feels like it is falling apart – it’s “A” or nothing and so you are powerless and destroyed when you told you can’t have “A”. (Because you are relying exclusively on largesse or inattentiveness at that point to be able to get your way, and although I often have large doses of both when it comes to my daughter, it’s still never a good starting point for a negotiation). Sometimes just asking the question, “what’s my BATNA?” can be soothing – it can remind you there are other amazing things in life and that life will still go on – even if the chocolate milk negotiation falls apart. I hope Yumi will find the strength of BATNA someday. . .

Spun around and put more positively, BATNA can also be about standards. When I had kids, my home BATNA rose through the roof, my best alternative to being at work was the opportunity to kiss buttery-smelling, chubby cheeks as often as I wanted to. I couldn’t tolerate a mediocre job anymore – I had higher standards for what I wanted to do with my time.

I see entrepreneurship, and perhaps life in general, as all about creating great BATNAs - so that I can go after what I want. Anyone who has worked with me for any length of time knows that I like to have my “what I would do if I had a gun to my head today,” plan – just in case someone jumps me in the street with a firearm, demanding to know my next business decision immediately. Although this hasn’t yet happened, I am learning that often life does NOT go as planned, and in fact, start-up life seldom goes as planned. And sometimes even your backups fall apart. Increasingly, what is important to me about the idea of a BATNA is not any particular negotiated result or BATNA itself, but rather my confidence in our ability as a company to continually generate new BATNAS to help fuel forward motion. We have a plan and, you should help us achieve our plan because we have a long list of exciting alternatives to you, and won’t you feel sad and left out if you don’t jump on our bus. And by the way, we’re full of ideas and plans – you can say no to us, but you can’t take away our ability to generate BATNAs.

I love my life, and I love my BATNAs. Or maybe I love my life BECAUSE I love my BATNAs. . .

To Know, Understand, and STILL Engage

2010-10-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

Before most of the women who work at Julep were born, I was weeping night over night (for at least four nights, anyway) over a young Australian lass who fell in love with an ambitious priest. Of course, I mean Rachel Ward and (shirtless) Richard Chamberlain in the brilliant 1983 mini-series, The Thorn Birds.

Because of my deep twelve-year-old’s knowledge of sacrifice and ever-lasting love, the mini-series spoke to me.

I’ve never seen it again, but OFTEN, by which I mean at least several times a month, I think of (shirtless) Richard Chamberlain telling me about the legend of the thorn bird, who is born to seek a thorn bush and impale itself on the longest thorn while singing the most beautiful song of its life – thus causing even God to smile. If I had the inter-web back then, I would have Googled (or “Binged”, since my beloved works at Microsoft), “thorn birds” - and realized they weren’t real.

But those were the dark ages, when it took walking to the library and physically flipping through card catalogues to access the information dirt road, and so until tonight (just minutes ago, in fact), I honestly thought thorn birds were real. I thought they were just like salmon – only even more masochistic.

I was particularly moved by Cardinal Di Bricassart (aka shirtless Richard Chamberlain)’s realization that we are ALL thorn birds – destined to impale ourselves on the longest, sharpest thorn we can find. Even worse – here’s the real “ah-ha” moment - we are KNOWING thorn birds: “we know, we understand, and we still do it.”

But here’s the uplifting part (really, there is one!). The thorn birds do what they do because of Beauty. Because we all want to belt out the best song of our lives, consequences be damned. No matter how painful, no matter how bloody, no matter what ends up happening, maybe we’re all searching for that moment where we get to channel Beauty. And it seems that these things are intertwined. Yes, death is a little severe, but if you flip the question around from "what are you willing to die for" to "what do you live for" - then it starts making sense.

The thing is, I do believe in Beauty. And finally (DECADES post-Thorn Birds), I feel happy in my middle-brow perspective that we see it and create it through acts of love and engagement.

I thought about my lesson from Richard Chamberlain again this weekend because I met this amazing woman named Mandy Hitchcock. The amazing thing she does is continue to hope.

Mandy lost her 17 month old daughter, Hudson, to meningitis earlier this year (she shares a beautiful blog at hudsononegoodthing.blogspot.com). She is living the freak tragedy that I’m always discounting in my own mind as a mother, and as the CEO of a start-up. “A fever is just a fever, a slow week is just a slow week – let’s not panic.” In many ways, I’m not dispositionally capable of wrapping my brain and heart around the concept of real danger and risk. And of course I can’t imagine the loss.

But in my life as a mom, CEO, wife, daughter, sister and girlfriend - I aspire to learn as much as I can about the dangers of heart break - and affirmatively choose to engage anyway. I am wrestling with this equation in both my personal and professional lives. The real challenge is to engage – but with eyes wide open. To know, understand, and still do it, to paraphrase a life-changing made-for-TV mini-series. And it’s so helpful to find inspiration along the way. And to seek out the "one good thing" that comes out of every challenging situation.

Follow me on Twitter!

2010-10-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

http://twitter.com/janeparkjulep. What do you want to hear from me?

A Post-Modern Idea of Strength

2010-03-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

One of the wisest women I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing once told me that our weaknesses are often the flip side of our strengths (Jean Koh Peters, I think about you every day). This was a quietly radical thought for the young self-deprecating idealist I was at the time. When I first heard this advice, I was engaged in a ferocious (yet losing) battle to eradicate my many faults. I was also trying with equal fervor to catch a glimpse of the general vicinity of my strengths.

So I never fully understood this wisdom and only discovered its true force over a decade later when I was struggling with leading Julep beyond a one-parlor concept to the next step towards reaching its full potential (e.g. two parlors – then infinity and beyond!). There was a period of time in which I felt that everything that had brought me success up to that point (my ability to knock down any barrier and just GET THINGS DONE) was actually hurting me and my ability to lead our team. Suddenly, I went from being the Get-It-Done Gal to being the Get-In-The-Way-of-Getting-Things-Done Gal. But I was still doing the same things! I was still me! Trying to make decisions about water pitchers and the location of sandwiches and strategy and personnel and finance . . . It was maddening and demoralizing. For everyone concerned.

The thing is, I just couldn’t see that my world had changed. It had grown (again, RADICALLY from one parlor to two). It now included many phenomenally talented women. And we had much much more work than even the most get-it-done-est of gals can actually get done, despite the force of her will and determination. And yet I was still bringing out the same weapons, trying all the same tricks. And confused when I wasn’t getting the same result.

I wonder if any step will be as hard for me in my professional life as letting go of that first parlor – and letting go of the idea that I HAD to be the one capable of doing everything (okay almost everything – because I actually can’t do the one thing that we’re actually all about – the guest services).

But it was a tremendous relief to find out that I wasn't inherently bad for Julep. I could still be useful! I was just over-relying on my strengths because they had always worked for me before. My strengths brought out in the wrong context were making me, and those around me, pretty miserable.

I worked with a incredibly insightful and emotionally intelligent leadership coach named Kate Dale through this period (do you sense a repeating theme of amazing women making a tremendous difference to my life?). I’ve never met Kate face to face – and I would never have thought that someone could have that much of an impact via voice alone. But it was Kate who led me to the corollary to “your strengths are the flip sides of your weaknesses” rule – “your greatest strengths over-relied upon can quickly become your greatest liability.” If I knew anything about sports I might be able to make some muscular-skelatol analogy . . . but alas.

Now I think about both Jean and Kate (and many, many others) every day. It is freeing not to focus on whether I am a bad or good leader, or whether someone is a bad or good contributor – because getting a grade isn’t the point. Instead, I think about whether I am positioning others to allow their strengths to shine in a way that is helpful to the common goal. When I’m frustrated with myself or with a team member, I try to remember that the trait I’m frustrated with often has its twin in something that I treasure. The trick is timing. It’s all in there, we just have to learn what to take out when.

Not my salami

2010-03-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

So it turns out the great idea I was contemplating last night was actually Kate and Margot's idea that they shared with me but I somehow didn't really internalize it until I came up with a not-so-clever name for it and then I really fell in love with it and really thought it was my idea.

Wow - I'm such a marketer.

But now I'm sure it's a great idea!

The only thing better than coming up with something is having a colleague come up with something and being able to just sit back and agree with it.

I work with amazing women.

A possibly big idea - or just salami

2010-03-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

I think I've had a REALLY IMPORTANT idea tonight as I'm sitting here eating salami & drinnking wine with Letterman on in the background.

I'm not sure, of course. Sometimes I think I've had a BIG IDEA only to find in the morning that what I really have is salami stomach (and salami thighs).

One of the things I love about my job is the ability to bring all of me to work - the part that cares about people and is interested in their stories, the part that loves spreadsheets, the part that loves bouncing around ideas with others and running with the ball over late night television.

If we end up moving down the path of this (possibly) BIG IDEA I will let you know what it is. For now I've just emailed it to Kate, Mike & Margot and I'm so impatient for what they have to say that I can't get to sleep.

Are we going to the moon - or just munching on salami? Or both? Or somewhere in between?

Salami was from Salumi, by the way. YUM.

Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte

2010-03-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

The girlfriends are back - we're counting down the days to the May 28 relase of Sex and The City 2. (77, to be exact).

And you'll also find Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte at Julep . . . coming soon.

Of course, these bottles were mocked up by me and Kate, sitting in our conference room pouring the sample formulas into our bottles.

Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte were pretty easy. But we had to take a poll of what color Carrie is - and everyone agreed that she was pink. So here we are - updated pastels (plus Samantha). Doesn't every group of girlfriends have a firecracker?

Oscars

2010-03-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

I don't understand a world where the Superbowl is more important than the Oscars.

My friend Michelle and I are putting on a last minute Oscar bash tomorrow night - featuring Brokeback Mountain Rack of Lamb, Julie & Julia buttery-something-or-other and Avatar Blue Tortilla Chips.

I hope Kathryn Bigelow wins Best Director and shatters another glass ceiling.

Keeping it real

2010-02-25T07:10:00.001-08:00

Even though we're a relatively small company, we are already fighting against "corporate speak" adn not having real conversations. So it's SO exciting when, as we did in yesterday's Support Center meeting, it happens - and people talk about what they are really concerned about - because then we can address it!

Finding my authentic real voice as a leader as taken a lot of time, as has finding my authentic, real voice as a mom.

In both contexts, I can't spout everything I am feeling at any particular moment, and I have to be mindful of the responsibility of the impact of my words on others.

BUT I strive to have some part of the real me shine through. For everyone who works at Julep who reads this blog - please help me with this at Julep! We are too small and it is too important for anyone to be concerned about appearances. We're not playing the role of building Julep - we are actually doing it!

Thanks Erica, Rebecca, Tamara and Monique. I'm so proud of all your work and am excited for everything we'll accomplish in 2010.

Jane

Yoonacarns

2010-02-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

My kindergartener brought home a list of her top 10 favorite things today, and my husband and I didn't make the list.

#9 is "yoonacarns" and "ders" come in at #10. (Maybe we were right behind nonexistent deformed hooved creatures and bambis - surely the carnations of the animal kingdom. We could have been #11 but there was just no more room left on the paper. . .).

But I'm thrilled that she is so exhuberant and excited about her writing. Before she knew letters she pretended to write them, and now she gives David Letterman a run for her money with her endless lists.

And "yoonicarns" is pretty darn good, if you ask me. It communicates the point, has internal consistency - and is a correct application of the double "o" after all. She's able to express herself in written language - how incredible. Even though millions of other children her age (and much younger) do the same thing, it's still a wonder to me.

I think we might be at the "yoonacarns" stage at Julep too. We've developed our culture and our language, and are operating with internal consistency. We are starting to figure out what we are about and are authentically yearning to connect with the world and share our ideas. How incredible. Even though millions of other companies our stage (and much earlier) do the same thing, it is still a wonder to me.

If our spelling isn't quite perfect yet, just you wait. We're on our way to capturing winged hoofed creatures with astonishingly elegant spelling.

And we installed Microsoft BPOS (affectionately called "Microsoft four-paws" by AF) today - which felt like a very grown-up thing to do.

I wonder if I will ever stop being in awe of our potential.

Women's Movement in Haiti

2010-01-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

The devestation of the earthquake in Haiti has countless dimensions of suffering, both present and yet to come. Just one of the poignant tragedies that stays with me is the loss of three of the founders of the women's movement: Myriam Merlet, Mgalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan. Of course I did not know their names before learning that they had lost their lives. But I am thinking about what to do with the fact that I know them now.

Perfect Day

2010-01-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

Here's my Tuesday:

- 4:30am- Wake up to Yumi having a nightmare. Great excuse to suggle her. Think sleepily to myself that I will go to 6am yoga.

- 6:30am - Oops missed 6am yoga. Check email instead. Slightly different health benefits . . .

- 7:00am - Make breakfast for kids while husband packs lunches.

- 8:15am - Drop kids off for Spanish/French before school. Great before-school care alternative to just putting them on the schoolbus to ride around for an hour, which I also strongly considered.

- 8:30am - At the office. Touch base with Kate and Amy. Pick up Board presentations, which I printed out the NIGHT BEFORE because it's January and I'm still adhering to my New Year's resolution to be more planful and prepared. Notice email from Susie that we are very close to our 1000th member at Julep.

- 9:00am - Get to see Valentine's Day "Beauty Head to Toe" package signs that will go outside our parlors. We decided last week to donate 10% of proceeds to the Red Cross for Haiti relief - we all want to participate in helping in some way.

- 9:30am - check out very tiny mention in Wall Street Journal about how we were rejected for a reality series two years ago.

- 11:00am - head to our Downtown parlor for a quick manicure and brow wax before heading to our Board meeting at Davis Wright Tremaine offices.

- 1pm - 3:45pm - Our inaugural Board Meeting! So exciting to have smart thoughtful people spending so much time thinking about Julep with us. Kate and I agree that we love having more people in our boat. Thank you Emer and John. And Mike and Joe.

- 4:30pm - Regroup on email at home while Eli finishes his homework.

- 5:30pm -Take Eli out to dinner for a Mother-Daughter night - dinner and a Huskies basketball game. Yumi insists that her evening is a "date" with her father. I ask Eli if we're on a "date" and he says, "Mom, why do we have to call it anything? Why can't it just be you and me going to a basketball game?"

- 8:00ish - Run into our Parlor Managers Monique and Erica at the game! Fun to see them out.

- 8:30pm - Convince Eli to leave the game because it's a blowout - something like 90000 to 12 (or at least it feels like it).

- 9:00pm - Get home in time for NCIS Los Angeles with my husband. Great excuse to snuggle him.

Such a full, amazing day. This is probably not the kind of Carpe Diem Robin Williams' character had in mind in Dead Poet's Society but I appreciated every minute of the day.

Spring colors

2010-01-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Are finalized. And so fun. That is all I am allowed to say. . . . stay tuned.

Positive Incremental Change

2010-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

In many ways, 2010 is about positive, incremental change for us. This is exciting but also hard for me because it's a departure from the way I've been operating for the last 3 years, which has been about LOTS and LOTS of new ideas - new concept, new parlors, new promotions, new services, new relationships like subscription based membership. Bright and shiny is FUN.

But so is focus and stretching to improve. And actually, this is more fulfilling.

Looking at all that we've accomplished as a team, we're now focusing on doing the most important things better. How do we further delight our members? Continue to innovate on our colors? Make our manicures and pedicures last even longer? Communicate more efficiently? Offer more comprehensive training? Understand each other better as colleagues and as human beings?

I want to have my eyes open to the little things we do better every day and commit to celebrating these victories together. A few wins week we celebrated this week include:

- Taking all of our offsite learnings to date to pull together a fabulous booth at the Seattle Wedding Show for the first time with a beautiful booth (thank you Susanne, Susie and Amy S!)

- Rolling out our review process and figuring out how to take it to the next level the next time (thank you managers and vernisseurs for engaging in the process with honesty and a dedication to fulfilling our individual and collective potential)

- Launching improvements to our expense reporting and inventory management processes (thank you Amy F and Peter!)

- Finalzing our THIRD seasonal palette (thank you Kate and Amy S!)

And there are so many more. Improving is even better than beginning, because we have the luxury of confidence that it fundamentally works (whatever the "it" we're working on happens to be) - and since we know each other as a team now, we also have the luxury of confidence that we can figure things out together and make them better. I'm so grateful to be here.

I love our team. I love our guests. I love our company.

New Year, New Layout

2010-01-14T23:07:00.000-08:00

Last week I rearranged the furniture in our living room in an attempt to create the illusion of more space in our chopped up house. It was not a deliberate attempt to bring misery upon my family. It was not a vindictive effort to destroy all that is good in the world. And yet.

The thing is, the passion to rearrange struck me at about 1am in the morning, after everyone else had gone to sleep. It started with wondering if I could get rid of a step chest that stuck out in a way that suddenly drove me crazy. Once that was out of the way, it became obvious that our slouchy green couch had to move. In fact, after years of great service as our first ever joint furniture purchase in a store other than Ikea, it too might have to leave. To see what that would look like, I moved it out of the way, rearranged the remaining chairs. Other minor changes ensued. Pictures were moved, and rugs were folded - just to see what a smaller rug might look like. And then suddenly it was 3am.

I was awakened the next morning by my loving spouse, who called up, “Hey, you’d better get down here, there’s a revolt going on.”

And he wasn’t joking.

Eli (age 8): “Mom, we can’t even get to the front door – and we can’t see the TV from the couch if it’s all the way over there.”

Yumi (age 5, stomping foot): “Yeah!”

Burton (age 39): (Silently: “Yeah!”)

Eli: “And we’re going to trip on this rug! Why is it folded over like this Mom?! We could get HURT!”

Yumi: “Yeah!”

Burton: (Silently: “Yeah!”)

Stumbling back after grabbing my coffee, I tried to explain.

Me: “This is just representative guys! It’s just showing how things COULD be. The rug isn’t going to stay folded like that – I just wanted to see what a smaller rug might look like. It’s nice to change things once in a while isn’t it?”

Eli: “We hate change! We like keeping things the way they are!”

Yumi/Burton: (Same response as above).

Me: “Actually I was just thinking about letting some other family have this green couch for a while – I moved it over here to get it out of the way.”

Eli: “WHAT?!!” Smoke coming out of ears and nostrils. “Are you just trying to get rid of our favorite green couch? Our comfy couch? Why don’t you like this couch Mom? We’re only going to be happy if we can sit on this couch! Why do you hate this couch Mom? Tearing up. ( Meaning, “Why do you hate US Mom?!!” )

Burton: (Clearly pleased that his points had all been made without having to utter a word himself): “Maybe we can go eat breakfast and then ask Mom about WHY she moved things around and what she’s trying to accomplish. Then we can help her do that in a way that we are all excited about - and that KEEPS THE COUCH THAT WE ALL LOVE, right kids?”

Although our kids threatened not to eat until the furniture was put back where it had been, ultimately pancakes and bacon saved the day. I agreed to move the couch back (because although I do hate the couch, I love my family), but we did banish the step chest, move the chairs and buy a Flor shag rug in moves that were ultimately agreeable to all.

As I listened to my kids and witnessed their bewilderment, I was suddenly reminded of our poor Julep Parlor Hostesses and Vernisseurs as they arrive for what they believe will be a normal day, only to be barraged with phone calls about a last minute promotion (“Watch Twilight at Julep! $5 off!”) that appeared without warning.

I have learned from this experience. In 2010 I will try to be mindful of other people’s need to prepare and have input into change. I will try my hardest not to impose late night ideas on others the very next morning. I will try to be aware that what is just ideation and playing around with concepts for me might be rationally viewed by others as a tripping hazard. And sometimes a couch is more than a couch, it is love itself.

So thank you everyone at Julep for bearing with us as I try out different furniture configurations and move things in and out in an effort to create a better company!

Life IS a dress rehersal . . .

2010-01-04T21:37:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about starting a company is the ability to dream - then execute - changes for the better everyday. Maybe they are little, largely unnoticed, and incremental, but as long as there is positive movement, every experience has additional, "bonus" meaning as an opportunity to learn how to do things better the next time.

This makes mistakes less frustrating - because it's not about the result in and of itself - it's about figuring out what to get out of it for next time.

The realist in me says that life is going to get harder everyday - challenges will only get bigger and more complex. So figuring things out today is a great trial run and preparation for what is to come.

As complicated as it is to be a working mom of two young children, I know that adding elder care for non-native English speakers is just around the corner. As challenging as it is to grow four parlors through The Great Recession, it's only going to be more complex when we open parlors in different cities, in different states.

This is coming out more depressing than I intend it to be - perhaps because there is bad Monday night TV on in the background. Because I'm actually excited by this - if I can do something today to be better prepared tomorrow, how amazing is that. What a luxury to have some trial runs so that I can do better next time.

Loving Meryl Streep

2009-12-29T05:48:00.000-08:00

I'm dying to see "It's Complicated" - on the heels of watching "Julie and Julia" on pay-per-view when my family was out of town.

I adore, revere, and bow down to Meryl Streep. On the cover of this month's Vanity Fair she is so joyful. Now THERE is someone who is engaged with and enjoys her work and her life.

She is NOT one of those actors who impart the sense that being an artist is such a tortured burden. That they are giving so much of themselves emotionally . . . and what about being chased by paparazzi all the time. Woe is me I make more in one day than many Americans make all year.

I'm inspired by how much fun Meryl seems to find in her life, how fearless she is in her work, and how amazing she is at her craft. I mean, here's a lady that can make ABBA sound soulful.

And she does it all while being a spouse and parenting four children.

Watching Meryl makes me excited about entering my forties, fifties, and sixties. She makes it look wickedly fun.

I hope she beats herself and wins a Golden Globe.

Sparkly Sausage

2009-12-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

So my family has already departed for North Carolina in Park-Davis Holiday Travel Wave I, and I've been:

Nursing my torn cornea, the result of constantly forgetting to go buy contact lense solution and not being able to order it from Amazon fresh because of new minimum purchase requirements. It's been a great medical excuse to go to bed early every night - so I'm excited to arrive in North Carolina with energy for celebrating with my family. Wikipedia says it will heal in 24-48 hours, I believe I am making great progress.
Going to hot yoga, afterwhich everything seems more cool, dude. Can't believe it's totally legal. And way to go Natalie - your inversions are awesome.
Holiday shopping - with Sandy downtown yesterday, and at Top Ten Toys in Ballard, which is my favorite toy store in the whole world.
Delivering holiday treats to my team in Gig Harbor and Downtown yesterday, to University District and Bellevue today. I love the Julep team! I love our guests! I love our company!
Procrastinating writing holiday cards.
Eating buttery things.
Eating McDonalds-y things.
Writing and rewriting all the lists of everythign I need to get done before boarding a plane at 8:30am tomorrow.
Looking for a Secret Santa gift for my bookgroup get together tonight.
Shipping stuff to my parents that they left behind (glasses, phone, etc.).

All of these things will get done much more stylishly now that I've donned my sequined dress (over black cords and under a cardigan, to mitigate some of the sparkliness for daytime). But the McDonalds-ing and butter-fest-ing (see above) have taken their tole - the dress does not go on as smoothly as it has in previous seasons.

So I feel like a sparkly saugsage, but those are two of my favorite things so I guess I am pretty lucky.

Being Present

2009-12-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

I've been working on being present and focused in both my work and home lives - trying not to answer my cell phone in meetings and trying not to be on my laptop when my kids are around.

This morning I realized that it's just as important in emailing. Even (especially) in sending out a form email asking for signatures on a legal document. I needed to find some quiet space and wakeful time to focus on each person and figure out what I wanted to communicate.

In the end, the emails were mostly the same, but I did stop to think about each person individually, and hopefully some small part of my effort to be present came across.

It's actually easier NOT to make the effort when there is someone right in front of you because of the illusion of presence physical proximity can create.

I had to consciously focus on my emails, and it made me realize that I should apply myself more devotedly to the people who are right in front of me.

The Best of Times

2009-12-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, a new investor said to me, "Remember to have fun! These are the best of times."

The only other time anyone has said that to me was when I had my first baby. These are the best of times?!! Not sleeping more than 3 hours at a stretch, wearing the same clothes for weeks on end and going through my reserve of antepartum percoset while riding the ups and downs of a high speed emotional roller coaster??!!

At least this time I don't smell like throw-up (to the best of my challenged olfactory senses) . . . but then again I'm out of percoset.

But I do have to admit that I often wish I hadn't been as crazy my first year as a mom. I wish I had been able to accept the changes in my life -and I wish I hadn't felt like I had to take my "time off" to organize a decade's worth of photos and suddenly begin cooking every meal from scratch (a habit that died as suddenly as it appeared). Why didn't I just pause to breathe and enjoy?

I'm trying to think about what the Julep equivalent is of the kissable chubby cheeks I miss - what should I be stopping to savor?

My first thought is that I cherish my connections with guests and employees who have been part of starting Julep. I need to be sure to enjoy these special relationships that are grounded in this unique moment in time that will never happen again.

And keep stopping by Trader Joe's for pre-made dinners.

Is it worth it vs. Is it painless

2009-12-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

Leading Julep is by far the most engaging job I've ever had. It is also the most joyful, painful, fun, stressful, exciting, and draining. Like every significant relationship in my life, the central question to me is, "Is it worth it?" Answering "YES" to this question is very powerful.

Because the avoidance of pain is NOT why one would decide to start-up a high-end retail start-up in the worst economic times in a half-century. There are mainly more painless options in the world.

What makes Julep worth it for me is:

Awesome guests who come in with their moms, daughters, sisters, and colleagues - just the way we dreamed
Amazing colleagues I learn from everyday
Stretching and learning everyday

There is nowhere else I'd rather be.

My sister is in town

2009-11-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

My sister Alice is visiting us in Seattle with her husband Jeremy on a post-Thanksgiving weekend trip. There is nothing in the world like a sister. I have such a feeling of relief and being HOME.

I've been busier, and more tired than even usual - and so last night I just snuggled up next to her and snoozed while everyone watched the Christian Bale/ Maggie Gyllenthal version of Batman.

She and Jeremy played with the kids, read to them, and put them to bed.

I felt reenrgized this morning - waking up to run the Seattle Family Marathon (only one mile!) with my kids. So exciting to run into the stadium and across the finish line. Yumi had an enormous smile on her face. Who knew it would be such a thrill. Especially thrilling to only have to run a mile to get to cross the threshold and be handed a space blanket.

I've never felt more athletic in my life than walking up Queen Anne Ave with my space blanket.

Thanksigiving

2009-11-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving, and not just because of my husband's bourbon gravy and mini pumpkin pies decorated like turkeys.

Being grateful is so powerful and energizing. I'm fully addicted to the feeling.

Perhaps in part because I have so much to be grateful for. In no particular order:

- I'm grateful to work in such a great industry - to be able to support and pamper women
- I'm grateful for our guests, and especially our members, who make our work worthwhile
- I'm grateful to work with such a caring, dedicated and passionate team
- I'm grateful for all the help from our extended team of PR, computer support, investors, and advisors who make such a huge difference everyday
- I'm grateful to have the oppportunity to lead Julep
- I'm grateful to be hopeful about the economy improving
- I'm grateful that more bottles of our sparkly red Marilyn are on their way to us
- Most importantly, I'm grateful for my fabulous friends and famiy

As we were counting our blessings around the Thanksgiving table, my five-year old said that she was thankful for "a family that loves me so much and that is going to give me so much American Girl doll stuff for Christmas."

But I hope she grows up to know that the real gift is the ability and opportunity to love others, and share American Girl stuff with them. But I guess pre-emptive gratitutde for desired Christmas presents is as good a place to start as any . . . ??

Julep Girlfirends' Night Out for the Cure

2009-10-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays in October have been "Girlfriends' Night Out for the Cure" at Julep. An explosion of pink - and an explosion of support for all of our girlfriends who have battled or are in the process of battling breast cancer. We've been sold out at our first 3 events ($5 of each ticket sold goes to support Susan G. Komen Puget Sound for the Cure), but of course we're soft-hearted when our guests call wanting to come with a friend who is a survivor or on her way to becoming a survivor.

It was fun to see the parlor so full of girlfriends and life! A big thank you to all of our partners who participated in our event and to our amazing goodie bags: The Finerie and Betsy Johnson (for the fasion show downtown), Courtney Seard who provided fabulous massages, Clutch, Trophy Cupcakes, Gourmando Catering, O Wines, Victoria's Secret, Dry Soda, and finally to Carilyn Platt and Kari Moe Straley, our awesome and passionate PR partners.

Our guests enjoyed two mini-treatments of their choice (polish change, paraffin wrap, neck and shoulder massage or brow wax) while hanging out with girlfriends and enjoying treats. As always, we learned with each event - for example Amy realized that a lot of our guests were interested in the massage services (thank you Shirley for helping out at our Bellevue event!). The last event is at our University District parlor on October 28 - it's already sold out (sorry!) but its fun to be learning every day and with every event. That's where I get my energy!

But if you're in or around Gig Harbor please join us this Wednesday the 21st - this is a such a unique and memorable event.

I was also grateful to our downtown guests for being flexible about the PBS filming crew who joined us to capture the party atmosphere. As some of you know, Julep is being featured in an episode of a new PBS series on entrepreneurs and start-ups hosted by Damon Vickers. It was fun getting to know the producers and crew - Susan McNally and Fran Dunaway are perceptive and have wonderful instincts.

Figuring out what to do about this blog

2009-09-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

So I'll try to keep the post-modern navel gazing to a minimum, but I am trying to figure out what to do about this blog. It's been so long since I've posted anything here (despite Kate's gentle encouragement) that I couldn't even remember my password to log in. Thank you if you are one of the 2 people besides my mother-in-law who is still checking back here.

We now have a Facebook site, we Tweet, and in the meantime we try to grow a new business, so it's been hard to know how the blog fits in. 140 characters is more manageable to share news flashes (like Anne Hathaway visiting us at Julep last week!).

And yet. I DO want to share the inner workings of building a great enduring company with you. In a more grown-up way than the chick-flick-style "OOPS she dropped the flan on the floor again!" manner in which I started out. When I had my first child, I thought his every bowel movement was fascinating, and when we first opened our first parlor, I thought our washing machine disasters were just mad cap zany fun! (Hilarity ensued!).

Now Eli is 8, and our laundry is just laundry. Which are both very good things.

But this new phase has it's own new joys and challenges, which I'm just learning to appreciate. As I've been out in the world talking about our ambitious plans for bringing Julep to women across the country, I've been asked a lot of questions about my motivations, my abilities, and my mortality (you always get the "what happens to Julep if you get hit by a bus" question). This causes one to THINK. Which then causes one to log into a long-neglected blog.

The thing I've been thinking lately is that starting a company is like falling in love - giddy, inspiring, eye-opening, and tingly. Secretly mind-blowingly exciting, but it all looks kinda mundane from the outside (I married an anti-trust lawyer! And started a nail parlor!). But buliding a company, like building a family or a marriage, takes more. Courage, tenacity, creativity, intelligence, and faith. Weaving these together to be who I want to be for myself, and who I need to be for those around me is my life's work.

If I were to write a business book, it would be called a catchier version of something like, "Everything I learned about growing a multi-million dollar business I learned from dating and marriage." (Come to think of it, maybe the subject itself is inherently un-catchy. . . and yet I persevere).

Here's one concrete example: "Know what you need and don't apologize for needing it." Applies equally to personal and professional relationships. I remember the profound a-ha moment I had with my first college boyfriend when I agonized and then finally worked up the courage to express an important need (for phone calls and some very basic form of verbal communication) - and lo and behold the earth did not shatter. It wasn't that he didn't care, he really didn't know that I wanted him to use his words and call once in a while. Because he did care, he rose to the occasion, and life was very sweet and lovely for the rest of the semester (which equates to decades in non-college time).

Although it's decades later, I still think of this moment often in asking for what we need from colleagues, trainees, vendors - everyone we work with. How can anyone know what Julep needs if I don't ask for it? What if they do care but they don't know we need them to call? It's the only way to give the other party a chance to help us achieve our goals.

This lesson works hand in hand with one that I'm currently working on, which is practicing more expansive generosity each day in making assumptions about the intent of others. Assuming positive intent is part of our "Rules of Engagement" at Julep - and it's one that I am passionate about. Asking for help is also easier and more fun when you assume the best in people.

So I'm going to reflect on both of these lessons as I present tomorrow to a local angel investor forum. I know what we need and why, I am passionate to the core about our future, and I will assume until told otherwise that everyone in the room is smart and dying to be part of Julep if I would only show them how.

Membership Has Its Privileges . . .

2009-03-23T23:59:00.001-07:00

So we're contemplating a new membership program to focus the love on on our most loyal guests. We'd love feedback - please let us know what you think by taking a few minutes to take our online survey.

How Launching Another Parlor is like Having Another Child

2009-03-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Day four of our new parlor, and as I drive across the 520 bridge, I ponder all the ways in which being a mom has prepared me for being a better business leader. (Now that I'm driving across 520 a lot, you may see more postings as I have MUCH more time to contemplate the state of the economy, Julep, and the license plate in front of me).

So here are the top ten ways in which launching another new parlor is like having another new baby:

10. You take WAY less pictures of the last parlor/child because, afterall, you ARE BUSIER this time around.

9. Just when it's too late to turn back, you begin to question your sanity and your ability to take on ONE MORE THING without losing your already tenuous grip on reality.

8. Each parlor / child comes with its own unique, unanticipated challenges that you have to learn, figure out, and create an action plan around.

7. But you love each parlor/child equally for its unique qualities.

6. You're not as nervous that you will be a complete failure because, after all, you and your partner(s) have done this before.

5. "But OMG what if the other time(s) were a fluke and this is different?" you wake up wondering, heart racing.

4. It takes a bigger village with each additional parlor/child. No one can do it alone.

3. You sweat less about the details (no retail display, diaper rash) and are able to focus more on the bigger picture (is everybody alive and breathing?).

2. You start living at Top Pot Doughnuts and gain weight much earlier in the process.

1. You drink more with each additional parlor launch / pregnancy.

"Sneak Preview" Day at Bellevue!

2009-03-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sneak Preview day - here we are before the crowds arrive . . .

And then there was a line out the door!

We had an amazingly fun day introducing ourselves to our new guests and introducing our loyal guests from other parlors to our new Bellevue parlor.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped us celebrate our Sneak Preview! And thank you to the amazing Bellevue team, and others who joined us all day long to help us out (especially Erica, Susie and Jfed!). And Amy and Lisa, who have been with me through all four parlor openings.

I couldn't have imagined a more perfect opening day for our new parlor.

And at the end of a long day, here are Katie and Jennifer closing down the registers before they head home.

I myself went to bed right after reading to my kids - at 8:30! That might even be earlier than our early to bed, early to rise District Manager Amy Fritz!

Free Manicures at New Bellevue Parlor 3/12

2009-03-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

So now the sign is up! Join us at our new Bellevue parlor for free manicures, express facials, eyebrow shaping and neck massage next Thursday March 12!

I'm not sure where January and February went - I can't believe it's already March and we're opening next week!

One Week Before Opening Day!

2009-03-07T17:12:00.000-08:00

We met at 10am on Friday at our Support Center offices in Queen Anne to take all the "shopping" we've done to date over to our new Bellevue Parlor!

Here's our buff District Manager Amy and our new Bellevue Parlor Manager Katie loading up the van!

And Susie, and Lisa, and Amy, and Erica, and Tyson too. (THANK YOU!).

With everyone pitching in, it took no time at all. Now our Bellevue parlor has hot towel warmers, guest chairs, one vernisseur stool and one esthetician stool, verniseur baskets, moisturizers, hot water dispenser, hole punch, coffee table, flat screen TV, POS terminals at the front, and a partridge in a pear tree. On Sunday Kate, Ripley and I will be delivering the final pieces of furniture to Bellevue. Our final building inspection is on Monday, and, our phones arrive on Tuesday, and our final Board of Health inspection is on Wednesday. Then we're excited to swing our doors open to our first guests on Thursday!

8 Days Before Bellevue Opening

2009-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Of course, it's pouring rain the day we decide to put up our temporary banner - but there it is! Now we're opening on March 13th (and no, you're not the first one to notice that it's a Friday the 13th - but thanks for worrying on our behalf). Thank you Mitch and Darryl for climbing up on the roof. And as part of the more glamorous part of her role, Kate had to run out this morning to buy bricks to weigh down the bottom of the sign.
Thanks the Tait (who I somtimes call Darren, because of my early onset Alzeimers) of Seattle Computing and his brilliant colleagues, our 54 inch flat screen can play Wonder Woman (as promised for our March Chick Flick Thursdays), and we have an internal and external network connection stuff going on (to use the technical terms). We'll be able to check in our guests and they'll be able to connect to our WiFi network and email from their pedicures - if they choose to that instead of dozing off after a glass of wine (licnese still pending!) and a neck massage.

Jennifer and Chris - we LOVE the gi-normous walnut ledge behind the front desk. And Chris - you are a genius because Darryl was worried about how it would mount - but of course you had thought of that already.

Katie and I put up the FREE MANICURES sign this morning - and our love affair with our Studio SC gang deepens with each project - even 2 hour turnaround ones where we don't give you basic information like dimensions. Thank you Alli and JJ!

To extend or not to extend Staycation?

2009-03-04T22:09:00.000-08:00

Of course, the answer is to extend! Through May 28, to be exact.

Because our guests have DEMANDED it (some gently, some not so gently).

And, to be honest, it's one of the few promotions we've offered that is beloved by guests, verniessuers, managers, and parlor hostesses. Usually there's at least SOMETHING a little askew . . .

I think it helped that we sent out a Survey Monkey to our team to ask for input in advance - troubleshooting potential issues before they happened.

And it also helps that it's a fun idea - I LOVE seeing women with lovely hands and toes sip their umbrella drinks.

The benefit of being a small start-up is that we can make these responsive decisions on the fly - we are not locked into a a two year marketing calendar (after we build one, then we'll figure out how locked into it we need to be!).

So for now, we're Staycationing away.

The walls are up and painted in Bellevue

2009-02-21T15:43:00.000-08:00

For all of you who are, along with all of us at Julep, eagerly awaiting the opening of the Bellevue parlor in March - the walls are up and there is color on them! (Thank you AGAIN Wilcox, Hutchison & Maul, Thuma Works and especially Kate MacDonald).

THANK YOU for the overwhelming response - we've sold hundreds of gift certificates and have over 50 appointments on our books already! And we're not even open yet!

This is the wall where our 54 inch plasma screen is going to go. We're playing Wonder Woman in our parlors for our Chick Flicks for March, and Bridget Jone's Diary for April. I just emailed out a survey by surveymonkey for our Mother's Day May movie. If you're interested, please fill it out too! But as Susanne just observed, all the mother's day movies are quite depressing:

“Stepmom” (1998) Susan Sarandon & Julia Roberts

“Freaky Friday” (2003) Lindsay Lohan

“Heartbreakers” (2001) Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt

“The Princess Diaries” (2001) — Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway

"Terms of Endearment" (1983) - Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger

If you have any other ideas, please let us know!

But we're all set for Father of the Bride in June. Why do dads always get to have all the fun?

Board Games

2009-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

I just finished playing Tsuro with my family tonight - a board game that calls itself "The game of the Path." Each player puts tiles on the board that connect into a path, and the object is to stay on the board and not let an inadvertant move or another player's move change your path such that you go off the deep end. You have to keep moving forward, no matter where the path may lead. You can shape and connect the path, but ultimately much of the path has been laid and connected by others.

Lessons for my life at Julep abound. To wit: always try to keep all the paths and potential paths in view so you can make the best choices. (Of course, I got knocked off the board twice by my spouse tonight - but managed to survive my seven-year old). Strategy is all about seeing ahead, and not being blinded by satisfaction of the immediate next move. Keep moving forward, making the best moves you can through the criss-crossing maze of options. And try not to be beaten by a seven-year old.

I've also enjoyed playing Blokus with my son. The object of the game here is to take over as much of the board as possible with your color pieces, and leave as little space as possible for your opponent. While I don't think of the world is as being as zero-sum as the Blokus board, this game still MAKES YOU THINK. The first few moves feel just like building a start-up in the first days. As you stretch out and take up as much of the board as possible, each move is exhilerating - anything is possible, each step builds momentum and feels like a bridge to victory. The last few moves feel like navigating through a tough economy - thinking hard about where to put your limited resources, what will make the largest impact, how to conserve your space while still going for the ultimate goal.

Of course, the ultimate lesson is that it's fun and energizing to engage with the people I love - over a gameboard or anything else. And maybe that I should stop drawing work-related lessons from a game board. . .

But if you have kids around age 7, or are in any kind of leadership role in your life, or both, I highly recommend Tsuro and Blokus.

Girlfriend's Glycolic Manicure

2009-02-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

I'm on my third week of doing the Girlfriend's Glycolic Manicure - and what a difference.
Lisa has always said that I'd see more results by doing a series - since skin takes 2-3 weeks to turnover, doing the glycolic treatment weekly really helps to improve the look and feel of your hands.
I'm now an even truer believer. The lines at my knuckles have disappeared - spots are gone and my hands feel baby soft. Even lotion goes on differently - it soaks in immediately.
Since my hands are always dry and scratchy in the wintertime (from cold, and perhaps exacerbated by the fact that I drive around with my car heat on high, blowing right at my hands), it's such a relief.
I've loved getting periodic Girlfriend's Glycolic treatments, but three in a row has made a huge, noticeable difference.
I want to bathe in this stuff - maybe I've got to get Lisa to develop a glycolic wash for guests to take home . . .

Staycation

2009-01-29T20:44:00.001-08:00

Our Staycation special has been amazing! I love seeing women at the front of our parlor, enjoying chips, salsa, and Mike-aritas. I've been thinking about adding a sunlamp next year to this special. I love my sunlamp, but the requirements are so specific (sit 8-12 inches, have it shine in your eyes, better earlier in the day, for 10ish minutes) that I'm not sure how to offer that to our guests.

For now, you're just going to have to enjoy a fabulous deal in a fabulous environment.

Julep All Company Meeting January 20

2009-01-28T07:55:00.000-08:00

We had a great day celebrating our accomplishments and coming up with ideas to delight our guests in 2009 (I love poster-sized Post-its - and we covered our walls with them!). I left with renewed energy and purpose. Thank you Amy for organizing such a fun and productive day for us. Thank you everyone for being honest in sharing your hopes, fears, and most of all, your ideas for how we can do better each day.

Happy New Year

2009-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

I just logged into this blog for the first time in a while, and looked at the header again with fresh eyes, and am amazed by the fact that I might need to rename this blog. It's not about the trials and travials of STARTING Julep Nail Parlor because it's now been over a year and a half since we first opened our doors to our first parlor. We're long past "starting"!

I'm also reflecting all that we've accomplished because we're getting ready for our first all company meeting on Tuesday (apologies to our guests - we will be closed this Tuesday, January 20th while we gather, connect and refelect). We're getting together to celebrate everything we've accomplished together in 2008 and share our ideas for 2009. Here's a slice of what we've done together in just the past twelve months:
· Launched a new menu in March with innovative new treatments like the Girlfriend’s Glycolic Manicure
· Delighted guests with our new “Parlor” level treatments by offering them complimentary nail repair and Julep vernis
· Developed a new manicure table and pedicure ottoman solution that is uniquely Julep’s (and currently being patented)
· Sat in over 100 chairs to find the Steelcase Leap Chair – the new Julep guest chair going forward
· Opened a beautiful new downtown parlor in May
· Opened a beautiful new Gig Harbor parlor in July
· Started offering eyelash extensions
· Raffled off a pair of Manolo Blahniks
· Learned how to spell Manolo Blahnik
· Recruited and welcomed over 20 amazing new team members to Julep
· Hosted our first ticketed Girls Night Out event
· Hosted an amazing Sex in the City Movie screening event
· Developed and offered out guests not one, but TWO Julep branded Salt Scrubs
· Launched a seasonal color palette for the first time this fall
· Hosted hundreds of bridal showers and birthday gatherings
· Welcomed thousands of sisters, girlfriends, mothers and daughters
· Launched our Frequent Filer program
· Improved upon our seasonal Pumpkin and Cranberry treatments – and offered them to our guests again!
· Celebrated our first Service Quality month in June
· Got our license to serve alcoholic beverages to help our guests celebrate special occasions and everyday triumphs at Julep
· Signed a lease to open our fourth parlor in Bellevue
· Launched a new in-parlor signage system –and put up holiday signage for the first time
· Started using our flatscreens to tell the Julep story to our guests
· Added a hot oil and salt scrub experience to our parlor treatments
· Were featured on King 5 news and Komo news – in the same month!
· Helped each other grow and stretch beyond our usual comfort zones each and every day
· And, most importantly, served our guests passionately, making them feel happy and beautiful through over 10,000 appointments

For 2009, I'm thinking hard about how to break down our extraordinary goals into ordinary days. For example, I'm committed to sleeping an average of 8 hours a day, and asking everyone who works at Julep to just keep doing what they are doing so well - each and every day in each and every appointment and task.

We've invented our wheel! We've got to keep learning, improving and growing, but the way we will achieve our dreams is by keeping going what we've got. Just doing our best each day.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of our community and our success. We look forward to continuing to wow you through the extraordinary sum of our ordinary actions.

True Colors Events

2008-12-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

Thank you Travis & Jesse for featuring us on your True Colors Events blog. We love you back - and we know others do too, since you were recently voted “Best Wedding Planner” and “Best Day-of Wedding Coordinator” in Seattle Bride Magazine’s Best of 2008.

What would you expect from a project manager for a Fortune 500 company, and a professional counselor? The most dashing wedding planners in town.

First Girlfriends' Holiday Kickoff Party

2008-12-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

Let the festivities begin! We had a fabulous girls night out at our parlors Thurs Nov. 19/20. (It's taken me a while to post the photos!). Mini-stations of hand massages, paraffin, polish changes and neck and shoulder massage were enjoyed by all. To top it off, we had some amazing bargains that night only. We had so much fun on our end that most of our vernisseurs wanted to do an event like this monthly! So stay tuned.

More Girlsfriends' Holiday Kickoff Party photos!

2008-12-02T06:27:00.000-08:00

Bellevue Here We Come!

2008-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

The lease is signed, and Jeanne, Kate and I went to pick up the keys and put up our signs in our new Bellevue parlor at 221 Bellevue Way (just south of Bellevue Square Mall, across the street from the new Safeway). We're SO excited. This parlor is going to be amazing. It's 1527 square feet - so a little larger than our University District parlor and the first floor of our Gig Harbor parlor, and a little smaller than our Downtown Parlor. Kate and Jeanne met with our technology gurus today to figure out our exciting new media features. We're targeting opening in late February or early March, depending on whether you're talking to me or to Kate.

But we're taking reservations now for bridal showers, birthdays, and other parties. Just reach out to Susie or Susanne at events@myjulep.com.

Also, to celebrate our fourth parlor, we're offering a preopening special: $100 gift cards for just $50 at http://www.myjulepshopping.com/ - just select $100 gfit certificate and use code Bellevue09Mail at checkout (certificates valid at Bellevue parlor only). I can't wait to open our doors! Audrey, we can't wait to welcome you in early March!

Excited about our Girlfriend's Night Out Holiday Parties

2008-11-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

Margot has organzied "Girlfriend's Night Out" parties for us next week - one at each of our parlors - and we've been so excited to the ticket purchases happening! Danielle keeps emailing us that someone else has purchased a ticket online! And another two friends! And another three friends!

It's our first time with this type of event, and all of us are so excited! That's why we keep repeating the word "excited"! And using exclamation marks!!

There's something so immediate and gratifying about online invitations. In case you aren't on our mailing list yet (email me at hello@myjulep.com and let me know!) or your invitation didn't make it to your inbox, here are the details below:

Girlfriend's Night Out
& Julep Holiday Kickoff Party

Downtown Seattle - Wednesday 11/19, 5-8pm
University District - Thursday 11/20, 5-9pm
Gig Harbor - Thursday 11/20, 5-8pm

We invite you and your girlfriends to enjoy
wine & cheese while you sample
a favorite Julep mini-service:

Dress your fingers with a mini-manicure in holiday colors
Clean up with a brow design at the brow bar
Warm up your hands with a paraffin wrap

Only at the party:

We'll "top off" your $75 Gift Certificate purchases and
make them $100 each

20% off all future appointments booked this evening

Check out our new party packages and get
20% off your own Julep Party
(when you reserve the date at this event)

Get a sneak peek at our exciting new
"Ready to Delight" Pre-Wrapped Holiday Gifts

Tickets $25

Purchase tickets for this event online at http://www.myjulepshopping.com/

Space is limited!

Questions? Call 206-818-0607

Loving my happy lamp

2008-11-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

As I type this blog entry, my eyeballs are being hit with happy light.

Because it is grey and rainy in Seattle. And I'm currently in the process of reading Harry Potter to my kids, which feels grey and rainy too.

Also, the happy lamp distracts my attention away from the flickering of the flourescents in our office (although they do nothing to distract from the buzzing of the same).

I think I'm supposed to sit under it for about 10 minutes, but of course it's already an hour and I'm still here, getting happier. It's just like when I ask our vernisseurs to leave on the glycolic peel for twice as long on me when I get the the Girlfriends' Glycolic Pedicure. Lisa frowns upon this practice, but I have thick, fast growing skin. According to my expert self-diagnosis.

Eyelash extensions

2008-11-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

We're starting to offer eyelash extensions at Julep next week - and WOW they are amazing. As a busy working mom, I love waking up feeling glamorous. It takes an initial upfront investment, but now all I do is add lipstick and mascara. And I look JUST like Lucy Liu.

You know how eyebrow shape makes a huge difference? (Although I unfortuantely only learned that AFTER my wedding photos). Eyelashes are the same. Immediate, amazing difference.

It was also awesome to fall asleep (actually drooling and snoring!) while Lisa went to work transforming my short stubby lashes into sweeping curls (using "j" curl, which is more natural looking than the "c" curl).

But I asked Lisa whether my eyelashes were the shortest she'd ever seen, and she said no. Mine were a size 7, and she swears she's seen 6s. But I suspect she says that to everyone.

Anyway, now I'm a size 9. Take that, TMZ.

Now I am obsessed when I look at magazines - trying to spot eyelash extensions (which last up to 6 weeks and look more natural) versus the false eyelashes (which can be more Tammy Faye and are applied for just the evening). E.g: Jennifer Lopez - false eyelashes. Jennifer Aniston - eyelash extensions.

I've never had lashes long enough to worry abut clumpy mascara before! Now I understand why that matters. . .

Thank you thank you Lisa!

Julep Support Center Offices - Transformation to Holiday Workshop

2008-10-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peak at our Holiday Gift Set preparation! I LOVE our earth-friendly ribbon - Recycled and Recyclable, with our elegant-but-cute-as-a-button leaf cluster printed with soy-based ink. I want to send it to Project Runway for someone to make me a dress with it. (But Kate would kill me if any of her holiday goods went missing - as she's clearly laid out in multiple post-it notes throughout the office).

And how about our eyecatching environmentally friendly shopping bags? We've only got a handful of these first edition bags! Someday, I hope to be kicking myself up-side the head for not keeping mine in better condition to sell for huge bucks on Ebay.

Our shared wood-paneled Support Center office is brimming with boxes and boxes of lovely holidy gift set goodies. True to our goal of learning and getting better everyday, our holiday preparation this year was in full swing MONTHS before the "H" word even crossed our minds last year.

Speaking of our Home away from Home (or right next to our homes, for me, Kate and Jeanne), apparrently we've sufficiently aggravated our co-tenant/landlord with all of our clutter that he's banishing us next door - where we will have access to more space and light, but not free heat/water/phones. And, most importantly, we're going to have to leave behind the wood panels. Kate is so excited she can barely concentrate in yoga class.

When I first told Kate where our office was located, she was pleasantly surprised to learn that the building wasn't a front for a porn studio, as her husband had concluded based on the perpetually pulled blinds, the non-descript company name taped inside the window, and the presence of scantily clad women smoking cigarettes outside the back door. (But it just turned out that the building houses a legitmate photo studio that works for local spas - or so we've been reassured).

Anyway, now we will have a room of our own. (That's two literary references in the same month! Reading this blog will make you smarter!).

Our chairs are FAMOUS (on SNL!!)

2008-10-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Marylee emailed me over the weekend to tell me that she saw our orange chairs on a Saturday Night Live sketch - Don Draper's Guide to Picking up Women.

We've seen Vanessa Williams in the sexy white version on Ugly Betty, but not in our Italian leather deep orange.

Come to Julep - sit in the chair that all the stars are sitting in!

My baby sister is getting married

2008-10-09T01:54:00.000-07:00

We're down in California for my baby sister's wedding this week. (This is where I'm totally psyched to have an awesome team at home - especially since after scouring the land for months and months, we finally have some live prospects for a Julep on the Eastside! Thanks Kate and Tracy!).

I love that my sister has found someone who wants to go to the airport as early as she does - especially since she comes from a family where flight times are taken as merely suggestive.

My sister Alice is nine years younger than I am, so I've spent my whole life equippping her with all the tools she needs to be a happy, responsible adult, including mandatory essays on E.M. Forster's Howard's End at age 9. All my life, I've worried about her, pushed her, nagged her, basically did everything my parents did to me that I found as profoundly irritating as it was ineffective.

But I love her such a "big, gi-normous much", as my daughter would say. Being a sister to Alice and my other (already married) sister Jenn has been one of my life's greatest joys. I really love being a sister.

And yes, I used to love making my sisters act out the "Sisters" song from White Christmas. ("Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters . . .").

I once read an article about a pair of sisters who were 98 and 100 respectively, and the 98 year old was still waiting for her older sister to stop bossing her around. I'm just barely perceptive enough to know that this is NOT an appropriate wedding present, but I might try to dig it up for my sisters nonetheless. . .

Beyond "Red State Blue State"

2008-10-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

The whole nation was holding it's breath tonight - and the verdict is in. All the pundits are calling it on every network. Julep's beautiful fall colors are in - deep indigo, true turquoise, rich wines, gun metal grey . . . We're far, far beyond just red and blue.

I'm wearing "Maggie" these days (the first bottle in the row above)- and there's something about beautiful color that just makes me smile. I love that it's colorful but still sophisticated and grown up. I want to bathe in this shade.

After you register to vote (deadline in Washington state is October 4th!), then come pick from our rainbow of colors while you contemplate what you want November 4th.

Going for Cate, ending up Dorothy

2008-09-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

The coolest, and most dangerous, thing on the world wide web today is Instyle's Celebrity Hairstyle tool - where you can upload your own photo and "try on" celebrity hair styles.

But since I look JUST like the Asian model on the top right corner, I chose to use that face instead.

And then I went hairstyle shopping.

I thought I'd like America Ferrera, and I knew I wouldn't like Cindy McCain (is she REALLY a CELEBRITY????). But Cate. Cate was who my hair was on the inside.

After clicking on Cate's hairstyle, I then made it dark, added highlights, tried to add lowlights (but couldn't really figure out the difference) and then pressed print and I was off to the hair salon.

But somehow, when I left, I was not Cate. I was more Dorothy Hamil. Not that I didn't spend most of my childhood channeling Dorothy. (When I wasn't channeling Debra Winger as Wondergirl).

But now I am in my late thirties, a mom of two kids trying not to LOOK like a mom of two kids, and I ended up looking like a cross between a seventies figure skater and a Japenese adolecent boy. Not really sure what is worse . . .

Ah Cate. You are so elusive.

Julep First Ever Family Picnic - Indoors!

2008-09-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

The on again off again rain didn't stop us from gathering with our families for our picnic - we just moved it indoors to the UD parlor! Thanks everyone for staying/coming out/ driving up from Gig Harbor / bringing your spouses and family!! It was so great to have some time to get together! And thank you Amy for organizing the event!

Julep Family Picnic - Indoors!

2008-09-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Getting our jollies from checklists

2008-09-15T23:41:00.000-07:00

I was so excited driving into work today because we were having our first ever seasonal promotion pre-launch meeting. Strange but entirely true - I was so giddy with anticipation that it felt like Christmas morning.

Up until now, we haven't had/haven't had a chance to have prelaunch meetings because I was head of marketing, parlor hostess and parlor manager, so the promotions I dreamed up at 2am only needed to be discussed with Jeanne, printed up in Powerpoint and communicated to our small team in parlor, and we were off and away. Total time from inception to rollout: 7 hours.

Turns out 7 hours notice doesn't really work for 3 parlors.

So even though our awesome fall treatments and vernis colors launch OCTOBER 1 - a full 16 days away - we met as an implementation team to discuss our programs and figure out how to bring them alive in our parlors (using Jeanne's awesome step by step checklist, which gave Kate the goosebumps). Moving from 7 to 384 hours is an over 5000% improvement.

And I love sitting around a table with such smart, passionate, and powerful women. I have the most amazing job EVER.

Suddenly it's fall!

2008-09-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months, we've been getting used to welcoming guests and trying to keep the lightbulbs from going out in three locations across Puget Sound (KBM knows more about 130volt light bulbs than she ever thought necessary . . .).

And suddenly it's fall!

Everybody's babies are bigger (Jeanne and Shari here, Ali & Renata out of state). And some are about to come out to meet us (Danielle - who is conveniently planning to have her baby on September 29th - between processing payrolls).

I'm entering fall with a renewed sense of purpose and excitement for leading Julep to the next level. Our walls are plastered with regional maps - and growing numbers of red stars for where we want to bring Julep next. (Including Bellevue, Kirkland, West Seattle, University Place, Mill Creek, Edmounds . . .).

Right now, I'm excited about:

Doing a better job telling our story! Okay, maybe if you're reading this, you're already immersed in Julep, but we're realizing that a lot of our guests don't realizing that they we're a healthy, non-toxic, ultra-sanitized, community-oriented, responsible place that's perfect for your next party. They just know they're somewhere hip and friendly, with rockstar treatments. That's great - but there's more to us! Yes, it is possible to be both beautiful AND deep!
All the guests who are bringing their celebrations to Julep! September is turning out to be a busier party month at Julep than August was.
Our new Refresh Citrus-Mint Salt Scrub! We have a sample jar in our Julep Support Center offices and I've been using instead of soap to wash my hands - with velvety results after just 2 days.
"Liv" - one of our new fall colors that's a beautiful gun metal grey
Summer finally coming to Seattle
Our amazing teams in all three parlors.

Jennifer on top of Cate

2008-07-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

So I've realized that we can expand our 36 Julep vernis colors to an infinate number if we layer 2 different polish colors. We always do 2 coats of vernis anyway - so now I'm trying to experiment with different variations.

Right now, I'm loving Jennifer (sheer light pink) on top of Cate (opaque neutral beige) - the perfect nude polish for my darker skin.

I was at Gig Harbor today, "helping out" by having Karen practice a Parlor Manicure on me. Yes, it's so hard being me.

Anyway, we tried the Holly (opaque light pink) on top of Hillary (coffee brown), and that didn't work out as well. I had to bail and go straight Hillary, which I had forgotten how much I loved.

Lisa is working on new fall colors - dark neutrals, blues and greys. Stay tuned - more exciting colors and combinations arriving at one of your THREE Julep parlors soon.

Grand Opening Julep Gig Harbor - July 25, 2008

2008-07-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

Opening day! And we were booked with walk-ins! Here's Debbie (Esthetician), Patience (Manager), Monique (Parlor Hostess), Kate (Assistant Manager) and Mary Lee (Operations) at our new front desk!

Jennifer Thuma, you are a genius. We love the front counter displays. Our cuticle oils were made to live on your lovely shelves.

I love how our Gig Harbor location feels like a whole separate building (actually, we only share it with Panera). And the high ceilings are very dramatic. Tom & Kate - I love the firefly lights! the whole space is gorgeous. Tom's idea for the mezzanine was brilliant - we're loving every inch of our new home.

I've kinda been pinching myself the whole week - it's hard to believe we're here - with three parlors open and welcoming guests. The two most thrilling things for me are sharing the passion with our growing Julep team, and having guests leave delighted.

I can't believe it!

Unfortunately, I missed the morning of our Grand Opening because I had to drive down to Olympia to plead our case to the Washington Liquor Control Board. We are applying for a wine license to be able to make it easier for our bridal shower, birthday party, and girlfriends gathering guests to enjoy a glass of wine or champagne with their pedicures and yummy Gourmando appetizers. Everyday, I am doing things for Julep that I never anticipated having to do before in my life. . .

But arriving at Gig Harbor, it was so great to see the energy and enthusiasm (even if it was partially Red Bull induced!).

Lisa and I agree that each immersion we lead together, it just gets easier and better. (Which is why we add additional tasks to her list, like van driver).

I'm so glad to have Patience and Kate at this parlor - I know they are going to do amazing things to welcome the community into Julep.

After Gig Harbor, our goals feel more concrete to me than ever before. This is where Julep is truly leaping off the business plan and into action.

Gig Harbor!

2008-07-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you get to experience Julep Gig Harbor pretty much the way I experienced it, which is that I saw it at the very beginning, then all of a sudden it was finished. THANK YOU Kate, Tom, Jennifer, Mitch, John, Chris, and Mary Lee!

The photos are:

1) Kate putting up the curtains (with Mary Lee's help)

2) Beautiful flowers from Della to congratulate Kate on all of her hard work coming to fruition!

3) Beautiful flowers from Diana Giannoulas' garden (next to stairway up to our esthetics room and breakroom
4) Signage going up! Thank you Danielle and team from Plumb for working with us!

Gig Harbor - From The Beginning

2008-06-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

We have VERY high ceilings at Gig Harbor - which is why Tom suggested a mezzanine. Our first 2nd floor at Julep! So I have to admit, I am cheating - Kate sent me these photos 3 weeks ago . . . but I thought it was fun to post belatedly to give you a sense of the beginning of Gig Harbor Julep. I'm really excited to share Julep beyond Seattle!

Our Anniversary

2008-06-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally getting the pics from our 1 Year Anniversary / Downtown Parlor Opening Party up - because I've just realized I should try to do this at least before we get to our next milestone of having Gig Harbor open (which is just right around the corner!).

Thanks Margot for throwing such a yummy, fun, festive event - just what we all needed!

I've never been very good at pausing to celebrate my own progress - I am much better about it for others. Being a parent helps - I'm much better at recogizing and celebrating milestones with my children than I am at recognizing and celebrating my own.

But what I've realized is that it is selfish not to pause to be proud of all we've accomplished - because I should not be modest on behalf of the hard work of others. I did not do this alone, so I have no right to be modest alone. All of us (including myself) who have worked so hard should be shouting our accomplishments from the mountaintops. Or at the least from obscure blogs that only a dedicated mother-in-law could love and read with regularity.

Hooray US!!! A continued happy anniversiary everyone, and here's to many, many more.

Jane

Here are our beautiful Parlor Managers . . . and our beautiful Parlor Managers to be . . .

Gel Buste Sulimant Effet Tenseur

2008-06-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

I haven’t written much over the past month – mainly because I’ve been struggling earnestly, and somewhat painfully, with growing and being better in my role – which has had the unfortunate side effect of causing a general sense of humor failure.

All of this was cured miraculously this morning when I went to grab my Decleor moisturizer sample that Trish, our Decleor rep, gave me last week. She said she had the perfect thing for me – just what I needed. And what I needed this morning was a little pick me up. Coffee and a burst of essential oils seemed to be just the thing.

But the moisturizer was a little more gel-like than I remembered. After rubbing it all over my face, I picked it up to read the instructions, which started innocently enough with: “Apply using circular movements” but, rather unexpectedly, ended with: “. . . avoiding the nipple area.”

I read it 3 times. Was this one of those strange translation errors you see when traveling abroad, like: “Teeth extracted by latest Methodists” or “It is recommendations leave your values at the front door.”

Nope. Turning the bottle over, I realized that I had doused my face with “Perfect Scupt: Gel Buste Sulimant Effet Tenseur” or “Bust Beautifying Toning Gel.”

Hmm. The “perfect” thing for me.

Yes, I have birthed two children, and, as Murphy Brown once said to Quantum Leap guy, “Contents may have shifted during flight.”

But really. I mean. Really.

On the bright side, my “C” cup cheeks have never been perkier.

Manolos and Sex And City Movie

2008-05-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

I’m so excited about the Sex And the City Movie!

I’m going to try to hijack our bookgroup into becoming a movie group for the month. (After all, we are more free form these days – we’re reading some macrobiotic food article and Michelle is cooking us a macrobiotic meal tomorrow).

In anticipation, I just bought my first pair of Manolos today! Even though they’re not mine, it was thrilling. They are all feathery and elegant.

Anyone who comes into Julep for a pedicure before June 13^th can enter to win the Manolos, and 4 tickets to the Sex And The City Movie. We’re also playing Sex And the City in our parlors (still so exciting to write “parlors” in plural!) this month. I'm going to send out an e-mail newsletter later tongiht, and trying to figure out what acronym to use (SATC? S&The City? S&TC?) so that we don't get filtered out as inappropriate content.

We had some friends over for a barbeque this weekend, and the guys were all predicting that the movie would not be good. I can’t imagine what it would take for me not to enjoy this movie (leaky roof right above my seat?).

Our New Downtown Parlor is Now Open!

2008-05-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

Since last I wrote, we have:
· Opened our beautiful new downtown parlor (and the last of our furniture - for the reception area - arrived today!).
· Celebrated our first mother’s day - at both parlors!
· Submitted for permitting for our new Gig Harbor location.
· Eaten dozens of Top Pot doughnuts (okay, that’s mostly ME)

I feel about our second parlor the way I felt about our second child – having our first child made us parents, having our second child made us a family. It was the tipping point where the whole became a stronger separate entity that I felt a stronger, separate responsibility to define, grow and nurture (aside from the parental obligations of nurturing each individual child).

This has made my role more familiar, but in a bittersweet way. Over the past year, I have loved being the one who solves everything directly – from tropical temperatures and lighting outages all the way through financing and strategic planning.

But we now have a talented cadre of managers, who are doing the day to day doing. Angelina is trouble shooting the tropical temperatures and slow booking software. Amy and Patience are recruiting, and Anna is building the staffing schedules and creative new programs like the Night of Amore (teaching couples how to do foot massage). And it’s hard to complain about not being the one to open at 7:30am and close at 9:30pm (thank you guys!!!).

As Jeanne and Kate keep reminding me, my role now is to support this talented crew, define what success looks like at Julep and help them achieve it – so they can, in turn, to do the same inside each parlor with our talented team of estheticians and vernisseurs. Both Jeanne and Kate are great at anticipating our team’s needs. Kate says that she loves it when she has a plan that works. That’s how she gets her work highs. Jeanne said she stressed two months ago (updating/writing/directing all of us to write pieces of the manager / parlor hostess / vernisseur operating manuals) so she’s not stressing now (except about having her baby, which should happen THIS WEEK if all goes well!).

I’m really excited about the opportunity to focus a little more on figuring out where we’re headed as a whole, and who we want to be as a collective entity.

Thoughts of our first, founding parlor

2008-05-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

As we open the doors to our new downtown parlor, I’m really overwhelmed by how much we’ve accomplished at our first, "founding parlor" in the University District. We’ve now made our guests just a little more relaxed and glamorous over 14,000 times in amazing manicures, pedicures, esthetics treatments and massages.

If it wasn’t for the amazing team who built Julep from our first harried days of working EVERYTHING out on the fly, we wouldn’t be where we are today (operating as smooth as glass in our new parlor on our very first day!).

So an enormous thank you to everyone who was a part of the first, founding parlor in our first, founding year: Amy, Anthony, Arlene, Hadassah, Jeanne, Karri, Kate G, Lisa, Marika, Mae, Michelle, Summer, Danielle, Audrey, Tracey, Margot, Megan A, Megumi, Jessica, Ali, Keaomee, Leah, Shannon, Erin, Patience, Kate M, Anna, Thu, Rosemary, Mary Lee, Jesse, Jaimie, Tara, Quynh, Xenia, Phoebe, (and our “newbies”: Becky, Dawn, Megan B. and Susie too!).

You have each made unique contributions to Julep and have helped us to grow in countless ways. I will always be grateful to you.

The weekend before . . .

2008-05-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our new "firefly" lights. (Thank you Tom!).
Here's Kate, hard at work steaming drapery.

And our new Julep vernisseurs, practicing (and receiving!) our Julep Parlor Pedicure during our five day Immersion program. (There's Kate G on the end, hard at work on our opening e-mail campaign while being a model!). Being with this terrific crew was like drinking five lattes - just crazy energizing! And here's the retail display Angelina created, on the beautiful piece designed by Jennifer and built by Chris.

And here's our "To Do" list! More and more tasks getting crossed out. . .

Just two days until we open our new downtown parlor! We just finished our third week-long "Julep Immersion Program" - with new vernisseurs, parlor hostesses, and Evelyn (our new esthetician) from both our Unviersity District and Downtown parlors. I always love immersion - it's inspiring to be so face to face with such enthisuasm and dedication.

Then, on Wednesday, our beautiful client service chairs arrived (orange leather!). And on Friday, our pedicure ottomans arrived along with one manicure bar, and on Saturday, the manicure carts and other manicure bar.

Although we had to go several rounds with Qwest, our DSL and phone lines are connected (there was apparently some confusion about whether we just wanted jacks installed, or whether we wanted jacks installed AND turned on. FYI you have to specify the latter . . .).

This parlor opening is actually turning out to be so much more nervewracking for me than the first time around. The first time, we didn't have a reputation at stake. But because our original crew did such an amazing job at our Northcut location, I now feel like we have high expectations to meet.

But we are working hard to meet them. For example, this time around, we not only know how to do credit card processing, but it is integrated into 2 POS terminals that have been set up (properly) and tested and retested. Mary Lee even figured out how to set up our bar code scanner!

Besides, as Yoda says in "Revenge of the Fifth" (as my daughter calls it), the fear of loss leads to the dark side ("Beware the dark side. Strong it is"). This is also a message given to the Avatar (the Nickelodeon series my son and husband are obsessed with). To reach the Avatar state, Ang has to let go - and not fear loss.

Loosely translated to the manicure/pedicure/skincare business, I think this means that we should focus on the positive vision of what we want to be in the future, not fearful of losing the ground we are standing on today. Although we wield nail vernis brushes instead of light sabers, we need to vanquish fear and let the force guide us.

Finishing touches

2008-05-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our new, high manicure bar! Such a cool spot.
Now it's Kate and Mary Lee. What a dynamic duo.

Lisa, taking a break from polishing color palattes to text her sweet husband?

And here's the work!

Friday - T-3 days

2008-05-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Lynda and Kirk sitting in our beautiful orange leather chairs.
Gourmando fed us with yummy boxed lunches! The curried lamb gyro was amazing.

Amy hard at work polishing!

And Ripley - whose name comes up with alarming freqency in Jeanne's e-mails directing us on how to set up our technology.

Julep Downtown - Coming Together!

2008-04-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

We passed our inspection today! (Thanks Kirk & Mitch from Wilcox!!).

Our general inspection was delayed because we initially failed our fire inspection because our strobes or horns or both were not powerful enough, so we had to get our electrician back to change the wiring, but the fire alarm guys did not show up as planned yesterday to test the system, so we were flying blind in our general inspection. And that's not the half of it.

It's amazing how many details have to come together for us to open! Amy has been interviewing and hiring up a storm on the vernisseur front. Kate M. has been managing dozens of suppliers, bringing doughnuts where possible. Mary Lee has been hitting every store in Seattle, shopping for vernisseur baskets, trash cans, office supplies, mirrors, benches and more (while also working as a parlor hostess!). Jeanne orchestrated all of this to work by stressing about it months ago, and Lisa has been preparing for immersion. Lisa, Kate G and Angelina have been preparing training materials, and Angelina and Lisa have been working on our retail products. And Danielle's been making sure our suppliers are paid, while Anna and Patience are continuing to support and nourture our first parlor.

WOW.

LOTS of hard work has gone into bringing the Julep experience to more women. And just tonight, a group of businesswomen walked by our new parlor and started dancing in excitement. (We're not even making that up, either!). That guest excitement is what makes this all worthwhile!!

Slice of life

2008-04-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am working on:

- Getting 2 investors their documents to sign
- Getting together with my broker, Tracy Cornell, for our weekly drive around to look for new locations
- Figuring out what to do about a location on the East Side
- Coordinating getting decals on our windows downtown
- Finishing writing our front desk new menu training (which we're holding Sunday night, for exciting new menu that will be launched on Tuesday)
- Having lunch with Scott Staff and a colleague of his at Purple
- Checking in with Kari and Jennifer at Marketing Alchemist
- Checking in with Kate G for our weekly one on one
- Figuring out how to implement our call center (and purchasing the phones we need to do that)
- Looking at our Immersion Binder to figure out what we need to add to make it better
- Hopefully accepting delivery of the first batch of our new menus!!!
- Taking my mom out for her birthday!

Chris at Dovetail

2008-04-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here's Chris at Dovetail, who's building our new transaction plane, manicure bar table, sink cabinets, and, most incredibly, an awesome all-in-one manicure table / drink table / purse holder / pedicure cart solution. All designed by the crazy talented Jennifer Thuma - with lots of live input from all of our team, but especially Amy and Lisa. Thank you Chris, for working so hard on our project - and for weathering all our constant changes and occasional tears.

Flooring is in!

2008-04-12T13:45:00.001-07:00

Weekly Manager Meetings

2008-04-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a teeny picture of the interior wall turned gun-metal grey (from Kate's phone camera). And the rest of the walls painted buterry.

And the new parlor is not the only thing that's been moving forward in leaps and bounds!

We now have an official Julep Manager Resource Guide, 2008, which pulls together all of the information, tools and processes we've been developing over the past 10 months. We've been taking some time each Wednesday to meet with the manager teams from our first parlor, and our new downtown parlor (and one new location that we'll announce soon . .. ).

For those of you who have been at the parlor, wondering what the heck all the "Manager Meeting" blockouts are for, here's the inside look.

Over the past few weeks, we've been sitting in rather uncomfortable (but free!) chairs in our Support Center office, taking the time to pull together, improve and share everything we know about how to support you better. In particular, we've covered the PURPOSE, and HOW-TOs of:

- Strengthening and Sharing Julep's Mission and Values

- Delivering Memorably Outstanding Customer Service

- Staff Development, Management and Career Paths

- Optimizing Parlor Performance

- Cash Management

- Inventory Management

- Facilities Management

Jeanne created an tabbed binder that breaks down each of these areas into "Daily," "Weekly," and "As Needed" responsibilities. Then we have the specific goals, metrics, tools, reports, processes and forms in each relevant section. (I was her hole puncher and binder organizer, and I was so amazed by all the rich material! And my hand hurt by the end). It's all what each team makes of it, but we were trying our hardest to enable smoother, more predictable expectations going forward - especially as we launch additional parlors.

We've also had great debates about what Julep IS (passion for touch, job that feeds your soul, passion for the environment, growth, opportunity, openness to be creative, openness to new ideas, team work, customer service driven, excited, asking instead of telling, accountabiltiy, integrity, honesty, authenticity, walking the talk, pride in our work), what Julep IS NOT (first one out the door, dispassionate, artificial (nails or personality), soley money motivated, selfish, "solo artist," chop shop, "because I said so").

And then we've created and shared staffing tools (where I got to dust off my advanced excel skills), goals and metrics. We've created a mentorship program for new team members, as well as a new immersion program.

I'm so proud of what we are today - but it's exciting to think about what we're going to be a month from now.

Of course, it's frightening. We're about to more than double in size. And we're thinking explicitly about how to do this while preserving what is great about our culture and work environment, and strenghening it in areas where we needed to develop.

Like therapy, I think it's powerful to name and detail out our fears. They are justified! And only then we can plan around how to avoid these potential pitfalls.

Fireplace - Now you don't see it, Now you do!

2008-03-27T14:18:00.001-07:00

Here's Jennifer measuring for the sink cabinet, and notice the hole where the fireplace is going to go in . . . and then it's suddenly in! Kate M. also captured on film a rare moment where I'm actually making Kirk smile, not cry. This week, Mitch had in his weekly notes item 4.11: "No more changes."

Now Mitch, I've watched all the design shows, and Opening Soon by Design (when it was on), and it seems to me that we're very light on changes compared to the average Restauranteur (at least the ones who land on reality TV, anyway).

But we will try harder to limit our creative expression from this point forth.

This week was the first time the Downtown parlor seemed truly real to me.

Maybe it was the fireplace going in.

Real Parlor Games

2008-03-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Lisa (our most excellent New Products and Training Manager), just presented me tonight with a book that she and her husband Mike found antiquing this weekend (yes, yes, she admits it is "nerdy" to antique). It's called, "Parlor Games," by Helen Hollister, published in 1922.

It's full of brilliant exercises. I actually really love parlor games (it wasn't just a convenient name for my blog). Board games, charades, pictionary, bridge, you name it. I'm on a quest to amass enough social power to be able to force people to come to my dinner parties and pretend that they love these games as much as I do.

Here's a perfect example from page 35:

SLANDER

"One player goes from the room, while the leader, providing himself with pencil and paper, writes down all the remarks uttered by each member of the party, in turn, concerning the absent party." (JP: But it gets even better).

"He, being then recalled, the remarks are read to him while he endeavors to guess the names of the originators. If he succeeds in tracing a remark to its source, the person having uttered it must go from the room to be slandered in turn."

Now look me in the computer screen and tell me that this wouldn't have added an exciting spark to your last gathering.

Perfect for weddings, birthdays, and corporate gatherings!

T Minus Seven Weeks

2008-03-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

The temporary sign is up outside our new downtown parlor! (Thanks Keith and Kate!). And Danielle & Lucy, who modelled for the photo in the sign.

And drywall is starting to go up, as Kirk points the way.

We've got LOTS of plugs in the manager office, Jeanne! So you can plug in your laptop AND your breast pump.

At seven weeks before opening (May 1st!!), my internal panic alarm has started going off. I think this is the point at which, last time, I had to abandon luxuries like time to shower.

But I'm so lucky that I've got such amazing people with me this time.

"Don't worry," say Amy, Anna and Patience, as we plan our recruiting events.

"Don't worry," says Kate M, who's keeping us on track on our downtown buildout.

"Don't worry," says Kate G, as she comes up with one awesome party offering idea after another.

"WORRY!!!" says Jeanne. But I'm chalking some of that up to the fact that she's having a baby in May, just as we open downtown. And I think she's trying to do everything she can to have us not calling her up in the Labor & Delivery Ward.

Speaking of babies, we're eagerly awaiting news of Shari's baby.

And I got an e-mail from Margot titled "Resurfacing" yesterday. She's seeing her oncologist tomorrow, but is recovering like a hero.

We have so much to be grateful for!

Congratulations Brune and Richard

2008-03-17T00:55:00.001-07:00

Last week I traveled to New York for some meetings with prospective and current investors, and I invited myself to Brune & Richard's 10th anniversary party.

Brune & Richard is a boutique law firm started by smart, thoughtful, funny, amazingly dedicated women. (So smart, in fact, that several of them are Julep early investors and supporters - but I'd truly admire them regardless).

It was inspiring to see how B&R grew its practice - from the five lawyers they were five years ago, when I first met them through my friends Theresa and Nina, to the over twenty they are today on both coasts of this country.

I wish that all young lawyers, and especially young women lawyers, could have had a peek at this celebration. They would have seen a line of glamoristas who are living engaging professional and personal lives. The four women partners have built an exciting practice while being spouses to lovely men and mothers to lovely children. And boy, can they dance.

I wish I could have seen this fifteen years ago, when I was graduating from college. But I'm inspired by seeing it today.

My 100th Post!!

2008-03-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

So it turns out this is my 100th post. Hooray!

Yes, it might have felt like SOO much more (because of the ginormousness of the pearls of wisdom or the tediousness of the sharing of the same, depending on what side of bipolar you're on at any particular time).

I think the Washington State Liquor Control Board should give me a special license to serve champagne in the parlor in honor of this achievement. (Hint hint).

So here we are, in Week 3 of construction, deciding fairly last minute to tear away the red wall - and finding - hooray! that we have an additional 10 inches on top of the 5 that we were hoping to get. Apparently the wall was furred out. (I'm not sure if it's furred or firred, but I love the idea of a fuzzy, furry thing so I'm going to spell it furred until someone at Home Depot tells me otherwise).

Kate felt strongly that we had to do this, after simulating the width of the space between the manicure table and the reception counter. There are a lot of things in the world making us feel less than ideal in terms of the size of our waists - the walkways at Julep shouldn't be one of them.

So, we asked Kirk and Tom about it. They give us an estimate for the cost of doing this that seems to justify the square footage we'll recover, and then Tom wonders what's behind the wall. Kirk gets out his saw, cuts a hole in the wall, and finds out that there's nothing electrical and funky - it's actually just more space!

I love being able to have concrete answers to concrete problems that can be solved by Kirk's tools.

Margot's Becoming a Breast Cancer Survivor Today

2008-03-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

Our Margot is going in for surgery today to remove the cancer that she's been fearing all her life would show up in her body.

At 1pm (and for the 5 hours afterwards!), let's all send her our best healing thoughts.

I've always admired Margot's ability to plow through any problem with her matter-of-fact get-it-done energy and razor sharp sense of humor. The magnitude of this challenge, and how she's working through it, has just underscored this admiration.

We've all given our input into the size / shape of her future "tah-tahs" (as she calls them) - Jeanne thinks they should be lit from within. To symbolize her spirit, of course.

Margot has been a faithful self-examiner, and luckily caught the signs of BC early on. Please be faithful in your self-exams and encouraging the girlfriends/moms/sisters in your life to do the same.

We're going to have a huge party for Margot at Julep to celebrate her strength and resiliency. Whether strength is a choice or not (and I think for moms with young children it often isn't!) - it's still amazing and inspiring.

All our love and best, positive energy Margot!

Jane

I am not perfect

2008-02-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

One of my mentors has a habit of ending almost every conversation I have with him by saying, “Look, I know you’re not perfect.”

He first said this to me when I was just out of law school, desperately looking for any job outside of the profession for which I’d prepared for three years. “Look, I know you’re not perfect,” he said, as he handed me my offer letter to work for The Boston Consulting Group.

I was mortified. I took this to mean, “Look, we’re hiring you because it’s 1997, and all the business school students we really wanted to hire are foolishly joining the internet gold rush (where most of them will suffer and perish, as the original prospectors did in the 1850s), so we’re digging at the bottom of the barrel and we’re left with you. And you’re not perfect, but you’ll do.”

When I started work, I took pains to dodge him in the hallways, taking the long way around so as to avoid passing by his office. After all, he had called me on my secret from the get go.

But despite my best efforts, the day finally arrived when I had to work on a project with him. The toughest SVP in the office. The guy who was reported to be able to reduce even inanimate objects to tears.

I worked harder and exhaled less than I ever had before in my life. No matter how pretty we made things (“Look! Look! Three-dimensional bubble pie charts showing the size, potential, and fit of each market segment with the market share of our client and each of its eight competitors highlighted in different colors!”), he was never impressed.

Because, as I learned the hard way, my job was apparently about something other than impressing him with my mastery of powerpoint and the topic at hand. It turned out that it wasn’t really about me at all – it was about the clients who needed us to help them figure out what really mattered and what to do about it. “D’oh!”

I worked differently after that – and it was much more fun to truly engage with others in fixing a problem than worrying about whether I looked like an idiot. The quality of our work reflected my newfound sense of purpose – so I was surprised when, during my evaluation, I was again reminded, “But look, you’re not perfect. Are there things you could do better? Yes.” There must have been some affirmations that preceded the revisiting of my imperfections, but I can’t recall what they were.

Sometime later, as I sat down with this mentor to tell him that I was leaving BCG to move to Seattle, he was generous, gracious and wise. He empathized with the challenges of loving a job that required so much travel and time away from our families. But I have to admit that I was distracted by the drinking game-like challenge of waiting for the magic words to appear in our conversation. And appear they did. “Are you perfect? Of course not. But I think you could have a bright future here.” I had to smile to myself in hearing these now familiar words.

This same mentor is now an investor in Julep, one of the first people to believe in the vision and my ability to make it happen. Just the other day, I confessed to him that I was paradoxically feeling more and more stressed with each milestone we passed. Now there’s more at stake, something to lose, people counting on Julep in many different ways.

He had a different view. “Look, are you perfect? No. But now you've got a business with some appeal, so you’re in better shape than you were last year, and I figure that you’re going to do a better job than most of the people out there in this space.”

People talk about damning with faint praise, but it turns out that you can also profoundly reassure with the same.

Here is someone whose voice continues to strike such terror in my heart that I have been known to physically fall out of my chair at the sound of it. And he’s been VERY CLEAR on the fact that he is aware of my flaws. And yet.

Now I understand his insistence of my imperfections as a grounding credibility booster. This guy doesn’t blow smoke. Not even the smallest puff. So his vote of confidence matters. Its weight is not compromised by false compliments handed out willy nilly.

And what a relief not to have to waste precious energy on the impossible project of appearing perfect. This has been a huge gift.

Of course, one might observe that there might be kinder, more direct ways of establishing such credibility and trust.

But look, he’s not perfect.

Downtown Parlor: The Pre-Beginning

2008-02-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

LEFT: Here it is, T minus 9 weeks and counting. Unfortunately, the coffee bar and computer monitors have yet to be cleared, but they're supposed to disappear this week. . .

BELOW: As will the gold lame wall paper and colorful wall decoration.

We're excited about all the windows and natural light! And great drive by and walk by traffic. And the sexy woman on the side of the building looking up the street.

But mostly I'm excited about the proximity to Banana Republic and the newly opening Aldo shoes.

Thanks Kate MacDonald for measuring the windows to send to Keith (who's covering for Shari, our brilliant Creative Director who's about to have her baby ANY day now!). And for taking these pictures. In this, and many countless ways big and small, we're a better Julep with you.

I'm also so thrilled to welcome Anna and Rosemary - two amazing vernisseurs who contribute as much to our culture as they do to making guests hands and feet beautiful. Every time I think that our team can't get any better - I'm proven wrong.

Jury Duty Last Week

2008-02-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Monday 2/11: 10am. Panic after call from husband reminding me I had jury duty this week. I locate my form - it says I should be there by 8:30am. OMG I am going to go to jail because I didn't show up. . .

Monday 2/11: 10:23am. Race into juror assembly room at the Seattle Municipal Court House. Haven’t decided yet whether to fess up about overlooking the date, or to make up some elaborate excuse involving terrorist, axis of evil, etc. But no need to decide – because it turns out I’m 22 hours early, not 2 hours late. Jury duty starts tomorrow.

Tuesday 2/12: 8:30am to 2:00pm: I love doing my civic duty! Comfortable waiting room and free tea and WiFi – I’m getting through my entire inbox while being a good citizen.

Tuesday 2/12: 2:30pm: But now I’m actually selected to be on a jury in a criminal case – despite the fact that, during voir dire, I give a botched definition of assault after admitting that I used to be a lawyer (I think I spent most of Criminal Law writing notes to Ali). And we’re brought to the 10th floor – with no WiFi, and no cell phones.

Wednesday 2/13: Spend the entire day in the jury box – and out of touch with Julep (believe it would be rude to be on cell or laptop while in the jury box. Didn’t ask our lovely bailiff about that for sure (there are plugs in the jury box . . .) but I’ve never seen that happen in a movie).

Thursday 2/14: Drop off red blankets for Valentine’s Day at Jeanne’s house for her to bring to the parlor. Then off to deliberation. Wow we deliberate for 7 hours. I’m so inspired by my fellow jurors. We work through the evidence, read the jury instructions over and over, and walk through each juror’s concerns one by one. We’re all VERY different, but there is something about this civic duty thing that pulls us together and creates an instant bond. And our foreman is amazing. Such a natural leader – able to pull each of us into the conversation, bring out common themes, and challenge weak assumptions without challenging the individual putting them forward. We start off with very different opinions, but gradually come to consensus and then unanimity. I’m really in love with the idea of community, in all its forms.

By now it’s been two fully days in a row that I’ve been out of touch with Julep – and lots of progress has been made by all while I've been celebrating the judicial process with my fellow jurors.

It’s a little distressing that practically every investor I speak with asks me what would happen if I got hit by a bus (and I suppose they’re not asking what kind of flowers they should send). But I am always amazed by the community we have working on building a Julep we can all be proud of. It’s taking a village, and I’m loving that.

Commitment to optimism

2008-02-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Starting – and growing – a company like Julep is a journey in optimism. Everyday, I have to ask myself what I believe in, what I care about, and where I draw the line. Everyday I recommit to building a community that brings out the best in our guests and employees.

I am amazed the diversity of challenges we face daily. From our online cash drawer deciding to play hide and seek, to financing, malfunctioning equipment and the inevitable communication issues that arise when you’re growing quickly, I am stretching organizational and emotional muscles that I didn’t even know I had (which is WAY more than can be said for my nonexistent physical muscles . . .).

We are surely not the first, nor will we be the last, group of people to face such challenges. I’ve learned, for example, that schlepping laundry in taxi cabs across the city is par for the course for spas.

But I’m hopeful that we’re different in the way we address these hurdles. With honesty, engagement, and a commitment to making things better for each other in the future.

These were just ideas until the team came along. Now they are actual faces.

I’m learning that building hope together, even in our own small corner of the universe, is a huge responsibility. I am mindful of how fragile trust can be, and how easily miscommunication or lack of clarity can overwhelm the best of intentions.

But I’m also reminded, each day, of how powerful optimism can be, especially when it’s fought for and earned.

I recognize that this earnest pursuit of betterment is killing my ability to engage in cocktail banter. I'm losing my lawyer's ability to deliver cynical zingers from the sidelines. It may also be killing my ability to write in anything other than Oprah-ese. But we’re worth it.

Means vs. Ends

2008-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

I've always been a goal-oriented, ends-focused kind of gal.

But now, more than ever, I'm realizing how important it is to pay attention to the means - the processes and organzation that support our goals.

As we grow, the WAY we do things is becoming as important as WHAT we are trying to do. The way we do things holds as much meaning in defining who we are as what we are trying to accomplish.

This is hard for me.

As Jean Koh Peters, one of my law school professors, once told me, our strengths are the flip side of the coin of our weaknesses. (I think this is a really helpful way to see the world. Our weaknesses are not random holes to be patched - they are often alternate manifestations of the things we're good at).

My strength is my ability to imagine and build a path to an end goal. But my related weakness is my inability to see the path as a goal in and of itself.

As we build Julep as a community - both for out guests and for employees, I am trying to be mindful of the HOW as well as the WHAT. I'm hopeful that this will make me a stronger, more thoughtful human being in other aspects of my life.

Julep - coming to downtown Seattle

2008-02-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been a long time since anything new has appeared on this blog. But it's not for lack of exciting developments at Julep!

We had a very busy holiday season - hosting at least one party a day all through December. Thank you to everyone who celebrated the holidays with us. We loved being part of your special gifts and gatherings. (One of my favorite holiday stories is that we had one mother who bought a gift certificate for her daughter, and the next day, that same daughter came in to buy a gift certificate for her mother! And then they both came in together in January).

And last week we signed the lease for this spot in downtown Seattle at 5th and Pike - next to Betsy Johnson and diagonally across the street from Banana Republic (as well as the new Aldo store). By summer, all women downtown will have their own place to "Julep".

We've also opened our Support Center at the top of Queen Anne Hill. We're sharing office space with JS Backer Company (thank you thank you Fred!) - which has meant that we've been able to move all of our Julep inventory out of my house. (Unfortunately, I hit my husband's new car in the excitement of the move. . . but it's not that big a scratch, so net-net, I believe he's happier).

For those of you who keep checking back into this blog - thank you for hanging in there. I just realized the other day that it's been over a year of entries. This blog has helped me to get through ups and downs bigger than I could ever have imagined - and many more of them in any given day than I could ever have anticipated.

And I'm sure there are many more to come. But the biggest difference between now and last year is that there are so many more amazing individuals on this boat with me. I'm absolutely sure that there is no better team to accomplish what we're setting out to do than the creative, dedicated and passionate people I have the good fortune to work with.

Julep's First Snow

2007-12-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

Reported by Kate.

Starting as we mean to go on

2007-11-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

We had our second ever “Julep Immersion” program last week – and we now have more than doubled our team. It’s very exciting to have such talented, warm, and amazingly professional vernisseurs and parlor hostesses join us.

Pulling together the Immersion program and accompanying materials, I had to pause and reflect on how much my theory of nurturing a corporate new-born shares with my beliefs in nurturing a human new-born.

In both, the first few weeks are purely about survival. Sleep is a luxury, not a right. Showering is optional, coming as it does, at the expense of aforementioned precious sleep.

When you emerge from this period (hopefully mostly in tact), then you begin the audacious task of creating your identity, who you are, in this new role.

One useful piece of advice that I got from an otherwise insufferable book called “The Baby Whisperer” is that one should “start as you mean to go on”. Meaning, if you want your baby to be able to fall asleep on her own, you should start out that way – putting her down in her crib to fall asleep.

Having watched countless friends and colleagues struggle to put their five year olds to bed without having to lie next to them motionless in the dark for hours each night, this seemed wise to me.

With our first child, we started as we meant to go on. That is, he was always put down on his own for his naps and at night. No matter how far the relative had traveled to see this baby, rocking him to sleep was absolutely out of the question. Because that’s not how we meant to go on.

Then I had my second, and last child. Suddenly, the world was different. This was the last time I would hold a baby of mine. This was the last time I could comfort a newborn. “Start how you mean to go on” went out the window for “enjoy this as much as you can because it’s never gonna happen again.”

In my Julep world, I am torn between these two philosophies. A good friend of mine advises me to think about the sustainability of all of my practices. “If you can’t write personal hand-written cards to every employee going forward, then should you start out that way?” she questions. “Someday, someone is going to say, ‘She used to write hand-written cards, but now she doesn’t anymore.’” It’s not starting as I’ll be able to go on.

This view of the world reminds me of Harry explaining to Sally that he preferred not to pick up his girlfriends from the airport, because inevitably, he was going to stop doing that at some point, and then he’d have to endure the “You never pick me up at the airport like you used to” conversation. He was a man intent on starting as he meant to go on!

But I believe in trying to be as supportive as possible in the given moment. I want to go to the airport today, and I want to be able to do it for as long as humanly possible. Maybe someday, I won’t be able to, but Sally is one smart cookie (as are the people who work at Julep). Surely, by then, if there’s a good reason for not being able to make it every time, she/they will understand?

The brave souls who joined the first Julep parlor in our first year are going through so much – I feel like we, as a group, should be able to enjoy the upside of being a small, close team because we’re living through some of the challenges of not having a tested infrastructure.

I guess what I’m realizing is that our first parlor is both the first and the last for me – it’s the first, exciting time we’ve brought Julep to life, but it’s also the bittersweet, last time I’ll be able to be there so fully on the ground, helping and seeing every new development each day.

So I’m walking the line – trying to build systems today that will make future parlors easier, while enjoying the uniqueness of what’s happening at this particular parlor today. Trying to start as I mean to go on, wherever possible, but also treasuring what is happening now, as much I can.

Winter Cranberry Manicure & Pedicure

2007-11-12T23:21:00.000-08:00

This week we are rolling out our new Cranberry Manicure and Pedicure services, featuring real cranberries. I’ve only ever used cranberries before in Susan Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish (awesome, by the way – a favorite of Aunt Caroline’s). I didn’t know what I was missing.

The new product and service development process is quite exciting. Nothing ever goes as you expect it to. For example, who would have expected all natural cranberry essential oil to be green? Surprise! But it smells festive, fresh, woodsy and wholesome.

After much research and testing, we’ve finally developed an amazing scrub and ultra-hydrating lotion that we’re excited to share with the world. The scrub features real cranberry seeds, which are just beautiful, delicate and elegant (not to mention moisture-sealing with Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids). It’s like limb art.

This I Believe

2007-10-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

I love the NPR series "This I Believe," and I've had some thoughts (helpful rationalizations?) floating around in my head over the past year that I finally got onto my laptop last night. Lots of times women approach me and ask me how I can do a start up with two young kids and a spouse. For what it's worth, I thought I'd share my reflections on navigating work, family, and my mechanism for coping with the inevitable feelings of inadequacy. I'd love to hear any feedback from any of you on these thoughts.

“Paying the Price”

I believe in paying the price. For a hand-thrown, wood-fire glazed ceramic pitcher, I know that I will have to pay more than for its mass produced acrylic counterpart at Target. And I’m happy to do it, because it’s worth it to me.

Unfortunately, in today’s no hassle, no down payment, no-interest-until-they-foreclose-on-your-house world, it’s hard to remember that everything has a price. In America, “free” is almost as constitutional a right as “freedom.”

But to me, free is always a fishy proposition. I believe there is always a price to be paid for the things that are worthwhile.

This principle holds truest for the things that money can’t buy. It is the price of love, fulfillment and self-respect that I add up each day.

As a partner in a marriage and a mom who works outside the home, I know first-hand the price of my definition of an engaging life. What moms who work for pay share with moms who work inside the home is that we’re all paying a price for the lives we choose to lead. We share in this economy of cost - and pay-off.

In my twenties, I was focused on “having it all,” and I was frustrated. A decade and a half later, I now realize that I don’t really want it all, so not having it is not such a big deal. I want only what is meaningful to me, and I’m willing to earn it and fight for it. I’m laden and tired, but engaged in my life and loving it.

It is a constant struggle to prioritize and attach relative value to the different aspects of my life, but engaging in this conversation is necessary to my survival. Without this economics of value, I would drown in a sea of self-criticism for falling short on every critical dimension. The alternative to a world of recognizing relative value is a world in which one is constantly failing to live up to an impossible standard:

“I’m a terrible mom because I forgot to pick up my son at school on his early closure day.”

“I said the world’s stupidest thing to an important investor.”

“I’m an insensitive idiot who deserves to be shot.”

Unfortunately, these are all real reactions I’ve had to real, real unfortunate events.

I’ve come to realize, though, that against the standard of the organized, perfect earth mother or insightful but steady, ovaries-of-steel businesswoman, I can only but fail. When I look up from literally hitting my head in disproportionate self-flagellation, I can now realize that the question I should be asking myself isn’t one about how far I fall short of the unattainable standard of perfection (answer: VERY). The true question I try to remember to ask myself is, “Is it worth it?”

It’s a very powerful question.

For me, sometimes the answer is yes, many times it’s no, and more times than not, I’m not sure.

But the times it is “yes” are what I think they used to call “character building.” When I can remember that the price I pay for an engaging life is a few balls dropped (and shattered) here and there, I can mourn the dropped balls in proportion the balls that are still arcing gracefully through the air. I can find the strength to forgive myself and put the force of energy with which I used to slap myself upside the head into the more productive goal of trying harder next time.

I believe that seeing and weighing the price of things is absolutely necessary to achieving self-respect, and living a life worth living.

Chocolate chocolate chocolate

2007-10-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

Chocolate is ALWAYS in, but especially lovely in the fall, when the bright pinks of summer seem like a cruel jest. (Lip color branched out from the standard pinks and reds decades ago (thank you MAC!), but nail color has been irritatingly slower to follow). So broaden your horizons and ask for chocolate nails - a top trend for fall - whether the milk chocolately warmth of our "Hillary" Julep Nail Vernis, or the dark chocolately decadence of our "Lindsay".

Even better as part of our Ultimate Chocolate Experience manicure and pedicure - with a luxurious chocolate scrub and ultra-moisturizing chocolate lotion (also perfect for fall!). To complete the experience, you can savor a chocolate truffle or sip a hot chocolate - enveloping yourself in chocolate inside and out.

PVC Free Gift Sets

2007-10-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

Being a start up with limited resources, we just began thinking about holiday gift sets. Yes, major retailers have had their holiday lineups set in stone as of November - last year. But I don't typically get my personal holiday cards out until about Valentine's Day, so this is a major step in the right direction for me.

Anyway, our fabulous new marketing wonder woman, Margot, just e-mailed over some cute bags for the "For My Little Princess" gift set. (Don't worry! We're also putting together awesome giftsets "For my significant other", "For my mom / girlfriend" (who are one in the same for me), and "For my colleague").

ANYWAY. The little flower bag that Margot found has PVC in it, Shari pointed out. And since we're trying to be careful about our environmental footprint and protective of the health and well being of our guests, it turns out that PVC might not be such a great idea. (Read out it here). We're trying to avoid known carcinogens and toxins related to birth disorders. The Seattle Times wrote about avoiding PVC and making "Green" choices for children's toys recently. Some leading retailers are trying to phase out PVC and phthalates in toys.

By the way, our Julep nail vernis formulations are phthalate free (and formaldehyde and toluene free).

And now our gift sets will be PVC free. Thanks to Shari.

Seahawks Wives Event at Julep

2007-10-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

On September 29, we hosted "Funky Girls" - an event organized by Sarah Hasselbeck and Rachel Terrill for six girls undergoing cancer treatment. Each of the girls brought a friend in for manicures, pedicures, and makeup application.

The girls were so fun, funny and inspiring. The best part was watching them be ordinary teenagers - picking polish colors, giggling with their friends, and quizzing the Seahawks wives about the love lives of the various players (flipping through the Seahawks brochure, "Does he have a girlfriend? What about him? And him? Well, does he really like her? I mean, are they going to get married?").

One of our vernisseurs, Tracey, said that she went home and hugged her children a little longer that night. Another vernisseur, Lisa, said that she took her family out for dinner and tried to describe the event and how moving it was. But you sorta had to be there.

The event was covered by King 5 news - click on the link to see the video coverage!

Thank you Sarah for organizing such a wonderful event. It was a privilege to be part of it!

Gratitude

2007-09-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

Today I am grateful for:

An amazing, talented team who are open to growth, and seek to say yes as much as humanly possible;
Warm, funny guests who appreciate our amazing team referenced above;
A working dryer at home, since the one at work doesn't tumble after 3 months and smells of something burning (MAYTAG 2400, in case you're interested - do not buy unless you like your clothes wet);
My health, and the health of loved ones (having witnessed the courage of kids who are battling cancer this week at the “Funky Girls” event organized by Sarah Hasselbeck);
The return of new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty.

The Women, by Clare Boothe Luce

2007-09-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

I’m proud to announce that we’re supporting the new ACT Theatre production, The Women, by Clare Boothe Luce (Running October 11 to November 18).

It’s exciting to see a play with so many juicy parts for women. And look closely at their nails, because they’ll be manicured at Julep!

We’ve been busy over the past month finding and welcoming aboard 3 amazing new vernisseurs to our team (welcome Jessica, Shannon and Ali!).

We’ve also added new, even more comfortable foot rests, and are in the process of integrating memory foam into our seating.

Somehow, the past month has seemed busier to me than any of the other. Partly, it’s the balancing of strategic work (Where should the next locations be? How will we pay for them?) with the day to day (should we test out the more efficient European waffle weave towels?). Partly, it’s the back to school season since we have two young kids.

So if I have my sweat pants on backwards (as I did all day Saturday!) please cut me some slack.

September

2007-09-09T20:09:00.001-07:00

It’s already September!

Over the past two weeks, we have interviewed seven new vernisseur candidates, hired and started our immersion process with two new hires, and prepared to present to the Zino Investment Forum here in Seattle this Tuesday. (Keep your fingers crossed for us!).

Although it’s fall, our reservations have not slowed down. We’ve got as more girlfriend gatherings, birthday parties, baby showers, board meetings, and just pick-me-up appointments scheduled than ever before.

We’re also gearing up for the fall TV season – Ugly Betty Thursdays are on tap for sure – and we’re considering staying open through 10pm so we can watch Grey’s Anatomy together. I’m also very excited about the Bionic Woman. We might have to TiVo that one.

Where should the next Julep be?

2007-08-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

Jeanne and I spent the morning yesterday walking around downtown Seattle, scouting locations for the next Julep.

Finding real estate is like trying to get pregnant. There's only so much you can do to make things happen. The timing of events is less in my full control than I'd like. And you may think you want a boy, or a girl, or a red-head (if you're my in-laws), but really you just want a healthy location (1800ish square foot with frontage onto a high traffic street).

Dear guests, where do you think the next Julep should be?

And if you know of any great locations that are available, or anywhere close to available, please let me know immediately.

In anticipation of finding the perfect location in downtown Seattle or Bellevue, we are hitting the streets doing our second round of fund-raising. Next Wednesday, we present to the Zino Zillionaire forum, where the best non-technology and the best technology investment opportunities will each win a $50,000 investment fund.

I wouldn't have characterized us as "non tech" since we have on-line scheduling, and four computers in the parlor that help keep us at the cutting edge of operations. And I'm not sure what's worse - "non tech" or "low tech", which is how we were characterized at the last investor forum.

In any event, we only have 5 minutes to make our presentation. It's like speed-dating, or the first episode of The Bachelor.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us on Wednesday that we get the rose.

Party for Twenty Eight Women Lawyers

2007-08-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

We hosted a party for twenty eight women lawyers last night - and it was a blast. It looked like the guests had a great time. Nothing like getting some mentoring advice over a pedicure. It was great to see the newbie chatting with the partners and of counsels.

This is EXACTLY the kind of event I'd been hoping to be able to host at Julep. It's exactly the kind of event I would have loved to attend when I was a lawyer. It beats the skirt off of long sporting events and endless rounds of golf.

But we had fun too! The guests were delightful (having had the chance to nibble on yummy food and drink yummy wine - and YES WE HAD A LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THIS PRIVATE EVENT - if you are the Washington State Liquor Board and you're keeping up on this blog!).

On the service side had our system down. Each vernisseur had a two chair "pod", and we created signup sheets for each of the seven vernisseurs. Then we put into place three "goddesses" who helped seat guests, get the polishes, clean up the foot baths, and generally help everyone be where they needed to be.

I have to admit, when I first took the reservation, I was more than a little scared to tell the verniseurs about it - especially since it was initially booked for about forty.

But it was a great evening for woman power all around.

New York Times highlights hazards of chemicals found in most nail salons

2007-08-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

We're finally starting to see more attention and focus on the hazards of the toxic chemicals found in most nail salons (avoided like the plague at Julep).

The New York Times recently highlighted studies that have found that prolonged exposure to toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate has been associated with poor performance on tests of attention, mental processing speed, memory and verbal learning. And children who were prenatally exposed to the compounds these workers use performed worse on tests for cognitive function, language and behavior.

I think of these compounds like second hand smoke at restaurants. It's a nuisance and unpleasant for the casual guest, but much more of a health threat to the person who works in that environment day in and day out.

Women - please stop the madness! Natural nails can be just as beautiful and strong in almost every case as artificial nails - without the health hazards. (Regular use of cuticle oil works miracles).

This is not, by the way, just an issue at your regular discount salon. Most high-end spas also offer artificial nail services that involve toxic chemicals (just think about the glue it takes to put an acrylic nail in place - and then think about the dissolver it takes to remove that glue).

I'm excited - for our guests and for our employees - that Julep is a natural nails only parlor. Since artificial nails have accounted for most of the growth in this industry over the past decade, when I wrote a business plan that excluded those services, a lot of industry folks were skeptical.

So thank you, dear guests of Julep, for believing in us and being part of a healthier alternative in nail care.

Kate

2007-08-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our fabulous parlor hostess Kate is on vacation with her family in Greece - but has called back at least three times that I know of (perhaps more not under my watch!).

Guests who come in regularly have come to know Kate's welcoming smile.

Kate, we miss you dearly, but hope that you can relax, knowing that we'll keep the parlor together until you return!

Since every day is like a month at Julep in terms of changes and developments, when anyone goes away, even for a few days, it seems like they've been gone forever. It's a testament to how much of a difference each person can make that the atmosphere and dynamic can be so different depending on who's there. But it's exciting - every time someone returns from vacation (you'll see, Marika!), we have so much to show off. Like Jessica - our newest, very awesome vernisseur! And our new, beautiful color palettes (thanks Shari!). And rolls and rolls of credit card paper (see below).