Women Taking Small Business by Storm
About a block away from the busy 55 Freeway, a peaceful outdoor shopping center called The CAMP buzzes with health conscious, environmentally friendly consumers and independently owned businesses run by women.
Any mention of small business owners typically sparks an image of hard-working men. Aggelige Spanos, 45, of Organic Designs, and Jackie Dalton, 41, of Lollipop Nail Studio are crushing that assumption.
“Itʼs a tremendous amount of work to start something from nothing and build it into a viable business,” Spanos said. “But the rewards are many when you can do something that you love and create happiness for others at the same time.”
Along with over nine million other women within the United States, Spanos and Dalton are changing the dynamic of operating small businesses. According to the National Women’s Business Council, California is currently home to the most female-owned businesses within the country.
Spanos owns and operates a quaint plant shop out of a vintage 1964 Airstream trailer. She gutted the interior of the Airstream to make room for the breathtaking displays that showcase her work. She specializes in creating succulent arrangements, terrariums and tillandsia, or air plant, displays that are truly pieces of living art.
She recycles vintage pottery, and soda cans to create homes for her succulent arrangements. Some of her favorite pieces to work on are succulent terrariums, that resemble mini worlds encased in glass orbs.
Not only is Spanos talented in creating living art, she is skilled in running a business. She does admit that she would much rather focus on the former. But after opening her shop during the recession in 2008 and managing to keep her company successful for close to nine years, Spanos has proved her worth within the business world.
Spanos is familiar with the difficulties that small business owners are faced with, especially during the initial startup. The most challenging part of creating her business was trying to get a small business loan. She felt that it was close to impossible to accomplish while trying to maintain a working capital. Ensuring that her assets outweighed her liabilities proved to be difficult.
Although she has faced roadblocks with starting her own business, she feels incredibly thankful that she has never felt discriminated against in the business world because of her gender. The same is true for Jackie Dalton, owner of Lollipop Nail Studio.
“I haven’t experienced any difficulties that a man would not have faced,” said Dalton.
Lollipop Nail Studio, run by Dalton, is a fully organic nail salon that opened in 2013. The salon offers handmade scrubs, soaks and oils as well as non-toxic nail polishes. Acrylic nails are not seen anywhere near Dalton’s modern yet comfortable salon.
The bright, open studio is more often than not filled with health conscious clients. They enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and the soothing smells that fill the air, instead of the harsh chemical scents that are prevalent in most other nail salons today.
Dalton kept her daughter in mind while thinking up the services that her salon would offer. Not only can clients choose from manicures and pedicures for themselves, but for their children as well. The nail studio carries a line of water-based nail polish that is kid friendly. Some clients have even hosted birthday parties for their kin at the nail studio.
Her daughter, who is interested in all things feminine, was actually Dalton’s inspiration for starting her own business. Dalton decided to trust her gut in building her healthy and environmentally friendly venture. She currently working to expand her business by selling her organic products on a national scale. She also hopes to open more nail studios across Orange County in the near future. With long term goals on her mind, Dalton said,
“We’re always looking at how to refine, and always looking ahead.”
Both Spanos and Dalton have proved that more and more women are taking initiative in creating their own successful and unique businesses. With the stigma of businesses being overpowered by men decreasing, hopefully future female entrepreneurs will feel empowered to chase after their dreams and create their own successful businesses. In looking toward the future and wondering if she had inspired anyone yet, Aggelige stated, “I hope that I can play that role in someones life someday.”
