My name is Laurie Lapko. I am a Girl Boss, mother of two, licensed Aesthetician & Cosmetologist, graphic designer, lover of all things creative, and an out-of-the-box thinker. I’m going to give you a little background on how I found my “why”. It’s the reason every Girl Boss begins her journey into financial freedom and what keeps her going despite the ups and downs. My main hustle is providing luxury Spa and Beauty services, but I am also the owner of The Posh Pixel.
I am just a girl boss building her empire. I am 49 years old and was married for 15 years during which time I was a stay at home mom with no income of my own… I was a prisoner in my own home (to an extent that only a handful of people know the whole story of). I have two beautiful daughters, soon turning 15 and 17, time really does fly.
When I decided to get married, in retrospect, it was for the wrong reasons but that’s a tale for another time and I won’t bore you with it here. Suffice it to say, I bargained with the devil and allowed myself to become complacent and controlled in a manner that I never want to experience again…. to have money and security of future used as a weapon against you is a very dark place to be and a complete drain on your mental state of being. I hope to teach my girls early, so they hopefully will not repeat the mistakes I made along the way, that being self-reliant and independent is a necessity and to never give that control to anyone…EVER.
After 15 years, I put an end to the toxic and mentally damaging life I was living. I had always been a hard worker, capable of taking care of myself, both financially and emotionally. Before I was married, I didn’t need to rely on a second, or in my case a husband’s, income to see me through. It is time for me to find that person again, to become that person again and never look back save for the lessons I learned along the way. To learn how to be on my own, and to succeed is what matters to me most, securing a future for myself is my priority. While in theory, this sounded like a solid plan…it hasn’t been easy to stay focused and continue to hustle to make it happen.
Prior to getting married, I worked in corporate America as a Senior Web Developer, earning a 6 figure income. It during a time when companies were downsizing, the economy was crashing, and so did the company I worked for and I found myself laid off. I “worked” for my ex-husband in his business (this was NEVER a good idea) after getting married in addition to being a full-time mom. When the divorce was finalized, I found myself with no money coming into the house outside of Child Support, and I was yet again faced with a very bleak outlook as to where things were heading. I had to do something, I found myself looking at a bleak outlook for employment based on age and lack of recent work experience with job skills that had fallen into antiquity. I was lost, truly at rock bottom, and needed to re-evaluate my life and develop a plan to regain stability and self reliance.
In the face of financial hardship (think barely 2 pennies to rub together), I needed to take a good hard look at where my life had gone and why I was where I am. Taking stock of how I was going to manage to keep it all together, I decided to find my WHY and start focusing my energy on the positives and how I can accomplish success on my terms. Left behind was the negative people in my life, the people who consistently made me feel as if I would never accomplish my goals, and any toxicity associated with them.
While many people on the outside looking in may think: “Well it can’t be that bad, you have support money coming in and your ex-husband has to pay the mortgage and utilities. Should be a piece of cake.” Yes, it helps to have those things in place, however, it does not stretch far enough to be able to cover everything he doesn’t pay for and it is not as stress-free as it may sound to the outsider looking in. Control is something not easily let go of for some.
Something had to be done and had to be done FAST. Bills were starting to pile up, and things were looking worse than they have for quite some time. For four years I have faced hardship, bleak financial outlooks, the risk of losing everything during a time when I should have been celebrating regaining my freedom so to speak. However, with each setback came a renewed determination to hustle hard towards a life free from worrying where our next meal will come from.
Some things are in our control, others are not. Prior to marriage I was a Senior Web Development Specialist earning a 6 figure salary, I gave it up to be a stay at home mom which in retrospect I should have never allowed. While I am thankful that I was able to be home for my daughters through their infant, toddler and adolescent years, after 15 years I realized that not earning an income of my own and feeling as if I have accomplished nothing is still a hard pill to swallow. However, I am a strong woman with a goal in mind, and I will find my way through the storm.
I have returned to college focused on finishing my degree (only 25 credits left!), finished an additional 600 hours of intense Aesthetic training and I am also proud to say, that I have maintained staying on the Dean’s list religiously with a 3.69 GPA despite the ups and downs.
I have buckled down on my business as well. I refocused my energy into putting into place the mindset needed to re-open my hand crafted business. Things are slowly looking brighter, and believe me when I say… finding your “Why” and focusing on it will help you keep that hustle going to accomplish your dreams even when you stumble along the path.
I hope to have given you insight into my life, and what keeps me motivated every day to keep working on building my empire. It isn’t always easy, I have successes and failures…but I choose to hustle every day to achieve the goals I have set for my future and obtaining financial freedom. I hope you will stay on this journey with me, and allow me the opportunity to get to know you and hear your reason why you decided to become a Girl Boss who hustles!
Remember: Good things come to those who HUSTLE!