SPOTLIGHTS
turning passion into profit
84
SYNERGY MAGAZINE
Story by: Staff Writer
M
egan Martin and Charlotte Mendez both know how difficult it can be to find work you love and have time for your kids. As Gainesville business owners, they’re turning their passions into profits and championing workforce cultures they believe in. With help from regional workforce board CareerSource North Central Florida (NCFL), they’re growing, giving back, and encouraging entrepreneurs like themselves. Growing up, Megan remembers her frustration at her adopted mother’s inability to style her hair. She dreamed of owning a salon that could style as many hair types and textures as her siblings had. As an adult, she attended three cosmetology schools to earn the multicultural hair education she wanted. She worked in several east coast salons until returning home to Gainesville, where she jumped at the opportunity for more family time and control over her work. Megan enrolled in CareerSource NCFL’s Portfolios of Income and Small Business Workshop to learn business basics including finance, budgeting, branding, sales, and marketing. Capitalizing on her skills and passion for beauty, Megan opened Salon 50 and 2, a multicultural salon that caters to all hair types and textures. She credits the salon’s success to a passion for lifelong learning and is eager to use her
experience to empower others. The salon is closed on Saturdays because Megan doesn’t want her employees to miss weekends with their kids like she did. Megan is excited to grow her business and train new team members who are eager to join the beauty industry. “I didn’t think that I was at the point where I thought I could employ more people, but CareerSource helps business owners,” she says, referring to her plan to soon bring on administration and social media interns. Through the CareerSource NCFL Internship and On-theJob-Training programs, eligible businesses can offer workbased learning experience to job seekers while also offsetting training and hiring costs. “As an entrepreneur, being around other people who have that spark keeps your fire going,” adds Megan. Megan also helps aspiring entrepreneurs find their spark, mentoring at programs similar to the one that inspired her.
According to Megan, “success is couture,” and the first step to starting a business is to do what makes you feel happy and successful. When Charlotte Mendez left social work she knew she still wanted to make a living helping others. Growing up in a family of housekeepers, she knew a cleaning venture could be successful but realized the model needed improvement. “My mom was a cleaning service provider all her life and the only thing she wanted was to get her GED,” says Charlotte. Inspired by her mother’s story, she started Cleaning Genie. The company offers job seekers with barriers to employment a place to grow their skills, while still maintaining time for other important areas of their lives, like family and education. Charlotte says many of her employees have faced difficulty getting hired because of their age, or are homemakers who need schedules that allow them to be with their children. Her
