The Little Ladies Club was originally created by Bridget Buonagura. Having grown up in a home of 4 sisters, later having 2 daughters herself, as well as being a professional hair stylist by trade, she was quite familiar with the beauty industry. While struggling to find a location to host her daughter’s birthday, Bridget was struck with an idea. She envisioned a place that would celebrate little girls doing what they love best! The Little Ladies Club opened its doors in September 1998.
In September 1999, a year after opening, Erika Mutch joined the staff as an event coordinator. Several years later, in August 2002, Laura Mueller (Bridget’s sister) came onboard in a managerial position. The three of us quickly developed a strong rapport and found ourselves closely working together. We were constantly brainstorming and testing new ideas in an effort to refine our business and truly deliver a quality product. We had become a family.
Many years later, Bridget advised us that she wanted to move down south and intended to sell The Little Ladies Club. We were overwhelmed with emotion. What would become of the business we nurtured and grew to love? Would the new owner remain true to our philosophies? Would we be able to hold on to the charm of a small business, or would it get lost in an attempt to franchise? She went on to say that she was approaching us first in order to give us the opportunity to buy the business ourselves. If we thought we were overcome before, indeed this raised a million more questions.
Both of us recently married, looking to buy our first homes and planning to start families of our own, this was certainly not an ideal time to become business owners. We would spend countless hours discussing the positives and negatives of taking on this venture; how it would affect our spouses, our families? How would the additional hours spent at work impact our lives? Could we financially manage this purchase? It was a nerve-racking decision for both of us, but in the end, we couldn’t leave our fate, nor that of The Little Ladies Club, in the hands of a stranger.
We have now been the proud owners of The Little Ladies Club for 4 years and we are so happy with our decision! We are delighted that we have been able to remain a family business and even our parents, siblings and spouses are always here volunteering their time. How fortunate are we that our job requirement is to bring joy to little girls and their families! We look forward to celebrating our own 18th birthday this September! As the old adage goes, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Let’s all take care on Earth Day to give care to those we love, as well as to our communities, cities, states, country and planet.
Finding out the answers to these questions will help you make an informed camp decision.
Each year as summer comes to a close, August’s National Night Out celebrates local community efforts to stop crime and create positive change.