Community Voices: Working Women Stories with Ami Govindarajan

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

Click the arrow above to listen to the full long-form interview.

Say hello to Working Women Stories. In this sixth episode of our series, host Jessica Rivelli, the founder of Working Women of Tampa Bay, talks with Ami Govindarajan, franchise owner of Drybar Tampa.

Rivelli and Govindarajan talk about the decision to become a franchise owner over a traditional small business owner and the built-in network of other business owners that comes with being a franchise owner.

Govindarajan, an occupational therapist by trade, always had the entrepreneurial bug. But with a partner who was also entrepreneurial and three young children to care for, Govindarajan put her dream off for years.  She had long had an interest in a business like Drybar, but it wasn’t until she broke her wrist and fully realized the convenience and potential of Drybar that she fully bought in.

Now, 18 months or so later, Govindarajan’s business has moved from infancy to its toddler phase. She started in a small conference room style office to a studio with 25 stylists and five front desk people.

Rivelli and Govindarajan talk about the challenges of the beauty industry, customer service and the challenges of keeping customers happy in a subject, female-driven service industry. They talk about the unseen aspects of entrepreneurship, including navigating legal contracts, hiring and retaining employess and building out a space with proper specifications.

Govindarajan shares her best business advice for female entrepreneurs and talks about the many ways Working Women of Tampa Bay has helped her not just with marketing, but with building a strong network of women who have been through the entrepreneurial fire at every stage.