We recently connected with Lori Lenhart and have shared our conversation below.

Lori, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

I graduated with my BSN from the University of Florida in 2006. I then worked as a Trauma/ICU nurse for 3 years while obtaining my Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of Florida in 2009. I have been practicing as an Emergency Medicine Nurse Practitioner in Pinellas County for the last 14 years.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in Gainesville FL where I met my husband while in high school. We attended college together and got married upon graduation. We lived in Jacksonville for 3 years then found our dream home in Clearwater, FL where we have lived since 2010. We love to travel and do mission work. After being married for 10 years we had 3 children. Our oldest is a boy, 6 yo. Then 2 girls, 4 and 2 yo. This last year we decided to open our own small business. I went to a Blow Dry Bar before a wedding and immediately thought we needed one in our area. My husband agreed to the adventure and 9 months later we opened Allori Blow Dry Bar. During this adventure I had a friend approach me and we decided to bring in a Wellness side called Execucare and Hydration. It’s a perfect concept for me being a Nurse Practitioner and being able to continue providing for the health and wellness of others. We are an exclusive concept to the area where you can come in and get your salon services done while getting vitamin IM injections, IV hydration, or aesthetic medicine. Our IV’s give you energy, an immune boost, and have anti-aging properties. It’s a perfect concept for those that have limited time on their hands and want to multitask.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back, I would still be a nurse. I enjoy nursing and I tell everyone wondering what profession to go into to be a nurse. My mom was a nurse and she always told me to be a nurse and I was adamant I would never be one. I was going to be a Physical Therapist. I played basketball in college and all of my teammates were taking pre-requisites for Physical Therapy. I did not want to live with them, practice with them, and attend all of my classes with the same people. They were all great but too much time with the same people can be overwhelming at times, so I chose to switch my degree to nursing and I have always been grateful since! The nice part about nursing is that if you get burnt out or not like a certain specialty or part of the profession you can always switch to another field and still use the same license. I am still a Nurse Practitioner in the ER but I love doing the wellness side of it as well. I love the aesthetic medicine because of the immediate results. It’s like artwork and seeing the outcome is always so gratifying. Especially at our salon hair, make up, lashes, waxing, and overall beauty the clients walk out feeling like a new person. Our IV’s also improve skin, hair, and nails while giving them the energy and hydration boost their body needs. It’s a complete win for your body

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

This is a brand new business, opened under a year ago, and my first business. So, no, I have never sold a business. I guess offers can always be considered but right now it’s such a fun atmosphere to work in. We have amazing stylists and nurses that work so well together. It’s a little family and really, seeing our clients smiling faces makes it all worth it. I am always happy to offer any advice to those looking to open their own business. It’s definitely a lot of hard work and lots to learn along the way. I openly take any help or advice others want to give me because I will never know all there is to know.

Contact Info:

• Website: execucarehydration.com, alloriblowdrybar.com
• Instagram: #execucareandhydration, #alloriblowdrybar
• Facebook: Alloriblowdrybar, execucareandhydration

Image Credits
Lori Lenhart