Michelle Penczak is no stranger to entrepreneurship and resilience. Married to a pilot in the Marine Corps, she faced the challenges of finding stable employment through frequent relocations. “Being a military spouse kind of felt like a black mark on your application. I applied for hundreds of positions, but nobody wanted someone who wasn’t going to be there long-term.” She began working for a remote assistant company but the company unexpectedly went bankrupt overnight. Michelle decided to take matters into her own hands and launched Squared Away in November 2017. Her remote executive assistant firm predominantly employs military spouses, and has over 450 employees across the U.S., Japan and Germany. On top of that, Square Away ranks #297 on the Inc. 5000 list!
As her company grew, Michelle realized she had built the company up to the point where she could step away. So, she began looking for a new venture, one that would give her the opportunity to spend more time with her family. She recalled being a customer at Pigtails & Crewcuts in Hawaii and how her two boys always loved their experience. She realized there was nothing like the concept in her area in Eastern North Carolina. “I really started thinking about how hard it was to find the right haircut experience as a mom for your kids. The more I read about the Pigtails franchise opportunity, the more I loved the brand.”
Michelle is in the site-selection process for her first of two locations, coming soon to the Wilmington, NC area. We’re so excited to have Michelle as part of the Pigtails & Crewcuts family!
Read more about Michelle and her story on 1851.
