She Looks Like She Has It All, But No One Saw Her Cry in the Car | The Silent Battle of Building Brax, Laguna Niguel

Amy in Laguna Niguel showroom opening day, March 2024.

“I’ll take care of it.”

That’s what I heard. Soft, steady, right behind me in the dark. I was standing in a

TJ Maxx parking lot, exhausted, overwhelmed, and barely holding it together.

I had just bought a cart full of teapots and trays for my new store… but my mind was drowning in fear.

That moment saved me. But let me tell you how I got there.

The Problem with Being a “Strong Woman”

The hardest thing about being a strong woman in business is that no one ever asks: “Are you okay?” “Do you need help?”

They assume you’ve got it. “She’s strong. She’ll figure it out.” And most of the time… we do. But even strong women break.

That was me in November 2023. Strong on the outside, unraveling on the inside.

The Breaking Point

Three months earlier, I signed the lease for my second store. I was proud, excited, and ready to grow, but also carrying more than anyone could see.

Since day one, the expenses were nonstop. I was paying rent on a store that wasn’t open yet. I hired two employees to start training. The construction revealed hidden issues I couldn’t avoid. I had ordered custom showcases months in advance and was deep into inventory purchases, investing heavily in a

space I hadn’t even unlocked yet.

I kept pushing through it all. My contractor team and I worked day and night. We got the space ready, flooring done, permits in place, everything clean and waiting.

All we needed were the showcases. I had ordered them back in July. They were supposed to arrive in early December.

Then came the call.

“They’re shipping by sea — it’ll take 4 to 6 months.”

We were on our way to Marina del Rey for a family weekend when my phone rang. I thought it was the delivery confirmation.

Instead, the man said: “The showcases are ready — but they’re being shipped by sea. It will take four to six months for them to arrive.”

I was in shock. “What do you mean? I was told they’d be delivered this month.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” he said. And then he hung up.

Just like that.

I sat in the car, stunned. My husband was driving. My kids were in the backseat. And I just kept thinking: “What am I going to do?”

But I didn’t panic. I smiled. I said, “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”

That night, we went to dinner. And then, everything I’d been holding in, all the stress, fear, and exhaustion, came pouring out in a way I’d never experienced before.

My First Anxiety Attack

I started feeling sick at the table. Dizzy. Nauseous. I told my husband I wasn’t feeling well.

As we walked to the car, my chest tightened. My heart began to pound — hard. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was choking.

I told him, “I can’t breathe.”

He sat me on a bench. I laid down. My daughter started crying. My husband calmly asked, “Should I call 911?”

I said no.

After about 15 minutes of slow breathing and stillness, I finally came back to myself. We got back to the hotel. He gave me something to help me sleep. I woke up physically okay… but emotionally shaken.

That was my first anxiety attack, and it was brought on by the pressure of something I love, my business.

What Most People Will Never Understand

Unless you’ve lived it, you don’t really know.

From the outside, people see the storefront, the branding, the “boss life” , and maybe even the smile.

But they don’t see what it feels like behind the scenes.

They don’t see the quiet moments when impostor syndrome sneaks in and tells you: “You’re not good enough. You made the wrong decision. Everyone else is doing better than you.”

They don’t feel the quiet comparison, when other businesses seem ahead and you wonder if you’re falling behind.

They don’t know what it’s like to second-guess every move and still keep showing up, afraid it might all fall apart.

They don’t understand what it takes to keep going when no one sees you, no one claps, and no one really knows what you’re carrying.

But I do.

I’ve always had that fire in me. Entrepreneurship is in my blood, and I love what I do.

But it’s not easy. It’s not always glamorous. And most days, you have to be your own motivation, your own reassurance, and your own reason to keep going.

Because entrepreneurship is a lonely road. You wake up and do it scared. You rise when no one helps you. You believe, even when no one else does.

That’s what building something real looks like.

A Whisper In The Dark

A week later, I needed space. I went to TJ Maxx to grab a few last items for the store, mostly to clear my head.

It was dark, almost 9PM, and the parking lot was nearly empty.

I walked to the car, pushing a cart of teapots and trays, and the thoughts returned:

“What if the showcases don’t come? What if I can’t open? What if this all collapses?”

And then I heard it — soft, steady, just behind me:

“I’ll take care of it.”

I stopped.

I knew it was my dad.

I turned and saw an older man behind me. He smiled and said, “I’ll take the cart back for you.”

I handed him the cart. Got in the car. And cried.

Because in that quiet moment, I felt covered. I felt protected. I felt peace.

The Real Reason It Worked Out

The next morning, I got a call, and everything changed.

They told me the showcases would now be shipped by air, not sea. They would arrive much sooner than expected. And the additional cost? Fully covered.

Some might call that timing. Some might call it luck.

But I believe in something bigger.

I believe in divine moments. I believe in the power of our loved ones, still watching over us. I believe in being protected, even when we can’t see how it’s happening.

And then I found out what really happened.

The president of an organization I’m a part of, someone I had built a strong connection with, stepped in.

He made a phone call, not for attention, not because I asked, but because he believed in me. He pushed the company. He made it happen.

It was both, divine timing and human kindness. And that combination? That’s what saved my opening.

The Store Opened

In March 2024 after everything, the anxiety, the delays, the burnout, the quiet breakdowns, my second Brax Jewelers location opened its doors in March 2024.

And the grand opening? It was beautiful. It was everything I hoped for, and more.

It felt perfect.

In that moment, I completely forgot how hard and stressful the journey had been to get there. All I felt was pride, joy, and peace, standing inside something I built with love, grit, and grace.

To the women who get it, this story isn’t for the ones who think running a business is easy. It’s not for the ones who think success is luck or timing.

It’s for the women who’ve cried in parking lots and still showed up the next day. It’s for the ones who built something while no one believed in it but them.

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you don’t feel fear. It means you move anyway. You rise anyway.

You become, especially when it’s hard.

So next time you see a confident, beautiful, glamorous woman running her business and making it all look effortless…

Just know, she probably cried in her car too.

Thank you for reading. This is what Becoming Her really looks like.

And if you’re in your own quiet storm right now… let me be the one to say:

You are not alone. You are becoming. You’ve got this.