When I first started at Wax Strip, I signed a non-compete that says if I leave, I can’t work within 25 miles of any of their locations. I live in Macon, Georgia, where they have two shops, plus two more nearby in Warner Robins. Now that I’ve left, I’ve been trying to find another job, but every time a local wax studio considers hiring me, they get hit with a cease-and-desist from Wax Strip. There are only a few places hiring around here, and every one of them is near a Wax Strip, so I’d have to drive over an hour just to find a job in my field—and as a single mom, I can’t manage that kind of commute.

I feel trapped. I just want to work, to do what I’m trained to do, to support myself and my child without being forced to move my life an hour away. But Wax Strip is making it feel impossible, going so far as to threaten small businesses that try to give me a chance. How is this fair? I’m not trying to compete with them; I just want to make an honest living close to home. Is there anything I can do? I need to be able to work, and this agreement is turning my life upside down.

Is there a way to get around this or if anything come at them legally to make them get rid of this non compete ?