• Resiliency / Habit/Mental Fitness Coach
• Small Business Consultant / Coach
• Pro Organizer/ Productivity Trainer
• Admin / Office / Biz Manager

• Real Estate Sales Consultant
• Yoga Instructor
• Massage Therapist / Studio Owner
• Restaurant Manager

Running Your Own Business (& Life)

Can Be Exciting... and Scary

I am an entrepreneur at heart. I had my first solo side hustle idea at 22 after managing my "own" fast food restaurant at 20. I've launched several businesses and sold a couple. I know first-hand how overwhelming and isolating operating your own business, as well as navigating life's challenges can feel. At times I wondered if I would ever get in a groove or create the success I envisioned. But I felt determined to make it on my own. This would be a very valuable thing for me later, but not just for business. That will make sense a little later in the story.

Can I be totally transparent?

I admittedly had some serious reservations about sharing all of the job titles above and especially the rest of my story (you'll understand why) What would people think? Would they judge me as incompetent or unqualified to help or support them? Would they think I was broken or pathetic and feel sorry for me? After some soul-searching I realized that if my commitment to myself and my advice to others is to be totally authentic (which it is), then it would be hypocritical not to share my whole story. Plus, I realized that being vulnerable and sharing may help someone who is going through something similar. Since that's my deepest desire, (deep breath) here goes...

Here’s where it gets more interesting (and a little sad)

The fear, stress, loneliness, and uncertainty of going it alone in business was greatly amplified for me by a steady string of tough personal losses and significant change. I lost both parents and all three siblings before turning 45, including my older brother when I was 9 (accident) and mom at 27 (MS). I cared for mom while attending high school and living in low-income housing after she was diagnosed when I was 14 and the only one left at home with her (Dad left when I was 10).

Then came the devastating loss of my twin sister (Leukemia) when we were 36, followed by my father's passing when I was 43. Finally, my last remaining original family member, my older sister, left this earth when I was 44.

Obviously, that was a lot to navigate and process. I helped care for the all of these family members (except my brother) at some point during their illnesses. I was present for the passing of my father and both sisters and had to make the heart-wrenching decision to stop life-saving/sustaining medical intervention for both my father and twin sister.

And as if that wasn't enough...

I also made the tough decision to end two marriages, and moved homes on average less than every 2 years. I won't bore you with the details about the moves, but I'm happy to say I've been at my current home for almost 7 years. Professionally, I felt like I was floundering when a couple of my businesses never got real traction and one failed miserably. You can see why I was reluctant to share, right? That's a lot of drama, trauma, failure and stress!

This kind of stuff can mess with your head!

Not surprisingly, all of the losses triggered some big questions about life and why I am here. I often felt a little lost or fearful that I was running out of time (since life can be short and end abruptly), which prompted attempts to find more meaning and purpose through my work or to follow the advice of others by pursuing what might be a quicker path to financial success. That explains the many professional titles, right?

All along, my deepest desire was to have a positive impact on this world before I left it...and if my family history was any indicator, I feared that might be sooner than I hoped. The one thing I was sure of was I wanted to do whatever I could do to avoid following in my family's footsteps by dying young of a horrible, and (in my view) possibly preventable disease. A healthy lifestyle became one of my biggest priorities and something I wanted to share with others.

But, I was still trying to find my way in business and create more financial stability. I was forced to file bankruptcy as part of the 2nd divorce and several years later was up to my eyeballs again with my own $30k of credit card debt. All along, the word people most used to describe me was resilient. No matter how many times I had to recover from a setback, start over or reinvent myself, I was determined I would eventually have my breakthrough. And finally, it happened...