* What challenges have you overcome during your endeavor? Please describe something that impacted you financially or intellectually and how you got past it.
The entire endeavor has been a financial challenge. I did not have savings or investments backing me up when I decided to just do it. This has been a tremendous hurtle, and has made learning new skills feel crucial. I’ve learned that I can definitely live on less, and also how to be creative in ways to make money. We are, truly, only limited by our own beliefs. Another challenge that comes to mind was the time I was needing to quit working with a client, and how much trauma and drama I went through emotionally before coming out on the other side of it. I did quit working with that client, and I am much happier for it today. I had to learn how to say "no" in order to take care of my own needs.
* What accomplishments are you most proud of during your career? Has your business or product won any awards, mentions in the press, garnered praise in reviews or by users, or helped someone overcome a challenge of their own? Tell us about it!
I am so very proud that I took a mediocre ‘clerical’ career and turned it into a challenging, interesting, and fun business! I am also very proud to be a hypnotherapist and therapeutic tough practitioner, because I have seen the benefit, while working with hospice, especially. I love helping people in that way. I have had some clients who have told me that they’ve grown their businesses because of the time that has been freed up for them after working with me for a while. That makes me feel like it’s all worth it.
* Without spilling the beans, what is in the works for your business or product line for 2006? Where are you headed, and where do you hope to be by the end of the year? What about the coming years? Share your goals with us and tell us how you plan to achieve them.
I would like to see myself narrowing my virtual assistant niche; I have a special group of people that I love working with, and I would like to narrow my focus to that group. This would probably involve less but more specialized services being offered.
I also see my hypnotherapy practice growing, once people get the word that my focus is not so much on helping with weight loss and smoking cessation, but on showing people the inner resources that they have to become that unique person they are meant to be. I think the key to both of these actualizing will be more consistent and creative advertising and marketing tactics.
* Have you worked with a mentor who has led you far? Take a moment to recognize their contribution(s) and we’ll all applaud with you!
My mentor for the past two years has been my friend, Diane Ensey, who owns Beyond Paper. I could not have done any of this without her constant support, training, assistance, encouragement, and belief in me.
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