Journalistic Gerontologist

I followed my passion after homeschooling my three children. I went back to college and in ‘06 earned my BA in journalism. I landed a job with a senior home community builder and write articles about our senior homeowners and senior issues. I pitch the articles to local papers and we’ve been very successful in getting them in print. It’s a way for the builder to get “cheap” advertising. While researching an article, I talked to the local university’s head of gerontology. I loved interviewing seniors so much that I’m now close to earning a certificate in gerontology and I’m just about a year away from a master’s degree. Hits were hard for homebuilders but because the senior home builder valued my services, they hired me as an independent contractor. I now own and operate “Legacy Letters” journalistic services.

Thanks to Karen Everett Watson www.legacywriter.me/

Money Talks but Green Listens

After attending college and receiving a degree in the areas of biology and geology, Patricia Ewanski never lost her love for the environment. While living in NJ, she bought a book about straw-bale homes, which referenced some architects in Tucson, AZ. After visiting the desert, Patricia promptly fell in love with it and decided to drop everything and move to Tucson. She started working in the technology field and later became a project manager for a technology company. But something was missing, she decided to stop letting the pay and security from unfulfilling techie jobs talk to her. Instead, Patricia opened her mind and heart, and listened to the voice of her true passion…sustainability and green homes. Shortly after, she quit her job and went back to get two Masters degrees: a MS in Natural Resources and an MBA, in addition to participating in a very intense one-year-long Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Arizona. She graduated just in time to watch the building industry be devastated by the recession. Give up? Not now! No way!! Patricia hunkered down, gathered her mentors and friends and determinedly built up her current business brick by brick, a local green building consultancy whose focus is to help reduce unnecessary resource and energy consumption in homes.

THANKS TO PATRICIA EWANSKI, MS, MBA, LEED AP, PMP www.rehomeonline.com

Creating Your Path to Productivity

I had taken a break from my career to stay home with our children and once they were both in school, I discovered that I was a tad bored. I kept asking myself “what is it that I do that I enjoy doing and makes a difference”. Over and over again, came back to the same thing – organizing. I walk into a situation and say, this is good, and if we do this, this and this, we can be out of here 30 minutes earlier so that we can go and play. (Playing was always my objective!) Well, that was six and a half years ago and I’m still going strong. Since I’ve started, I’ve co-authored three books on organizing in the workplace, have clients across the country and just released my first product – an online course about managing e-mail. I deal exclusively in the work world – small business up to Fortune 500 companies. It’s been a fun journey.

Thanks to Ann Michael Henry www.m-e-p.com

Pregnant and laid off – the perfect time to start a business!

Julie Swatek, founder and president of Scrap Your Trip, a leading scrapbook retailer, had planned on starting her business slowly while she continued her job as an executive for a hotel management company in 2002. Things changed quickly when her company went through a merger and her job was eliminated. Julie was five months pregnant at the time, and her “Plan B” part-time business quickly turned into “Plan A”. She’s glad it did, as it has grown to more than $2 million in annual revenue and more than 20 employees.

Thanks to Julie Swatek www.scrapyourtrip.com

Corporate Ladders to Parenting Strategies

I spent the first 32 years finding out what I didn’t want to do. I made my fair share of mistakes doing it. As it turns out, each one of those mistakes led me closer and closer to my passion. At 32 I had my daughter (now 20). All of a sudden, leaving her with someone else while I returned to corporate America just didn’t seem reasonable. I parlayed all that experience into, initially, a child care center. Yeah, I know – who doesn’t do that when they want to avoid work but still bring in money. But here is the thing – I started teaching the parents that attended my day care about the parenting techniques I was using (which I learned from Dr. Alfred Adler) and within 12 months, my in-home day care turned into a full service Child Care Center. I loved the kids, but what I REALLY loved was teaching. I have no formal training. There was no reason for me to succeed EXCEPT – I was born for this. From the first moment I taught, I knew that I would never do anything else and I never have. I decided that I would figure out how to teach for the rest of my life – And that is exactly what I have done. If you ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you that when asked what I do for a living, my answer is always the same – I have THE best job on the planet – bar none.

Thanks to Vicki Hoefle www.parentingontrack.com

A Preacher, A Lawyer and A Standup Comedian all walk into a room…

Meet Susan Sparks. After ten years as a trial lawyer, she left the practice, traveled two years around the world, and then began a double career, one in the ministry and one in standup comedy. Today, she is the senior pastor of the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City (www.mabcnyc.org) and the first woman in its 161 year history. She is also a working standup…so I guess you could say she is the only female standup comedian in the country with a pulpit!

Thanks to Rev. Susan Sparks www.susansparks.com

Helping charities achieve their dreams

Working for a non-profit organization and later a large university made me realize that in order to be successful in raising funds; you had to have the science of fundraising to back up the art of asking. I discovered that there was a need for organizations to learn about how they could better develop programs to attract more donors and larger gifts and to have this knowledge customized to their own situations. I started my consulting firm in 1998 and haven’t looked back. I love helping charities achieve their dreams by giving them the tools they need to continue their good work in the community.

Thanks to Laura Mikuska www.mikuska.com

BornFit Moves Moms

While pregnant with her first child, Lisa Welch, eagerly searched for maternity active wear to fit her changing body, but surprisingly found nothing. As a mother who remained active throughout pregnancy, she knew immediately this was a niche that needed to be filled. Lisa realized that as our culture continues to place more emphasis on fitness; pregnant moms are also seeing the need for apparel to fit their active lifestyle throughout pregnancy and beyond. Julie Hill and Lisa Welch became clothing designers (with no prior apparel experience) to express an inspirational message through active wear for moms and moms-to-be. After having a difficult time finding flattering fits for their athletic lifestyle during their own pregnancies, they took a leap of faith and launched BornFit, a clothing company based on inspiring moms to stay fit before, during and after pregnancy. BornFit supports the notion that strong bodies produce a confident spirit, contributing to overall wellness for women. Their risk has paid off, as today Julie and Lisa celebrate mothers of every age and stage with comfortable clothing that inspires confidence, fitness, friendship and fun.

Thanks to Julie Hill and Lisa Welch www.bornfit.com

The Epitome of Sunshine

Nothing Great Was Ever Achieved without Enthusiasm-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am 31 years old and a marketing graduate who spent several years as a marketing and sales coordinator and then a top selling sales rep at print magazines for dance. After 2 years of breaking sales records, I realized I was professionally frustrated and my clients were not getting the ROI on their ads they deserved. I left and 12 days later I launched the first strategic marketing and PR firm for dance. I’ve been in business for 3 ½ years and two years into it; I launched the first email magazine for dance. It works better than any other publication’s online media in my industry and as the youngest company in my niche; I feel proud saying that and knowing it’s true.

Thanks to Elizabeth Barry, Elizabeth Barry and Associates www.EBandAssociates.com, www.gendance.com

Venture Capitalist to Behind the Burner

The story of a woman who built her career in finance but always had a passion for food and wine. She finally left her amazing venture capital job to follow her dream and started Behind the Burner, in the middle of the recession! She launched her business in November 2008 and the recession has truly fueled her business. People are dining out less, cooking at home more, buying higher quality ingredients and consuming more in-home entertainment. Behind the Burner offers access to the glamorous, exotic and sometimes chaotic culinary world. Showcasing secrets from the front and back of the house, Behind the Burner reveals the tips and tricks of the trade that master chefs, mixologists, restaurateurs and other culinary visionaries are using to turn up the heat around the world.

Thanks to Divya Gugnani www.behindtheburner.com

Wall Street to Raw Food Avenue

I knew it was time to follow my passion and start my own business right after I got a job offer for a major Wall Street bank. I knew the economy wasn’t providing me with a “secure” job, no matter what people thought. So I ventured out on my own and followed my true purpose: to help people heal themselves through eating more fresh raw foods. It was a bold move, because I had studied as a Software Engineer, and raw food coaching and EFT were not my background. Still I found my audience and people who really needed to hear my message. Now I’m really living my dream and helping others to live theirs, through better health and energy.

Thanks to Nathalie Lussier www.rawfoodswitch.com

From Cash to Couture for a Cause

After 2 long years of infertility treatments, we were finally successful and then tragically lost our son when I was 8 months pregnant. A few months later, while we were still mourning, a woman from my new Bible study called me to tell me her best friend’s niece was pregnant and looking for adoptive parents. We adopted that baby (she is now 3 1/2 yrs old), and she was born EXACTLY 40 weeks after our son died. When our daughter was a few months old, my husband had an epiphany: even though we weren’t her “birth parents” she was still related to us. Whether you believe in Adam and Eve, evolution or something in between – we all came from the same place. This realization had such an impact on me that after 17 successful years in finance and investment banking, I changed direction completely to start and run OriginOne, a clothing company that aggressively promotes human oneness and racial unity on super-cool, vintage style apparel.

Thanks to Liz Pagliarini www.iamOriginOne.com

Raising Kids While Growing Up Myself

After a career as an advertising copywriter, I faced the difficult decision of whether to continue in this un-family-friendly field or to branch off on my own. I chose the latter. For ten years I worked under my own shingle (CopyKat), selling my services as a freelance writer directly to clients and ad agencies while I became a mother and managed my business around my two son’s schedules. That was phase 1 of following my passion. Phase 2 came last January (’08) when I rebranded myself and my business yet again, dovetailing with my younger son’s entry into kindergarten. I renamed my business Maternal Instinct and geared everything to an underserved market: companies targeting moms who need strategy and advertising help. Not only has this afforded me a niche where I am an expert (an important thing in a down economy), but it’s given me a focus that has freed up even more creative parts of myself. I wrote a children’s picture book called Pants Shmantz: The Boys Who Only Wore Shorts, I write a regular business blog about marketing to moms, and I am inadvertently becoming a social media expert by virtue of the consumers leading this charge: moms.

Thanks to Kat Gordon www.maternalinstinct.net

REINCARNATED One More Time!

Growing to appreciate the delicious dilettantism that is/has been ever present in my life and learning that it is simply paving my way to where I am supposed to be going. I am a Creatrix ~ Reiki Master & Teacher ~ Laugh Leader ~ Lover of Life – Goddess ~ Jackess of Many Things ~ Gypsy at Heart and even more yet to come & be discovered.

Thanks to Traci Pena www.reincarnationconsignment.biz

From Open Houses to Your Shower

My friend and I were both busy realtors a few years ago, when the market crashed. We realized it was time to launch a new product called Shower SpeX. Let’s face it baby boomers can’t see without their readers! They easily slide over your shampoo and conditioner bottles and make it easy to identify one from another in the shower. The unique design is made from a fast-drying spandex material and is a fun way to dress up the bath. They come in a variety of patterns that everyone can enjoy. We had been talking about it for years and are now in the marketing phase. The response has been very positive and we hope to be featured in major retail stores and boutiques.

Thanks to Lynn Jurgen http://www.showerspex.com

Nurse, Businesswoman, Author and now TV Host!

I knew it was time to follow my passion for nursing outside the hospital when a colleague was injured and could not get the home care necessary unless I provided it to her. There was a huge gap in the middle class receiving follow up care. It became clear to me that hospital nursing would not provide the income I desired. It was then that I took the plunge to start my own business. It has been successful and expanded my horizons in many areas of my career and my finances. My business has encompassed nursing services to many avenues including movie location sets on major motion pictures with celebrity clients, consulting to business, producing TV shows on health and safety and providing staffing in hospitals, nursing homes, home care and occupational health to companies and traveling nurses.

Thanks to Karon Gibson RN, CCM www.americanurse.com

Miss Adventuring

I worked for many years as a technical writer and web developer in high-tech to fund long, solo motorcycle trips overseas and my passion for travel and writing. One day I just “got” that I was a good businesswoman who had the skills to make a living writing and teaching others to write, travel, and publish, so I created Misadventures Media. Today I travel, write, teach, and coach others through the extremely rewarding process of self-publishing, which is becoming so much more popular today as even established authors turn away from the corporate publishing model.

Thanks to Carla King http://www.carlaking.com/workshops/

Sauté Pans to Ceremonies

I can tell you the exact moment actually; I was working as a marketing director for a catering company after dismantling my own company. I had taken a day off to drive down the Jersey shore to do a cool little wedding for about 12 guests. It was a very cool Chinese/American couple, it was a crystal clear day in March, and as I was driving back home it hit me. I could do this! I could do this full time, if I put the effort into marketing myself that I was paid to do for someone else. I left my job on my birthday, May 9th, of last year, and never looked back. I am a full time civil celebrant; I officiate at weddings, civil unions, baby welcomings and memorial services. I absolutely love it, and I am making more money with more laughs than ever before. My couples are interesting, unique and creative. They are, as a “market”, mostly couples who do not have a relationship with a “traditional” church or temple and are seeking something different for a milestone day in their lives, whether it is a marriage or a baby welcoming, house blessing or funeral.

Thanks to Celia Milton http://www.celiamilton.com

Flying the heavenly skies to designing a Little Taste of Heaven

I knew when it was time to start my own business when I my present employer wasn’t in the best state of their own company. I always had a passion designing gift baskets and when I was giving them away for gifts, friends and family mentioned said I have a gift, why not make a business out it. I also liked the idea of working for myself as well, so I created Baskets from Above. We have unique, high quality gifts for women, men, and professionals all with “A Little Taste of Heaven.” Since we are a customized company, one feature we have available for our customers is our customer’s may visit our site and personalize their own gift basket by price range and theme. This makes a gift very personal for our customers. We have been voted in our town “Best of the West” through 2006-2009 for the best gift basket categories.

Thanks to Lanette White http://www.basketsfromabove.net

Figuring out what you LOVE

When my salary advanced from $5.00 an hour to $5.50 I knew it was time to change. I probably now earn $.50 an hour but I love what I do!!!! I am a fine arts, antiques, collectibles and household appraiser. I have my own firm advising clients all over the country about their personal possessions but primarily in the NY, NJ and CT area for insurance, sale and family distribution. I also write for Country Living magazine, United Media Services and have written 14 books on antiques and collectibles.

Thanks to Helaine Fendelman, http://www.helainefendelman.com/

Legal Advice to Fresh Breath Maker

I knew it was time to start my own business when I was working extremely hard for another person knowing I would never reap the rewards of that hard work. I figured if I was going to work so very hard, I might as well work for myself so that, at the end of the day, the success would be all mine. After leaving the legal field and with a serious passion for food, Jacqui founded Jacquean Products LLC and now markets her breath fresheners which totally eliminate bad breath in two easy steps. They are a combination of gel caps filled with organic oils which work from within the body and mints that you take while the gel caps are working. They are vegan, sugar-free and gluten free. Her products are sold in hotels and high end boutiques.

Thanks to Jacqui Rosshandler www.eat-whatever.com

Trees for a Change: a Change in Career Changed her Life

Ever since I was a child I have wanted to own my own business, and I knew it was time when my heart started knocking to tell me to take the risk and go for it. I was losing my passion for teaching high school English, and I had been doing some personal research on how to lessen my own environmental impact when I read that planting a tree was one of the very best things you could do for the planet. It occurred to me that planting a tree as a gift was a wonderful way to give a personal, thoughtful gift and to help the earth at the same time. Trees for a Change was born, and in two years we have planted close to 2000 trees in fire devastated National Forests. We are an online gift business, and our target market is mostly women who value nature and the outdoors and who love the idea of giving a gift that does some good, rather than giving something that is just more “stuff” that ultimately creates more waste.

Thanks to Kim Isley, www.treesforachange.com

Woman Loses Husband, Gains Her Self

Divorce feels like the end of the world as you know it, but for Rebecca West it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. Once over the shock of having to come up with a new plan, she saw the opportunity to completely redefine her life and travel a whole new road. While married she had played support person to her husband’s goals, but now it was time to put her own dreams first and leap into the world of entrepreneurship! By looking at a life challenge as an opportunity and finding the courage to leap, she discovered a wonderful sense of self and created her own successful business. Rivalee Redesign, an interior design and decorating company focusing on using what my clients already have on hand. I work with people in their late 30’s to late 50’s, primarily women going through some kind of change (divorce, empty nest, etc) who want their homes to better reflect their own lives and passions.

Thanks to Rebecca West www.rivalee.com

International Brand Director to Fair Trade Jewelry

While working for one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, I was offered a two year assignment at their headquarters located in Paris, France. I was given the opportunity to travel to their other offices around the world. During these business trips, I spent time with the local culture and discovered their artisan crafts, always purchasing an exquisite piece of jewelry to remind me of the people and their unique talents. After each trip, I would receive so many compliments, prompting me to tell the story behind the artwork. Upon my return to North America, I felt a deeper appreciation of the beauty in the world and recognized the privileges we sometimes take for granted. It was then that I decided to leave the corporate world behind and follow my passion to promote artisans around the world, especially women. I launched Pangea-Collection.com as a way to share my passion for discovering the most beautiful places, people and handicrafts in the world. Pangea-Collection.com is a virtual tour of the artisans, their origins and their artisan jewelry.

Thanks to Patricia Pinkney www.pangea-collection.com

Radio Marketing Director hears the Siren of Africa

For over four years I was the Promotions and Marketing Director at a group of radio stations. One of them was the most ultra conservative talk radio station in its market (I am a liberal). Every day was pure torture and I felt like I was selling my soul. The pay was good, the work steady and my job was guaranteed (when you do the work of three people and work at least 6 days a week your job is usually safe from cuts) but I was miserable. Every day was worse than the last and longer. Well, I recently got married and honeymooned in Kenya at a group of green camps (after my General Manager told me that November wasn’t a really good time to get married – could I change it to off season?)…I loved these camps and the people so much I started emailing the Camps’ owner. After a long email back and forth, I quit my steady job to help market the camps in the US. I am so happy – I am doing something I believe in, working with a company that believes in helping the wildlife and people of Kenya. I am in heaven.

Thanks to Lanie Doss www.porini.com

From Graphics to Feng Shui

I knew it was important to follow my passion and to share feng shui and communication skills with others when more people were talking with me about those things than about my day job. My passion to help others and to be definitive in the ways I could shape their experiences provided a natural foundation for this, but it wasn’t until I saw how that part of my life was the ‘happy part’ that I found courage to make a career jump. Passion for something should engage your brain in an upbeat manner and stir you to provide something good from it for the world; opening one’s self up to that is tough but liberating!

Thanks to Angela Sisson www.scnguide.com

Geology Tech to Menu Planning

I’ve been a Geology Tech for the last 15 year. However, I was always giving my menus to my sisters. I was sitting at the kitchen table making out my weekly menu one Sunday afternoon when I decided to start posting it online. I walked out to the garage to tell my husband and ask where to go to purchase a domain name. Within 15 minutes, I had bought the name “Menufortheweek.com.” It was that day that I posted my first menu and grocery list. For the first couple of weeks, it was for family and friends. After seeing everyone’s response, I decided to turn it into a “for-profit” business. As they say, “the rest is history.” I believe it is my passion for it that has made it so successful.

Thanks to Dawn Billesbach www.menufortheweek.com

From Corporate to Mom Corps

Allison O’Kelly, with an MBA from Harvard, was on the fast track in corporate management, and then she had children. Just as O’Kelly always strived to be successful professionally, she held the same standards for herself as a mother. Unfortunately, in the corporate world, she was unable to find a balance between career and family. She opted to start her own practice, serving small businesses with strategic planning, accounting, and tax services. O’Kelly soon hired five other women, all with families, to help serve her client base. Over time she saw many women, mothers just like herself, who wanted to stay in the workforce but didn’t know how to find opportunities which would allow them to preserve symmetry in their lives. Because of this obstacle, many mothers leave the workforce altogether. At the same time, she noticed corporations were struggling to find high-caliber employees, which led her to a distinctive calling. While she wanted to create meaningful opportunities for a much larger community of professionals raising families, she also wanted to continue serving clients with excellence—yet fundamentally change the way companies fill their intermittent staffing needs….Mom Corps was born!

Thanks to Allison O’Kelly www.momcorps.com

From Freelance Illustrator to Wallpaper Designer

It took me several years to make the break from working for someone else to starting my own company. After a long period as a freelance illustrator in NYC, I grew tired of making art for other people; it was hard spending all my time fulfilling other people’s artistic visions and neglecting my own. I decided to turn my illustrations into patterns, began studying wall coverings and textiles, and started my own hand-printed wallpaper company called Grow House Grow! It’s taken quite a while, but working for myself is so rewarding–not to mention, fun!

Thanks to Katie Deedy www.growhousegrow.com

Corporate Designer to Personalized Posters

Basically I knew it time when I got laid off for the third time in eight years! As a corporate graphic designer, we are always the first to go whenever “The Powers That Be” decide to cut costs or just make their bottom line look better to the board. Anyway, I was sitting in my own little cubicle from hell and I starting designing a poster for a friend who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a year, I had made over a dozen of them at the request of people who saw her original one, and I knew it was time to cut loose from corporate America. I now designed over 100 different posters.

Thanks to Angela Watson www.yourpersonalposter.com

Jumping out of a Plane and Landing a New Career

I started my Computer Consulting Business about 10 years ago after working in the corporate world for nearly 20 years. I would see a lot of decisions being made by upper management that I strongly disagreed with and witnessed a lot of wasteful energy. I was tired of seeing the same things over and over and finally decided that I could do a much better job on my own. There were two important events that caused me to take the plunge when I did. The first was due to broken promises, reorganization and unfair treatment at the company I worked at the time. I had been slowly building a client base that I would work on the side and felt that I had enough business to keep me going. The second event had to do with my hobby of skydiving. After jumping out of an airplane several times I felt that I could do anything and had the confidence to make the break and be successful. 10 years later I have no regrets and am doing well.

Thanks to Christine Janus WWW.EXTREMECONSULTANT.COM

The Skinny on Shapers

I knew it was time to follow my passion and start my business when a stranger asked me to speak at an event – they heard about me through a friend. Since the best marketing is word of mouth, I felt there may be an open avenue to expand my business. No Ordinary Rose is an online women and men’s shape wear headquarters but because my products target professional women over age 25, I would meet people every day that were looking to use their unique gifts to excel in the workplace, at home, at church, etc. Now, in addition to my online site, I speak on various platforms including women’s health, wellness, appearance, business opportunities and community involvement.

Thanks to Yolanda Rose www.noodinaryrose.com

From Hermes of Paris to MOMpreneur who listened to her HEART

About 5 years ago I went through a time when everything that was remaining to be healed from the past slapped me right in the face. With the help of lots of crying, therapy and depression I emerged from the other side ready to examine what was mine to do in the world. I searched my heart and paid close attention to what activities made me feel most alive-graphic design, sewing, and inspiring people to live from their purpose. I was trying to pull together all three of those passions and form a company, but kept meeting a lot of resistance-for various reasons. Finally, one day, I laid down the dream. I let it go and wondered if it was truly mine to do after all. Several months past and one day I broke down into tears and realized that if I didn’t give this dream all I had and completely commitment myself to birthing it I would regret not doing it in 20 years. That was 2 years ago. Since then Sovereign Hearts has been born. I design and produce women’s organic cotton t-shirts, accessories and gift with a core inspirational message…to listen to your heart, trust its wisdom, and live your purpose like no other can.

Thanks to Leslie Anderson www.sovereignhearts.com

Remember learning to Drive

I have always had a passion for children. I have 3 of them and do anything and everything to make their lives better. After having lived through 2 of my kids learning to drive and literally 20 people coming up to me one day complaining how other people would bother them on the road when they were teaching their kids to drive, I knew something had to be done. That is why I came up with STUDENT at the wheel® magnets and window clings for your car. I thought the target market was parents of new drivers, but after our test marketing last year we found as many kids buying them as parents. Our 2 newest designs were suggested by teenagers (the Cheetah & the Pink Zebra).

Thanks to Karen Klayman www.studentatthewheel.com

Mompreneur Out of Necessity

After nursing her own daughter for two years, Tangela Walker-Craft realized that there was no product on the market that allowed mothers to have nursing privacy and cradling comfort when others were present.  Existing nursing pillows were too bulky and cumbersome for travel.  Cover-ups on the market required too much manipulation.  She set out to design a product that would satisfy the needs of both breast feeding and bottle feeding mothers and caregivers. As the Go Pillow developed, she realized that it had developed into a multi-purpose product that solved several problems for mothers and caregivers on the go. The owners of Simply Necessary, Inc hope that the hands-free portability and multi-purpose design will make the Go Pillow your favorite child care product.

Thanks to Tangela Walker-Craft www.simplynecessary.com