It Takes a Village

it-takes-a-village

One of my colleagues, Donna Colfer, sent out a New Year’s blog thanking the people in her life who contributed to her success and wellbeing in 2014. I thought this was a very good idea and have decided to follow in her path. There is no way I would have grown leaps and bounds in 2014 without the support of the women and men in my professional life who contributed their genius on my behalf. I continue to be amazed by the big hearted, “want to help me” attitude that all of these people have. Every one of them has been there for me over and over and they continually support me to be the best I can be.

My Clients, Colleagues, and Strategic Partners You make my world go round and having you in my life has uplifted me, taught me, trained me, enlightened me and put me through my paces! I love the constellations we create and the far reach of the work we do together. You are part of my lifeblood and allow me to do what I love, day in and day out.

Nicole Steen, Virtual Consulting Group Nicole has been my virtual assistant for more than two years and she has my back day after day. She supports me however I need it and finds ways I hadn’t even thought of! She is fast, versatile, technology savvy and consistently my go to gal. In addition, she serves many of my clients in their businesses and they all think she is awesome!

Stacey WillBrooks, my on the ground assistant Stacey is new to my business since the latter half of 2014. She is in graduate school, doing internships,raising two small children and still she finds the time to support me! She is often one step ahead of me,has really good problem solving skills and enjoys my out loud processing. Excel is her friend, automating PDFs is easy for her and I appreciate that her thinking and abilities are complimentary to mine!

Pam Austin, my coach Everyone needs a coach and I am no exception. My good luck was having Pam tell me I needed to work with her and in response to her direct approach I decided to give her a try. There was no disappointment! Pam is freaking awesome and her intuition, kindness, insights and empathy have been essential to my personal and professional growth this past year.

Linda Basso, Marketing with Connection Linda is new in my life and as a marketing consultant she has showed me and my team the way to create, develop, and launch a successful social media campaign. She urged me to bring the Good Things Challenge from idea to reality and supported all of us in our collaborative efforts. We couldn’t have (wouldn’t have :)) done it without her!

Caterina Rando, Make Your Business Thrive In 2013 I met Caterina and was sparked to action! Through her, I realized my next professional goal was to become a sought after speaker, so I enrolled in her program. Thanks to her brilliance, 2014 brought me on the stage at a national conference and I have several speeches and workshops scheduled across the country in 2015!

Monica Martinez, Monica M Design Monica is my graphic designer and branding specialist who has done so much to make me look so good! We undertook rebranding all of my programs in 2014 and within a very short timeframe she created the visual marketing materials for the Good Things Challenge, which was no small feat!

Victoria Lasin, V.L. Editing Vicki is one of those women who not only has a very useful skill set but she knows how to take charge! I can always count on her to step up, make it better than it was (whatever it is), and most importantly, she does it without a lot of my time and energy! She is passionate about helping business people look their best when the written word is involved and she succeeds!

Tom Scott, Oliver’s Market My friendship with Tom goes back a lot of years, but beginning in 2013 he sought my council on an issue he was dealing with in his professional life. He provided me the opportunity to share my talent and business acumen and in 2014 I was brought in to facilitate a leadership training of Oliver’s top 15 employees. Thanks to Tom, my work with Oliver’s continues and I have been given the chance to share in the positive growth of a local, corporate business that shares my values.

Jim Horan, The One Page Business Plan Company When I sold my company in 2004 and launched myself as a business consultant, I discovered the One Page Business Plan and Jim Horan. I became one of Jim’s consultants and over the years our friendship and professional relationship have deepened. I consider him to be one of my mentors and go to people. In 2013 Jim asked me to cohost a webinar for NAWBO (National Assoc. of Women Business Owners) about the One Page Plan. Long story short, beginning in 2014, Jim positioned me as the face of the One Page Business Plan Company to NAWBO and together we are helping them build a stronger, more cohesive organization. The moral of this story is that Jim provided me an opportunity and allowed me to bring it to fruition.

As you look forward to the New Year, take time to look at who has supported you this past year and remember to acknowledge them for all they have brought into your life. None of us can do it alone and the beauty of building community is doing it together.