Jack's Story: TeenBusinessForum.com

Perseverance is an important part of being an entrepreneur. Jack never lost sight of his business goals, and refused to allow discouraging moments to slow him down. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the challenges of being a small business owner, follow Jack's example and don't let temporary setbacks get you down. Thanks for sharing your story, Jack!

"My story doesn't pertain to my business in particular, but has to do with the life of an entrepreneur: the ups and downs, the great ideas and bad execution, the persistence needed to keep going. In addition to my day job, I have been working on side projects for two years now. Throughout those two years, I knew I needed a business coach: a mentor who would sit with me and tell me the ugly truth. I got advice from a friend who is a business executive, but he was too busy to be sorting through the weeds of my business. So for two years, I researched and implemented ideas and talked to a number of people, doing everything I could to keep my entrepreneurial spirit going.

I finally incorporated back in April for a generic IT consulting company. I did my first pro-bono work, free of charge in order to get my name, branding and quality of work out there. Then I saw an opportunity with the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) non-profit to receive coaching from veteran entrepreneurs (you know the type - guys who've hustled money for the last 30+ years, people you'd recognize from Inc., ex-CEO's, CFO's who have sold companies for fifty times the value of your house). It was the inaugural class of the NVTC FastTrac TechVenture entrepreneurship program. I wanted in, badly. So badly, in fact, that I applied twice; one application for my IT consulting company, and a second application for an idea I had for software that would benefit the architecture and interior design industry. But I didn't get in. The feedback I got was that the selection committee liked my entrepreneurial spirit, but did not like the fact that I submitted two applications. It made me look unfocused. Their advice was that I should take the coming months to develop my ideas further, and then apply again when the coaching program was about to restart.

That's when I landed on my most recent project, TeenBusinessForum.com, an online community where teen entrepreneurs connect to discuss business and share stories. I looked at it and thought, 'this has potential'. So I acquired the site, then talked to various people to see if there were any synergies. I found a retired business exec who was willing to contribute to the site as an expert, and another person who was a teen entrepreneur coach. I continued to brainstorm on how to grow the forum and make it unique. Soon after, I was notified that the entrepreneurship program was going to start again. So I applied. This time, I only submitted one application, and it was for TeenBusinessForum.com. I also submitted a partial business and marketing plan. A week later, I got the email; I got in.

Why do I tell you this story? Because entrepreneurs need to be persistent. I knew from the start that I needed a coach, and I sought after it with determination. When I got rejected the first time (and believe me, you will hear 'no' plenty of times), it just meant that I needed to work on myself and my business more. I never in the last two years ever said entrepreneurship was not for me. Frankly, the alternative wasn't much better. I'd rather take the harder approach, knowing that it's as much a journey in personal growth as it is in business. And it has been. In two years, I have become a better public speaker, networker, and leader. Don't we all want to be that? Who knows what the next five, ten, thirty years will bring; life is more interesting that way."

Make sure to check out Jack's website at TeenBusinessForum.com, and connect with him at his blog, OffTheBeaconPath.com.

Health and happiness,
Abbey

Leslie's Story: Grill Charms™

Everything is a process, right? Leslie knows all about that. She's a mom from Charleston, SC, who never predicted that she would become a small business owner. Thanks for sharing your story, Leslie; all this talk about grilling is making me hungry!

"I can honestly say that I never saw myself as the entrepreneurial type. I knew that someday I wanted to have a family and be a stay-at-home mom, like my mother before me. It is so odd how life takes twists and turns that you never could have predicted in a million years. That is what makes life so interesting, and makes me excited to greet the day. You just never know what the next 24 hours will bring. For me, my life changed for forever during a dinner party I hosted in my Charleston, SC home in April of 2006. At our house, grilling is a year-round sport. My husband made some chicken for our guests, and was courteous enough to make a mild version of the chicken for me because I don't like spicy food. By the time dinner was cooked, plated and served, he had forgotten which chicken was which and gave me what he thought was the mild sauce. I’m sure you can guess what happened… this very spicy 'light bulb moment' changed the trajectory of my life forever.

I couldn’t get the thought of 'wine charms for food' out of my head during dinner. After we cleaned the kitchen, I started sketching prototypes for my product 'Grill Charms™' that very evening, and I have never looked back since. I think that a lot of people make the mistake of thinking about the 'big picture' too early, and end up throwing in the towel while pursuing their ideas of bringing a product to market. You need to have some sort of big picture idea, but if you think too much, it becomes overwhelming. This is where many people just give up because the scope of the idea of 'bringing an idea to market' is just too much so they just don’t do anything. As with everything in life, bringing a product to market is nothing more then a process. It is a series of steps that get you from point A to point B. Once you break it down into small baby steps, it’s not so scary. You simply put one foot in front of the other and the path will appear. But be ready… the path that appears isn’t always the one you intended to take!"

To learn more about Leslie's Grill Charms™, visit GrillCharms.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @grillcharmer, and become a fan on Facebook.

Health and happiness,
Abbey

Debbie's Story: DebSparkles

Debbie's story is inspiring. She truly knows what it means to persevere when life gets tough. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Debbie. You really do sparkle!

"My name is Debbie, although I have found I answer to 'DebSparkles' much more quickly. Funny how our online personalities seem to take over.

I have been a single parent for 25 years. Most of those years, I worked for other people, several jobs at a time, to make ends meet and care for my family on my own. I started bead-weaving as a teenager, and the enjoyment and the passion I felt for it never wore off. As my kids got a bit older, I started participating in weekend craft fairs to sell my work, not only for household money but to resupply my ever growing need for beads.

I also was sick a lot; just little things, but it seemed like all the time, and I never let it interfere with my jobs or taking care of my home or children. I attributed it to exhaustion, doing it all by myself, just like every other single parent does.

Then in 2004, my world came crashing down. I could not get out of bed one day; it felt as if I had no legs. I could do nothing. After a few days at the hospital, and then a continuous circle of doctors and specialists, I was diagnosed with a rare illness. Well, I shouldn't say rare, just not well-known. I had Chiari Malformation and Syringomellia. That's a long story in itself that I won't bore you with, but I ended up going through major brain surgery two separate times.

The after-effects of all this caused me to lose all use of my legs, and even worse, my hands. I went from typing 90 words per minute down to 20 - with a mistake in every word. Even worse, I could not bead. My love, my hobby, my passion. So I went to work on me. Through a lot of effort, medications, therapy, and in the end a lot of personal self-help therapy, I got to the point where I could get around with a walker, then a cane, and then eventually with no support at all (never mind that to this day I walk like a drunken sailor). Then I decided it was time to get my hands working again, because I needed to bead. A lot of work later, I am able to bead-weave again; it's not exactly the intricate work I used to do, but good, solid, well-made, pretty things.

However, I did find that my disabilities would not ever resolve themselves to the point where I could go out and make a living again. Then I found Etsy. I have a fun little shop where I sell my work. Sales are small and slow, but I work every day to meet more people and share what I do. Being pretty much housebound, I have learned to use the computer to socialize, make friends, share my passion, advertise, and promote myself. My dream is to soon get to the point where I have built up a clientele in my Etsy store that will allow me to take care of myself, pay my bills, and enjoy my life as much as I possibly can in my situation. Every cloud has a silver lining, and I have found my silver lining in the Etsy community."

You can find Debbie on Etsy at debsparkles.etsy.com. Check out her website too, at serenitycollections.com.

Health and happiness,
Abbey

Susan's Story: Susan Weiner Nutrition

Today's story comes to us from Susan Weiner, a nutrition consultant for individuals and businesses in New York. She's been learning a lot recently, thanks to some exciting expansions and changes to her company. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Susan!

"Recently, my business has been expanding from mostly one-on-one nutritional counseling to more media related work. Although I'll never give up working with clients to improve their health (one bite at a time), I've been given the unique opportunity to work as a consultant to a diabetes TV show, and as a contributor on the companion website to a book which was recently a New York Times best seller! One of my career goals is to continue expanding my business to work in media and with food companies, and I've found that it's challenging to find a balance.

I've been my own boss for so many years that at first, it was difficult to understand exactly what was expected of me from people I now work with, and to meet specific deadlines. As an integral part of several projects, I have to balance my private practice and consulting projects. When I was first consulting on the TV show, I remember being invited to participate in a conference call. My peers who worked for the show had no problems arranging their schedules for the call because they all worked together, in the same office. I, however, had to reschedule clients so that I would be available for the phone conference. I was really stressed the first time that happened.

I've since learned that as a consultant, I need to be flexible with my schedule, but that it's also important to speak up and decline certain events if they conflict with more important opportunities. It took a bit of time, but I learned to prioritize. I am also learning to turn down projects that I feel in my gut might not work out in my benefit. If I get a bad feeling about a project, I politely and respectfully decline the offer, no matter how well it pays or how interesting it sounds. If it doesn't feel right for you, don't do it.

I'm also now mentoring graduate students who are studying to be dietitians. When I initially started my own practice, I didn't think I had the time to mentor students. Well, I have to admit, I'm learning as much from them as they are from me. One student I'm working with has helped me tremendously on a research project; I guide her on how to distinguish between important information and 'fluff', while she manages to improve my computer literacy and technology skills. Mentoring is a great way to open the door to the future of my profession. I'm enjoying it very much.

My practice and consulting work is expanding at such a rapid pace that I'm now considering hiring other nutritionists. It's really wonderful to love going to work everyday; it makes all of my efforts worthwhile. Although I'm still working on balancing my busy schedule at home and at work, I'm enjoying every moment of the journey."

To learn more about Susan Weiner Nutrition, visit www.susanweinernutrition.com, and be sure to check out her blog. She specializes in weight management, diabetes and sports nutrition.

Health (especially today!) and happiness,
Abbey