I…

…believe in delivering straightforward ways entrepreneurs can brand, package, and market their services to launch and grow the businesses of their dreams.

…have experience as a multi-million dollar business owner, and use my knowledge and expertise gained from 23+ years of business management to help my clients and students grow extraordinary businesses.

…have coached and taught thousands of entrepreneurs, and I am able to simplify complex business management systems so they’re easy and powerfully applied in my clients’ businesses.

… help my clients accelerate their income, and achieve business success.

…open up new ways of thinking in my clients to help them overcome and breakthrough barriers they’re facing…both perceived, and real…

…believe that every entrepreneur needs someone to believe in them, and what they are capable of achieving…and firmly push them to take courageous action to grow their business and increase their income.

My Story…

The summer after I turned 13 years old, I began to work in my father’s business, and began learning about all the neat things the business did. There was an office, and a shop floor with rows upon rows of whining, fast-moving machinery. This machinery spun metals and plastics at thousands of RPMs, and cut these materials with ease, and precision. There was also a department with lots of computers with men that worked in front of them at a feverish pace.

My father was the captain of this business, the ‘Big Ship;’ he was in charge of everything, and made decisions quickly and easily. All the men who worked for my father liked and respected him. By the way the men treated my father; I realized he was also personally liked. I felt very proud of my father, and wanted to be just like him when I grew up.

My father’s company made precision-machined components for companies located in far-away places. It was exciting, as a little girl, for me to see parts machined, packed up, and sent off to these places I had never been, but only saw the names and addresses on a piece of paper. These packages were like gifts being sent on their way to people excitedly awaiting their arrival.

My fascination with the company grew over the years, and I found myself working by my father’s side for the next 27 years sending these little “gift packages” to our customers. After growing up for so many years in a home where this business lived and breathed, and the daily cycles of our life revolved around it, I couldn’t imagine myself being anything but a small business owner or entrepreneur. Being ‘in business’ was in my bones, and the entrepreneurial spirit thrives in my being; it is who I am.

My father is an excellent businessman, and taught me how to run a company like a well-oiled, high performing machine. He taught me how all the pieces of a company are supposed to work together, and how to watch over it so it always worked well. The years spent learning from my father how to run a business was the best education I ever received. No business school could ever teach these skills about how to treat employees and customers with respect, make ethical business decisions, and how to deliver high quality parts and customer service. Somehow, my father figured out the *magic formula* about how to run a highly successful company, and taught these skills and knowledge to me.

One day, we sold the company, for millions of dollars. It was then I decided I wanted to help others start and grow successful businesses of their own, and teach them the magical lessons I learned from my father, so they, too, could live a life of financial freedom.

Lessons I’ve learned about being in business…

• how to save and invest so you have something to grow your future
• be contrarian; do courageously what others won’t
• persevere, never give up, and find a way to make it work…whatever “it” is

When I’m not coaching or leading a workshop…

I live in an upscale neighborhood in Palatine, Illinois with my husband, Robert, and my daughter, Becky. We also have two European Burmese cats named Topaz and Sterling. I love my husband, children, and family…artful, gourmet cooking, like making hors de oeuvres for a cocktail party…baking luscious cakes…watercolor painting…traveling to new places…staying in historic and five-star hotels…decorating my home…Pilates and yoga…sipping a French Martini…fine dark chocolate…listening to The Beatles, Sarah Brightman, and the White Stripes…jazz and classic guitar music…going to the theater (Phantom of the Opera is my favorite)…NYC…Chicago…I guess I’m a city girl at heart. I am a professionally trained artist and love painting and drawing. I love entertaining guests in our lovely home, traveling, sailing, going to destination spas (Kohler Waters Spa in Kohler, WI and the Mii Amo Spa at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, AZ are my two favorites), reading, and just “being” in my beautiful home.

Credentials…

• Have personally coached and taught over 4,000 individuals, which resulted in creating for them millions of dollars of sales
• Graduated valedictorian with an Executive M.B.A. from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Lake Forest, IL
• Degree in Business Administration from the Pennsylvania State University
• Director and leader of the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Harper College, Palatine, IL
• Instructor for business topics at local community colleges and graduate schools