Lorrie Van Buskirk, Selling Joy and Finding Passion

Lorrie Van Buskirk, Silpada Jewelry Representative

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
I have been blessed with being a stay-at -home mom for the past 10 years, and have solely dedicated my heart and soul to my girls and volunteer work that was to be to their benefit.  When my youngest daughter entered Kindergarten this year I gave myself permission to focus on my own personal dreams and step back into the world of business.  Many of us go through a midlife crisis at this stage in their lives, and I wasn’t any different.  At the onset of my coaching I truly didn’t have a clear direction.  I have a strong background in sales, marketing and persuasive speaking — but didn’t feel inspired.  Working with Katie helped steer me in a direction of clarity and focus.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
I have over 10 years of corporate marketing and sales experience, and decided to take a reprieve from all of that when my first daughter was born.  My biggest fear about reentering the workforce was that I would be out of touch with current marketing trends and strategies.  Quite honestly, my heart was not in going back to a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle and I didn’t feel passionate about my former career.  I needed some inspiration.  Listening to my own personal dreams above the dreams of others was extremely challenging.  I felt compelled to return to the workforce, but also felt a twinge of guilt knowing that my family would have to make sacrifices in order for me to follow my dreams.  My husband has been extremely supportive, and has encouraged me every step of the way.  I have learned that the most important factor in reaching for your dreams successfully is having the support of your family at its helm.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
I have since begun a career as an independent sales representative for Silpada Designs, a silver jewelry company.  Never in a million years would I have guessed that this would be the stepping stone that would re-launch me back into the world of business.  After working on my goals and dreams with Katie, amazingly this opportunity fit every single one of my criteria — and even gave me the added benefit of being able to set my own hours and be available to my girls.  Once I took the plunge and began working my business “magic” began to happen.  I rediscovered my passion for sales while representing a product that I truly believed in.   So far it has been an amazing journey and I can’t wait to see the path that lies ahead of me.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
It has always been extremely difficult for me to put my own needs and interests as a priority, as I have always been the one who has taken care of everyone first.  I just barely fit in any “me time” on a daily basis.  Giving myself permission to focus on me was huge!  It was difficult owning up to the challenge that I was now leaving behind the “old me” and growing wings for the “new me”.  I have been told by a woman wise beyond her years, that once I commit to a decision, challenges will surely come my way.  Not a day had even passed after I made my decision to launch my own business, when my first challenges came storming at me.  Amazingly, the joy of taking on this new challenge overcame ALL of those obstacles.  When you are on the correct path, your passion will overcome any and all challenges.

When was a defining moment of clarity in your journey?
Clarity comes when those who you care about in your life the most, see your joy and are elated for you unconditionally.  One of my most joyful moments was when my daughter made me a “Silpadaish” necklace to put in my display. Words cannot even describe the joy I felt by receiving this precious gift from her.  Knowing that her pride in what I was doing was so great that she wanted to contribute personally was overwhelming!  When you truly listen to your heart’s desires, and act on them — magic happens!  There have been many bright moments that reassured me at each tiny step that this is the right place for me at this time in my life.  My wish from this experience is that others see the joy that I am experiencing and take the challenge to truly seek their own heart’s desires.  Once they begin to align their dreams with their personal path, the world awaits them.  It is an amazing, empowering feeling to not only be in control of my destiny, but be in complete alignment with it.

Kenneth Lin, Investing in Life

Kenneth Lin, Oak Realty
http://www.OakRealtyNC.com

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
After college, I knew right off the bat I couldn’t work full-time in an office setting, sitting inside a cubicle waiting for the clock to strike 5:00PM everyday. I gave the corporate world a year to gain experience and save as much money as possible. After about 8 months, I purchased my first investment property: a small loft condo in South Park. I got the property rented out within two weeks, and from there, I believed I was on the right path to creating an empire in residential real estate investing. Thus, the creation of Trafalgar Enterprises, LLC was born!

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
Starting any kind of business is difficult. It takes a lot of convincing and a lot of desire. For me, I had a greater challenge: my age and experience. At 23, I had to convince investors that my idea was worth a $250,000 investment. I knew if I was able to secure that kind of money, my strategy would work and I could begin growing my company to the next level. The fear running down my spine when I approached these investors was gut-wrenching. But somehow, I was able to convince them of my idea, and the funding was secured.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
My goal has definitely been reached. In a little over 4 years, I now own 14 properties all throughout Charlotte ranging from Ballantyne, South Park, Sedgefield to Uptown Charlotte and NoDa. All of my properties are rented out, and just about all have long-term tenants. Each of my properties has at least 25% equity with several owned free-and-clear. I don’t intend to stop growing. My original goal has definitely been exceeded. Best yet, I’ve decided to open up my own real estate firm as a result of my property investments success.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
The biggest challenge in accomplishing my dream has definitely been facing adversity from other fellow investors. One of my biggest challenges was convincing my group to purchase a newly constructed home in NoDa. At the time, the area wasn’t the greatest, and just about all of my investors bailed on me. With an asking price of $230,000, I thought the home was a steal, and I had a feeling that the area would begin to take off. So I took the risk and purchased it myself back in Oct 2005 on a hunch. Now, the home I purchased is now valued at around $379,000!

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
For me, this is an easy one. I grew up in a family that wasn’t wealthy, didn’t have much, and had to earn everything we owned. We cherish all we have, even if the item we owned was 20 years old. The fact that I could take something from nothing and turn it into an empire has propelled me to work even harder to get to my goal, which is to be able to retire when I’m 40 and to take care of my family. They invested in me, and it’s about time that I repaid them for the investment they made in me. =)

Brant, Unconventional Transitionalist

Brant Aycock
What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
I’ve always had more of a handle on how I wanted to live, rather than what I wanted to do. I enjoy travel and new experiences, and wanted to have the freedom to be able to enjoy whatever opportunities life might offer me. I didn’t need to be extremely wealthy, but I wanted a career that would give me some degree of recreational income in addition to supporting myself.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
I worked in dentistry for 12 years, and while it was lucrative, I found I was unhappy. My biggest fear in leaving practice was that nobody would be able to see me in a function that didn’t involve teeth. To some extent this was true, but as I became involved with community groups in town and did some freelance work, people began to see that I could function in other capacities.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
It’s still very much a work in progress, but so far seems to be on target. I knew there would be some lean times before the big payoff, and that is where I am now. A friend has hired me to work with his PR firm, and the pay is roughly one third of my health care salary. Still, I am much happier, and as someone told me once—if you work hard at what you love, the money will come.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
When you are in health care, people assume you are in it for life. Others can change careers and people encourage them on their path. Very few people did that for me. Most thought I was crazy to give up something I’d worked so hard for—not acknowledging that it was an empty accomplishment once I lost my passion for it. The biggest challenge was just walking away, when I had little to no emotional support.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
I’m lucky enough to have had some accomplishments since leaving dentistry. With each challenge there was stress, but also this euphoria that comes from taking on a task and successfully completing it. This was what I had lost in dentistry—the sense of reward. Wanting to continue to feel that way is what keeps me going.

William McKee, Progress Creator

William McKee, Knowmad Technologies
http://www.knowmad.com

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
My initial dream is intimately tied into the name of my company — Knowmad. I envisioned being a nomadic knowledge worker working when and where I wanted. In the early 1990’s, this vision was becoming possible as access was being made available to the general public via nation-wide dial-up access and the promise of broadband technologies becoming more readily available.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
Being in my early 20’s when I started, I had no fear of being in business for myself. I had few expenses and little responsibility. Thus, I could play and explore and work as I wanted without the fear of failure. As both I and the business have matured, there have been many more responsibilities and times when I have to do things I don’t want to do or forgo things I’d like to do. For every stage of a business, there are unique challenges. Learning to meet and overcome those challenges is what makes an individual into a success.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
The vision has changed. I’ve created a business and am now a business owner, not just a nomadic programmer. For me, this change is one of maturity as when an apprentice becomes a journeyman then a master. However, through the 15 years that I’ve had the dream to start my own business, the kernel of the vision is still intact. Currently, I am in the midst of growing the business more than working in the business. I still continue to have the vision of working from where and when I want.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
My biggest challenge has been learning how to be a businessman. I enjoy learning and experimenting with new technologies. In other words, I’ve always enjoyed working in the business more than working on the business. However, I’ve accepted the challenge to grow the company which means learning more about business than I thought I wanted to know. Fortunately, I am finding this challenge to be a good opportunity to improve my skills and expand my horizons.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
I am motivated by knowing that my life has been created by my own doing with the support of a multitude of others along the way. I feel much more empowered knowing that I am in control of my own destiny. This knowledge helps me to persevere through the tough times when I feel like throwing in the towel and taking a “normal” job.

Chris Wing, Inspired Nomad

Chris Wing, USNWC Instructor
http://www.h2odreams.com/

About Chris:
I have been a kayaker/instructor for 8 years and presently work as an instructor trainer at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. I had a unique start with the sport as I learned to teach while I learned to kayak. My career as an instructor has taken me from the rivers of the mid-west to the northeast and presently to the southeast working for such schools as 41 North, NOC and currently the USNWC.

I have started to broaden the scope of my career in kayaking to include competitive freestyle kayaking and extreme racing. I look forward to the many lifestyle changes required to become an accomplished athlete. I will live a highly unconventional lifestyle of living out of a vehicle, traveling the road to personal achievement. I have learned that my only limitations are those that I put on myself and I look forward to breaking through the barriers both physical and emotional that I may perceive.

I try day in and day out to become a balanced person because I feel it is a good place to be. I always look forward to the future because that is where I am going next. I try not to dwell in the past because It’s only where I have been. This is me and I’m only becoming better.

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
My initial dream for my current lifestyle was simply to live a life that I would take an active part in. I spent many years in college feeling stagnant and complacent with my life. My goal was to never live that way again. It turns out that I was able to make my lifestyle my business as well.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
I do not feel that you ever overcome the fear of the unknown, the fear of failure, or the fear of disapproval from peers and loved ones. I think it is natural for any reasonable person to have this disposition, however I cannot allow for it to drive my life. That is the very definition of perseverance to me. I had to leave the comforts that I had come to know and adapt to a new environment in order to excel with my goals.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
I like to use an analogy of a river for planning for the future. Just as a paddler looks at a rapid and makes their plan of how to negotiate a rapid, they are basing their assumptions upon what they can see on the surface. The surface of the river is a very small portion of what will actually affect the paddler. There are many factors lying under the surface that can have a very dramatic effect. When a paddler gains a deeper understanding of the river they begin to understand what is happening below the surface and therefore their plan becomes more thorough. Planning for life is very much like planning for a rapid on a river, initially your perception of dreams and goals may be a bit shallow, however the more deep you delve into yourself and the world around you the more you understand how you will fit into it. So yes, it has changed and I sometimes enjoy the entropy of the process.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
Honestly, overcoming naysayer and seeking out a support structure. The funny part is much of the support structure is already in front of you. My family has always been there to help, despite how half-baked my ideas were at times. They also keep things extremely real for you as they are cautious of your decisions (laugh). I sought out people specifically in my sport that I try to model myself after and surround myself with them. It can be a bit intimidating introducing one self to someone who has already been extremely successful at what you are trying to do.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
I have received a lot of good advice over the past couple of years, but my motivation and inspiration never really came from one particular individual. My drive really is a philosophy of how to live life and I have had many great influences on how to do it right and some influences on how to do it badly. I think you need to have both to realize you can be living on this thin line between the two. Some of the strongest words I remember recently have been those that spoke about the ability to make the most of any momentous occasion in your life. It currently has inspired me to make the most of each situation and realize it will not be the end all, be all. Life is a series of moments and I want to remember my moments as putting a smile on my face.

Barbara Mack, Intuitive Seeker

Barbara Mack, US National Whitewater Center
www.usnwc.org

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
I never had an initial dream. I tended to drift along with life, taking change and opportunity when it came. Today my hope is to live and work in a healthy, fun, productive way in harmony with animals, people and the land.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
Sometimes I am afraid of everything, especially that I am not enough, have not done enough, that everyone else has figured “it” out and I don’t have what it takes to get there. Often a moment of grace arrives that melts the fear. It comes in the form of a kind word from a friend like “ You look special today, your face is glowing and your haircut is great”, or a hug from my daughter as she says, “I am so lucky that you are not like the other moms and that you are my mom!” or a deep felt wave of peace flowing from the ground through my body at work that lasts for five to ten minutes. It has no words attached, just a feeling of peace and well being on the cellular level. Moments of grace hold the fear at bay long enough to allow me to take the next step.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
In hindsight, my vision has always been the same, just not on a conscious level. I was living close to it in a way I thought my family and the world wanted. Instead of working as a Human Resources Professional I am an outdoor adventure facilitator. Instead of being health for myself, I am working on my Masters Degree in Alternative Healing. Instead of admiring and collecting art I am creating art. Instead of being serious and focused I am having fun. Instead of having all the answers I am helping people find their own answers.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
Believing I am worthy, believing it can work, believing the world will support my choices and journey. Believing I have the inner resources to handle what comes with the path I choose.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
A spiritual hunger that is not fed by being safe. A divine discontent with playing small, settling for safe, not making my contribution to life.

Angie Mattson, Solopreneur Supporter

Angie Mattson, Mattson Business Services
http://www.defineyourday.com, www.mattsonbusiness.com

About Angie:
Mattson Business Services provides writing and editing expertise, creative organizing solutions, and project assistance for a variety of consultants and small businesses. Angie has recently launched a monthly e-zine called Supporting Solopreneurs for small business support professionals who want the freedom to define their days by being their own boss!

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
When I began seriously considering starting my own business, I was sure I wanted more control of my time. I worked with a mentor for a year and she kept asking me over and over, “What would your day look like? What would you want to be doing? What do you enjoy most? What is it you really want?” Finally we both realized that core of every answer I gave contained three elements – freedom, flexibility and variety. My work has evolved to include professional organizing, administrative and project assistance and freelance business and travel writing.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
I am a planner, I want to be a know-it-all and I want to be sure that what I’m doing is going to work. I call myself the “safety girl.” It was a true belief in myself and my abilities that allowed me to quit my job and start my own business. But in true “safety-girl” fashion, I kept working part-time for one of my former employers for a year before I cut them loose and was truly a full-time solopreneur. I persevered because the more freedom, flexibility and variety I found each day, the more I wanted. Those three things keep me going even today and I’ve been in business for five years!

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
My business has definitely changed along the way, and probably for the better. Originally I had planned to work from home, but for the first three years I worked 90 percent of the time at clients’ home offices. They needed help that a virtual assistant couldn’t provide. Although it wasn’t what I’d planned, I learned volumes working for these solopreneurs – both about how to run my business and how to problem solve for a variety of clients. Between writing, professional organizing and administrative assisting, I’m working about 60/40 from my home office and my clients’ home offices.

When was a defining moment of clarity in your journey?
A defining moment was my finally understanding that 20 percent of my clients provide 80 percent of my income. Clients that are difficult, reactionary or who complain about my rates aren’t worth it. By cutting them loose, I created more space for the clients who are truly a dream to work with – my Ideal Clients. Honestly though, I struggled with getting rid of some of those clients who were difficult because I had developed such a long-term working relationship with them. Cutting loose the clients I like personally will always be a very difficult business decision.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
I keep building and growing my business because I thrive on the freedom, flexibility and variety. I am passionate about defining my days exactly how I choose and I love working with an interesting array of clients. I am starting to share my passion for solopreneurship by encouraging others to consider it as well. That’s why I started www.defineyourday.com – to reach other people, especially women, who have such talent and skill but are so underutilized and underappreciated in a J-O-B. By being your own boss, you are chief problem-solver, organizer, and definer of your days – and clients hugely appreciate your talents and efforts!

Chris Frueh, Mom with a Mission

Chris Frueh, uGOgirlz
www.uGOgirlz.com

What was your initial dream for your business or lifestyle (or both!)?
My initial dream for my business was to create a company that would allow me to inspire, motivate and empower women to go for it! My dream is that uGOgirlz becomes the place to visit when women and girls need that gentle nudge to begin the wonderful journey to their dreams, the place to visit when they need some motivation to keep moving forward on their journey, and the place to celebrate their accomplishments along the way.

Can you explain the fear and perseverance it took for you to bring your dream to reality?
My biggest fear is the fear of failure. Creating this company has really encouraged me to stretch my comfort zone. At times I want to retreat to the safety of the known, but I realize that in order to encourage and support others on their journeys I need to walk my own. I have decided that fail means the first attempt in learning and I will try again and again until I reach my dream.

Now that you are either working on your dream or living your dream, is it the same vision you originally had or has it changed along the way?
I have realized that my initial dream just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I have changed paths a few times, but overall the direction has been the same.

What has been your biggest challenge in accomplishing your dream?
The biggest challenge that I face is wanting it all now!! I can clearly see the forest that I want to create, but I can be impatient about planting the trees. I have learned to slow down and think things through longer and ask for help when I need it. Another challenge has been coming from a background in teaching and moving into the business/entrepreneur arena. I have to say that I am learning something new every day.

What motivates you to keep building, growing or pushing for your dream?
My daughter is my motivation. All that I do and all that I accomplish will hopefully inspire my daughter to reach for her dreams. I want her to be a part of my dream and share with her how important it is to embrace your dreams, believe in your possibilities and dare to be extraordinary!

Motivational Muses!

Keep checking back for new, bold stories of people living their truth. Through the fear, through the worry and through the doubt, they pushed onward with a dream they believed to be greater than themselves. Here are their stories. Learn from them. Pass them on. Prepare to be inspired.