Online Biz Member Success Blog

Pat Matson, The World of Within

Your Name: Pat Matson

Name of Business: The World of Within

Type of business: For women who suffer with anxieties about self esteem and being fat.

What does your business do? Teach spiritual principles to aggrandize health, wealth, success and harmony.

Why did you start the biz and when did your business open? I began this business in 2004 to bring my message of hope to Obese women via my book, my workbooks and my teleclasses.

How many people in your company?  Only me.

What's your office location like?  I have an office in my third bedroom. It is completely dedicated to my work with the single exception of an infrequently used futon. I have a wireless network to the rest of the house so I can always know when emails arrive.

What's the toughest part of running your biz?   The toughest part of running my business is positioning myself appropriately on the internet to appeal to my target market.

What's the most fun part?  The funnest part for me is getting comments on my blog that I've helped someone by creating a piece of enlightenment. That really warms my heart.

Anything you would have done differently?  I'd have gotten a marketing coach two years ago.

Explain what's next on the horizon for you and your business?  I have two businesses. I'd like The World of Within to make more money so I could lay the other business aside completely and concentrate on only one of them.

What advice do you have for others? (Don't hold back!)  Even if your heart's desire is fully obvious to you, others don't always see it. You sometimes need to tout yourself in full color with a band playing Sousa in the background to grab people's attention without using long sales pages (ug!) to manipulate them.

How do you use OnlineBizU.com to help with your biz or sanity?  I am going through my initial three months of coaching with Donna and just getting that done is more than I can handle plus run my company. I find OnlineBizU a healthy wealthy source of information that is frequently overwhelming because of the quantity of it. It's taken me 5 weeks to get to doing this outline, after all. ;)

Personal Info:

School

Carlow College, Pittsburgh, PA.  English major; Education Minor

Prior jobs or business?

I have spent 43 years in corporate America where I held the titles of Office Manager; Executive Assistant; Sales Training Manager and Technical Writer.

Favorite food?  I adore Persian food.

What are your pets' names?  I have two tuxedo cats named Percy and Chi. One day as I stepped out of the shower, there they were; hence, The title of my book "My Cats Have Seen Me Naked.

Do any of these pets help with your biz?  Percy frequently warms my In Box.

What person or event in your life led you to go into business for yourself? 

Youthfully immature middle managers who could NOT handle my expertise or experience.

Website URL:

http://www.theworldofwithin.com

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Kathy Dannel Vitcak, The Blissful Dog

 Your Name: Kathy Dannel Vitcak

Name of Business: The Blissful Dog

Type of business: Holistic Dog Items, specializing in Nose Butters for flat faced dogs

What does your business do? 100% all natural nose butters to help flat faced dogs that suffer from dry, crusty noses...French Bulldogs, Pugs, Bulldogs, Boxers and more! We also have Vibrational Essences, Aromatherapy and MORE!

Why did you start the biz and when did your business open?  About five years ago I was slathering some shea butter on my legs and my French Bulldogs all rushed around and started licking my legs. I had a EUREKA moment and realized that would be a great solution for their crusty noses. The rest is Blissful Dog history!

How many people in your company?  Me

What's your office location like?  I have a great little home office nestled deep in the far north woods of Minnesota. We also have a small resort, Dancing Bear Resort, and that is one of my other passions.

What's the toughest part of running your biz?   The expense of advertising like I want to!

What's the most fun part?  The heartfelt emails and letters from people who are thrilled with my products.

Anything you would have done differently?  I would have had a more robust email marketing list in place from day one and also would have advertised more in breed specific magazines.

Explain what's next on the horizon for you and your business?  I want to broaden my horizons within all-breed groups online and so some more intense target marketing. For instance, Facebook ads, Dogster, etc.

What advice do you have for others? (Don't hold back!)  Get all of your systems in place before you get started. Be ready to be professinal from day one, but do not lose what makes it personal and YOU!

How do you use OnlineBizU.com to help with your biz or sanity?  Donna's info has been a blessing. I am still plowing through, with delight, all the fabulous content . I cannot wait to implement MORE of her well researched info.

Personal Info:

School

Mississippi University for Women, graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1978

Prior jobs or business?

ACK, so many careers/jobs...so little room! I worked in the fashion industry for almost 15 years when I graduated from college and was blessed to travel internationally during a bit of that time. I also worked for Petsmart and Petco and loved that. About 15 years ago I moved to MN to take a job as an apprentice graphic designer and met my husband a week after I moved to MN! Along the way, I bred top- winning, top-ranked French Bulldogs (yep, Best in Shows and all that), but have retired from breeding over the course of the last few years. By the way, Francesca and Sharkey (Martha Stewart's French Bulldogs) were both bred, born and raised by me. We bought Dancing Bear Resort in 2001 and at that time I started my Graphic Design business. I still do graphic design work, but am concentrating on other areas. Now, I am lasering on The Blissful Dog and my newest venture, a spiritual growth site (new info soon).

Favorite food?  oatmeal, I know, but it is

What are your pets' names?  French Bulldogs (these are there pet names, not fancy show names): Money, Vegas, Keeper, Mudd, Nink Nink, Favor, EZBoy; Newfoundland: Deuce; Great Pyrenees: Zoey; Mini-horse: Nyker; Alpacas -- there are 14, so will skip all those names.

Do any of these pets help with your biz?  The dogs have enriched my life so very, very much. from all of the wonderful friends to business partners to an actual business! I adore my dogs and hold them so very near and dear to my heart.

What person or event in your life led you to go into business for yourself?  My husband, Steve 

Website URL:

http://www.TheBlissfulDog.com/ 
http://www.KathyDV.com 

Want to be profiled in this blog?  Go here for more details.

Stephanie Bell, World Prayer Project

Your Name: Stephanie Bell

Name of Business: World Prayer Project

Type of business: Spirit and prayer coach, inspirational speaker, author

What does your business do? I am here to encourage you to laugh more, and to inspire, uplift and support you. I teach you how to "Dialogue With Your Divine" and how to use prayer to simplify your life.

Why did you start the biz and when did your business open? I started the biz full time in Feb 2008, with my first website, PrayerWorksBecause.com going live Jan, 2008. I started the biz because I'm passionate about the unlimited benefits anyone can have from developing their relationship with a higher power in a way that fully embraces their ideals, beliefs, and values.

How many people in your company?  Me, myself, I, and God, of course!

What's your office location like?  HMMMM -- my office space is currently in my den at home. I sit at my computer and with a slight right turn of my head I can see our sparkling turquoise swimming pool, beautiful green spruce hedges, and the bright blue sky, with glorious sunlight streaming everywhere!

What's the toughest part of running your biz?   For me the toughest part of running a one-woman show is not having trusted associates to run ideas past, etc. Of course that is why I have the greatest online internet marketing coach on the planet : )

What's the most fun part?  The most fun part for me is learning anything and everything about putting all the pieces together to build a deep and strong foundation. While I do sometimes get a tad overwhelmed with all of it, at the same time I feel more stimulated than I have in years and years and know it was one of the best decisions of my life to "retire" from 25+yrs career as a legal secretary/assistant.

Anything you would have done differently?  What I would do differently - and do more even now -- is trust my own heart and my instincts and not waste time and energy second-guessing myself or having anxiety, guilt or fear about whether I'm doing "the right thing". Life flows best for me when I just trust in my Divine Guidance and believe I can fly! : )

Explain what's next on the horizon for you and your business?  I'm learning how to ride the waves of Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, etc.) -- It's a wild ride but I'm absolutely loving it -- it totally suits my personality.

What advice do you have for others? (Don't hold back!)  Guess I covered that a bit in what I would do differently -- My best advice is to be still on the inside, listen carefully for your inner wisdom, and then follow it with your arms and heart open wide! Believe that you are a glorious child of a loving God and a great treasure to the world PERIOD! Then GO FOR IT!

How do you use OnlineBizU.com to help with your biz or sanity?  OnlineBizU is a fabulous resource and I use it to save many hours of my time and energy. Donna has a knack for putting all the internet marketing pieces together in a very usable way -- complete with products and resources to go along with all the strategies, tips and tricks. Online BizU articles are clear, easy to understand and get straight to the point. I don't have to waste time surfing the net for information from random sources -- Donna has it all in one, easy-to-find place!

Personal Info:

School

School of 54 years of Life Experience with a Doctorate in "Hard Knocks" and "Doing It The Hard Way" . . .

Prior jobs or business?

I've owned 2 businesses in the past -- a legal secretarial transcription service, and a travel agency. In between I've also been a Law Office Manager, and IT Manager, a Project Coordinator and many, many years as a Legal Secretary/Assistant.

Favorite food?  Mexican, Thai/Chinese and most anything on the Cheesecake Factory's menu!

What are your pets' names?  no pets at the moment

Do any of these pets help with your biz?  n/a

What person or event in your life led you to go into business for yourself?  One of my theme songs would probably be REBEL YELL because I've never been very good at doing things "conventionally" . . . I think was just a born entrepreneur, even though certain life circumstances caused me to opt for a steady paycheck in between businesses!

And as for THIS particular business -- The "person" who led me here was definitely The Big Guy In The Sky (and in my heart! ) : )

Website URL:

http://www.WorldPrayerProject.com 
http://www.PrayerWorksBecause.com

Want to be profiled in this blog?  Go here for more details.

Marcia Walker, Step by Step Coaching

Your Name: Marcia Walker

Name of Business: Step by Step Coaching

Type of business: Life and business coach

What does your business do? I work with individuals, couples and groups who want more connection with themselves, with others and with Spirit.  I love to work with couples who are putting together a stepfamily (one or both of them have children already). I do custom-designed workshops and presentations, coach individuals, couples and groups, and teach courses about self-esteem, purposefulness, and communication

Why did you start the biz and when did your business open? After years and years of working with people, I discovered that the particular way that I listen and ask evoking questions, and help
people see themselves and their options in a new light is actually called coaching! I wanted to focus on solutions rather than problems, on creating rather than fixing, so I took the plunge, left my steady job and opened Step by Step Coaching in the spring of 2004

How many people in your company?  Just me!

What's your office location like?  My office is officially a front room in my home, where I can look out of the window as I write or talk on the phone.  The office travels with me when I pick up my phone or my computer and wander to different parts of the house that suit me at the moment A favorite is in the back yard which looks over a field that is home to our neighbor's horses.  Since I often work with clients on the phone, I can work also work anywhere I have a cell signal.  It's part of what I love about my business.

What's the toughest part of running your biz?   The learning curve of using the web, blogging, e-books, etc. is pretty steep for me! Actually, defining and articulating what I do is a challenge for me, so that makes it tough to do much with my website, for example. When someone is in front of me or on the phone, I am in my element.  It flows naturally and effortlessly through me.  But translating that into words and images for a website or brochure can be mind-boggling!

What's the most fun part?  Being present when someone has an "ah-ha!" moment is such a joy for me, but watching how they put it into practice is the best.  I love hearing from people about how they are moving forward, making subtle or even huge changes based on a new freedom or a new perspective.  I've just loved getting to hear a client's demo CD, attend a dance my client choreographed, or see the pictures of a stepfamily couple's new baby.    Ahhh!!  It is exhilarating and fills me with gratitude!

Anything you would have done differently?  There have been several times that I've pulled back from my business to invest more time in family and other big projects. I would find ways to keep
more going and planning the ramping back up better to avoid that sense of starting over again

Explain what's next on the horizon for you and your business?  I want to develop some information products and maybe an online community that can serve more people than I can ever serve in
person

How do you use OnlineBizU.com to help with your biz or sanity?  Wow! There is so much information on this site and so many opportunities.  I am reading something new every few days and
following links to all kinds of amazing services and tools that are out there.  It's like being in school.  This first phase for me is learning what there is to learn.  Next phase will be actually learning it and putting it into action.  This is a gold-mine!

Personal Info:

School

I got my BS in Psychology in 1978 from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, AL, then headed off to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill for graduate study in Counseling Psychology.   In 2004, I completed the Coach Training Alliance Certified Coach program.

Prior jobs or business?

I have been the director of two domestic violence shelter programs, and on staff at a sexual assault crisis center, all of which required direct services for clients as well as the administrative, PR and fundraising tasks.  After several years in victim services, and a stint as a behavioral health educator for a weight management program, I became the director for the local center of an international personal development program.  I worked in different capacities for that program for seven years, and still teach through the program some five years later. My career hasn't all been about trauma and challenging personal issues, though I found out that I am not cut out to sell long-distance service or nutritional supplements or Avon (which I sold as a teenager and bought as much as I sold!).

Favorite food?  My husband's red velvet cake.

What are your pets' names? I have an empty nest now that the kids have moved out and the pets went with them! I'm always glad to see the cats, Samson and Tiger, but have to admit that I
don't miss Clio the snake

Do any of these pets help with your biz? No, but I do appreciate the company of the horses in the field out back and the llamas I see on my morning walks

What person or event in your life led you to go into business for yourself?

When I developed chronic fatigue, I wanted to work on my own terms and by the time I got well, I was hooked! I also have a close friend who started her coaching business about 5 years before I did .Watching her business grow inspired me --and still does!

Website URL:

http://www.StepbyStepCoaching.biz.  Be sure to click for more information and the client area to see more about me and my coaching practice.
http://www.beingyoubeingus.blogspot.com/ Being You, Being Us Blog

 

Want to be profiled in this blog?  Go here for more details.

Monica McPherrin, EmpoweredPaths.com

 

Your Name: Monica McPherrin

Name of Business: Empowered Paths Coaching

Type of business: Life Coaching with a specialty in Divorce Recovery

What does your business do? I help support women going through or already divorced who are having a hard time readjusting or want to work on enriching their lives by following their passion.

Why did you start the biz and when did your business open? Business opened January 2008. I wanted to help women feel empowered and aware of their greatness. I always wanted to help facilitate positive change in women after a divorce.

How many people in your company?  I’m a 1-woman show.

What's your office location like?  I work from home and have an office in a spare room of my house.

What's the toughest part of running your biz?   As with most coaches, finding new clients and continually marketing is probably the toughest part of my job.

What's the most fun part?  I enjoy helping someone realize that they are more strong and powerful than they thought. It’s great to see them motivated from our discussions and make positive changes in their lives.

Anything you would have done differently?  I’m working on an E-book and Teleseminar. I’m also putting together some online coaching groups.

Explain what's next on the horizon for you and your business?  I want to move into e-products that I can sell and gain income while I am not awake, so to speak. I would like to publish more of my writing and increase my phone clients by just a bit.

What advice do you have for others?   Don’t live your life for (or) in the shadow of others. Find what makes you happy and do it! Don’t put up with people, jobs, relationships or careers that are not for your highest good. Always be improving yourself and stay away from negative or toxic people. They rob you of your energy and joy. Life was meant to be abundant so stop playing small and live in the manner that pleases you. If you want more, then go for it. There is nothing wrong with catching up to your dreams.

How do you use OnlineBizU.com to help with your biz or sanity? Well I am new, but I really enjoy the articles and teleseminars. I love to learn and this is a great site for that.

Personal Info:

School

I attended Georgia State University and received my coaching certification from Lifeworks School of Coaching.

Prior jobs or business?

I was a Corporate Travel Agent for 15 years and a Mortgage Loan Processor for 5 years.

Favorite food?  I love sushi and Italian.

What are your pets' names?  2 Dachshunds, Lola & Amber and 1 cat, Chelsea.

Do any of these pets help with your biz? No, but they would like to. They want to be with me all the time.

What person or event in your life led you to go into business for yourself?

My father was self-employed most of my life, and while I realized it was a lot of work I knew he loved being his own boss. I wanted that for myself as well and I’m glad I finally have it.

Website URL:

http://www.EmpoweredPaths.com

Want to be profiled in this blog?  Go here for more details.