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    <created-at type="datetime">2009-04-24T02:10:00-07:00</created-at>
    <detail>&lt;p&gt;As an adrenaline junky, I have never been afraid to jump out of an airplane, base jump off of a tower, snowboard off of a cliff or challenging tall peaks in the backcountry with my snowmobile. I am and always have been the perpetual kid. My motto was Take Risks, Play Hard, Have Fun.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My best friend became very ill and needed someone to stay home with her indefinitely. I wanted to be the one to help. I had to figure out how to be there full time and stay alive financially. During my trips skydiving, my friends and I would experiment mounting video cameras to our helmets to record our jumps and acrobatics in the air. I noticed others doing the same with cameras. We all couldn&amp;rsquo;t wait to look at the pictures when we were done. I quickly became fascinated with video and photography.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was thinking about my friend one day while I was plunging to the earth, the skin on my face flapping violently back and forth. (Which makes for a fantastic photo by the way) I was having a spiritual moment with Mother Nature and God when it all just came together. I remembered that my absentee dad had been a school photographer. I now knew what I could do to stay home with my friend and still pay the bills. I put my passion for photography to work. It turns out that my motto was applicable to more than one area in life. I needed to take a risk, which was starting a business that forced me to sell all of my video equipment, snowmobile, dirt bike, mountain bike and anything else I could think of. Of course this broke my heart but I had to pay for the equipment for the new school photo business. I knew it was for a good reason and of course I said a few words to each item before they left my life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I set up my office in my home so that I could be available to help my friend with her daily needs and for emotional support. This was a good move for me too because she has able to support me in this adventure and give me advice from a different perspective. Playing hard turned into working hard and having fun turned into having fun while working. I love taking pictures of children. It turns out that my child like attitude works wonders to get the kids to smile. The teachers at the schools often tell me that they have fun watching me with the kids. And the parents call to tell me that since my company has started at the school, their children have the best smiles in their photos.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Starting a new business will bring many challenges that must be overcome to find success. My first and biggest challenge in all of this was getting my foot in the door at schools. This was very difficult for me because I didn&amp;rsquo;t have a large resume and I am a bit shy. Not a great salesman! I was so nervous to go to a school and ask for a meeting with the administration whom had never heard of me. I felt like I had a pace maker in my heart that was going haywire before each meeting. I had been sent away over and over because I didn&amp;rsquo;t have a large reputation. I needed to give them a way to get to know me without them having to take a risk on choosing an unknown as the school photography company. I decided to offer my services and hold a fundraiser for the school by hosting a family portrait night. This would give them an opportunity to see my work and my commitment. After a handful of these family portrait nights, I was in. And so my business began. I managed to turn my biggest challenge into a success. I have decided to continue to give back to the schools since I know that our schools struggle financially. I give a percentage of my profits to each school at the end of the photo season. I have had another challenge that has proven to be very important to my business. It has been good decision making with my profits. I have had to restrain myself to not turn around and spend the first money I made buying back my beloved toys. I decided that I should reinvest in my business. I needed more equipment and employees to get bigger and better paying contracts. This was one of the smartest things that I have done.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now I am five years into this and my business is growing in my community. I am even getting word of mouth business now. I feel good about myself for the first time. I was always doing odd and end type of jobs and being selfish with my time. My friend is slowly doing better and has told me that she couldn&amp;rsquo;t get through this with out me. I know that the schools appreciate the funds that they receive. When they say thank you to me I find myself feeling thankful to them. The saying, you get more back than you give is true. I am the lucky one. And as my business continues to grow, I know that I will soon be able to fill the empty reserved spaces in the garage with new toys ready for new adventures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <subject>While plunging to the earth at 125 miles per hour it just clicked</subject>
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    <created-at type="datetime">2009-04-22T16:18:52-07:00</created-at>
    <detail>&lt;p&gt;Melissa Daniel remembers when Metro Theater Company came to Maple Grove Elementary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;I remember how exciting it was when Metro came to school,&amp;rdquo; she says. &amp;ldquo;We all piled into the gym. You could hear a pin drop. I remember thinking, &amp;lsquo;I could do that! I could be that!&amp;rsquo; Having those amazing actors so close to me made anything seem possible.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melissa&amp;rsquo;s parents exposed her to the arts, but &amp;ldquo;Lots of other students in my school didn&amp;rsquo;t have experiences like I did. Maple Grove always had many students on the free lunch program. For those kids, the chance to see professional theater happened only because our principal brought it to us.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today Melissa Daniel is the new principal of Maple Grove. But Metro hadn&amp;rsquo;t been there in years. So when a teacher showed her a brochure and asked, &amp;ldquo;What do you think about bringing them back?&amp;rdquo; Melissa remembered the flame the arts ignited in her.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;That&amp;rsquo;s what we&amp;rsquo;re looking for as educators, ways to ignite a flame. If we don&amp;rsquo;t find ways to make our kids feel connected, they miss out on something much more important than we can provide by just meeting test standards. Theater and the arts help kids make those connections. It&amp;rsquo;s never too early for kids to think about what they might want to do, what they might want to be.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;act3 is about making connections, too. We help people tell their stories and use stories to connect with their audience.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Metro was struggling to get donors to see why their work mattered. We helped them uncover the story they could tell about themselves, and use stories, not mission statements, to show their value.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the process, we also helped change the organizational culture. Their managing director recently wrote to us, &amp;ldquo;Because of our project with act3, I was inspired to begin a new tradition. We now start every staff meeting with &amp;lsquo;story time,&amp;rsquo; where we take a few minutes to tell tales from the week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;This week, our office manager told us about the call she took from Melissa Daniel about booking a show. It sounded like a great story, so we followed up to learn more. (Which I might not have done before, either.) Part of what I love about how this unfolded is who brought it to the fore. You don&amp;#39;t expect your office manager to deliver you such a powerful story. Clearly her having a forum to do so is why she did.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So, I have to thank you again for all that you&amp;#39;re doing with us. The mission you are on matters too. If an organization is only as good as its stories, then you&amp;#39;ve helped us discover that we&amp;#39;re sitting on gold mines.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <subject>Melissa Daniel remembers</subject>
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    <created-at type="datetime">2009-04-22T11:13:19-07:00</created-at>
    <detail>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;As I waited for the elevator&lt;/strong&gt;, passed my floor a few times, and stalled some more, I went over my game plan for the meeting.  My not-for-profit organization was developing a new strategy, and its potential for success would be tested by this meeting.  Expecting my visit was a gentleman by the name of Andeberhan, who would ultimately be responsible for managing our potential partnership.  Working with his organization would give us access to 25 of their branches, which serve around 600,000 people in the Washington, DC area. Selling him on my organization (and me) was crucial.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Aware that finding commonalities&lt;/strong&gt; and building rapport are key elements in developing partnerships, I tried to think of ways to connect with Andeberhan. As it turned out, he was from Eritrea. Considering that I&amp;rsquo;m from a small mountain town in Colorado, about the only thing we had in common was the fact that we&amp;rsquo;ve probably both seen our fair share of goats.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I admitted to Andeberhan&lt;/strong&gt; that I knew very little about Eritrean culture and its language, Tigrinya, which didn&amp;rsquo;t seem to shock him. What did surprise him was the level of curiosity I showed in his language and culture. I even got him to teach me some words in Tigrinya.  He was appreciative that I showed interest in his language and culture. Needless to say, the meeting went very well. I felt great about making the connection, though admittedly, I asked myself when on Earth I would ever need to use the Tigrinya language again.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The next day, I was heading to New York&lt;/strong&gt; for a big conference. I was trying to make the 2:30 pm bus and couldn&amp;rsquo;t afford to miss it. Slowed by my bags, I dragged along the highway in the heat for 20 minutes and couldn&amp;rsquo;t find a taxi in sight. My colleague, who was already on the bus, informed me that it was leaving in 5 minutes. I was 10 minutes from the bus stop and still couldn&amp;rsquo;t find a taxi.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In a moment of desperation,&lt;/strong&gt; I jumped in the middle of traffic and begged a random car to give me a ride. It was not a taxi, which the driver made very clear as he yelled at me in broken English. I noticed a novelty item in his car saying &amp;ldquo;Eritrea.&amp;rdquo; I interrupted his yelling with the little bit of Tigrinya I had just learned, &amp;ldquo;&lt;em&gt;Bejaka&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;! &lt;/em&gt;(Please!) Help me out, I can&amp;rsquo;t miss this bus! &lt;em&gt;Yekanyeley &lt;/em&gt;(Thank you).&amp;rdquo; He shifted immediately to a shocked look of disbelief, and then to a warm smile replying, &amp;ldquo;How do you know my language?&amp;rdquo; He gladly gave me a ride&amp;mdash;I barely made my bus&amp;mdash;and he thanked &lt;em&gt;me&lt;/em&gt; for caring about his language and his country.&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <subject>How I Got to New York with Just a Few Words</subject>
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    <updated-at type="datetime">2009-10-21T11:28:48-07:00</updated-at>
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    <created-at type="datetime">2009-04-21T20:02:09-07:00</created-at>
    <detail>&lt;p&gt;Like many small businesses, mine was born out of my own frustrating experience. I&amp;rsquo;m one of the 7 million Americans with food allergies or intolerances. There are a growing number of food products for us, but it&amp;rsquo;s still difficult for people with allergies or intolerances to more than one food to find things to cook or eat. I founded my website, www.EasyAsPieRecipes.com, to help make the meal planning process for people avoiding specific foods as easy as, well, pie.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I battled a whole range of seemingly disconnected health problems from fatigue to joint pain for years. After realizing that naps at stoplights aren&amp;rsquo;t normal, I spent a lot of time in doctors&amp;rsquo; offices before one of them figured out the problem&amp;mdash;food intolerance. A month and a blood test later, I&amp;rsquo;d cut wheat, dairy, eggs, sugar out of my diet. I missed bread and omelets, but I&amp;rsquo;d never felt better!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&amp;rsquo;d also never been hungrier. I roamed health foods stores and haunted the internet with a rumbling stomach, reading ingredient labels and browsing forums like a gluten-free ghost. It was almost impossible to find something I could eat! Though there are a lot of products and recipes for people who can&amp;rsquo;t eat one food, multiple allergies are another story. I&amp;rsquo;ve seen many end-of-the rope posts on online forums from moms asking, &amp;ldquo;But my kid doesn&amp;rsquo;t just avoid peanuts, he&amp;rsquo;s allergic to (tomatoes, rhubarb, cheesy weasel on a stick, you name it).&amp;rdquo; My website will enable users to set up a profile that eliminates recipes containing any food they want to avoid from their search.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the biggest difficulties I&amp;rsquo;ve had is finding recipes that won&amp;rsquo;t turn out to be a pile of unappetizing goo. Just ask my husband about the egg, wheat, dairy, and sugar-free &amp;ldquo;cake&amp;rdquo; I made. It was flat, burnt, and tasted like chocolate sand! The web is full of stories from people who don&amp;#39;t want to eat allergen-free food because it&amp;rsquo;s just downright unappetizing, or who have difficulty finding the specialty ingredients for the recipes they can eat. My site uses simple recipes with basic ingredients that can be found at most grocery stores. No primordial goo here. Just dinner! Not only that, but the website will even generate a printable grocery list. Just log in, click a button, print the list, and you&amp;rsquo;re on your way to the &amp;ldquo;normal&amp;rdquo; grocery store. Putting this tool together has certainly helped me with my own meal planning. If the enthusiasm from those I&amp;rsquo;ve already told about my site is any indication, Easy as Pie will be a hit. &lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <subject>All I want is dinner!</subject>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;At 10:20 AM it was already nearly 90 degrees. Hot, even for Houston in June. I rode the horse over a small jump. In a flash, something went wrong and I saw her drop her shoulder and start to go down. I rolled as I hit the dirt and in a flurry of dust, my mind suddenly fabricated endless possibilities of the outcome. The thud of the horse and the scrambling of hooves echoed as I settled into a prone position face up with my feet stretched toward the horse. I picked up my head to see her finish rolling over and felt the impact as her body anchored one of my legs and shoved the other underneath me. I felt the popping of bones in my lower spine as they slammed against each other. Suddenly it was over and the dust began to settle. Life can change in an instant.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was hard at that moment to remember that I was living my dream. Six months earlier, my husband, Bill and I had come up with a plan to buy our own barn. I had been training for years and had a following, so I took a business course and made a business plan. We brainstormed to come up with a plan and managed to purchase an equestrian facility.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We began on a shoe string budget and hired one employee to help with manual labor. We had miraculously acquired 7.5 acres with 2 arenas, 3 barns and 55 empty stalls. I did all of the teaching and training. We were growing when the accident happened with 22 stalls filled and 50 weekly students.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Life Flight landed at the farm and took me to the trauma center at Hermann Hospital where I spent the next 5 days. During the flight I prayed that I would walk again, sure that my back was broken. Imagine my joy when I was told I had only suffered a broken hip and fractured pelvis. I was lucky! Luckier than many of the people I would serve when I started a therapeutic riding program.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For the next 6 weeks I received on the job training to find out what non-ambulatory people go through. God works in strange ways! Confined to a wheelchair, I borrowed a golf cart to use at the barn while my family and friends helped every way they could. I somehow managed to run the barn, teach lessons and even run a horse camp. With many kind and caring friends, we got through the ordeal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We have now added more employees, school horses, acreage, arenas, a lovely office building, a beautiful lounge, and multitudes of other improvements. But most importantly, we added a  therapeutic riding and volunteer program and are now able to provide people with an avenue to help and be helped by each other. &lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <subject>Horse Hooves and Wheelchairs</subject>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;Since the age of seven, I have been sewing buttons on shirts, hems on pants, and even bows on belts, thanks to the fact that my mom was a sewing teacher for 35 years. I learned firsthand the importance of dedication and passion for this craft. As a student at Florida State University, I majored in Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Business Administration. Upon graduation, my family was devastated with the news that my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. However after intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the doctors gave us the uplifting news that she was eligible for surgery.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;When my mom found out she was sick, I knew that I wasn&amp;rsquo;t completely content with the current work that I was doing, but knew it would defintiely be a challenge trying to start my own company. One day I started thinking to myself how I was simply just following the path that others made for me instead of creating my own path. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;With all the realizations I had about life now that my mom was sick, I knew I needed to do what I love the most. When I left to go to Arizona for my mom&amp;rsquo;s surgery, I delibirately didn&amp;rsquo;t bring almost five complete outfits, just so I was able to fit my sewing machine and all my supplies in my bag. For a true fashionista like myself, that is true dedication at it&amp;rsquo;s best. I spent every single day and night with my mom, where I turned her hospital room into my make shift sewing studio. All the nurses, doctors, and staff were really intrigued by my ideas and designs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;After the initial surgery was successfully completed, the doctors told us the news that my mom was cancer free and it most likely wouldn&amp;rsquo;t return! I realized that life was incredibly short and that tomorrow is never a guarantee. I want to do what I love and deeply love what I do. That&amp;rsquo;s why I started my own company called Haute Fan Couture. I design and sew custom made to order dresses that young ladies can wear to their favorite sporting events. All the materials used are put together based on the college and/or professional team&amp;rsquo;s colors that one desires. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Being one of four children that all graduated from FSU, college football has always been a huge part of our lives. I wanted something girly, unique and team spirited, but still stylish. I knew I would never find a collegiate sundress of any kind so that&amp;rsquo;s when I decided to design and make my own and soon Haute Fan Couture was born.I am exceptionally thrilled to make others happy and know that they feel good in my designs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;As the calendar page turned to 2006 and my impending 50th birthday, I knew it was time to leave the security of Auntie Em&amp;#39;s House, put Toto in the basket and search for that over the rainbow place. You see, having been named Dorothy, I had had a fascination with all things OZ since I first saw the movie on our old black &amp;amp; white t.v.-- you can imagine my delight - when I finally saw it in technicolor! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;During that year, I started using a nutritional line that my good friend was selling and had amazing results. She said &amp;quot;you could do this&amp;quot; - I thought maybe this is my rainbow. So I said yes, and in the Twister of an MLM, I decided to leave the classroom after 25 years, eventhough I was acknowledged for my expertise and loved my career, I gave up full benefits and summers off to become an enterpreneur.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sitting in my first convention - I knew I was not in Kansas anymore! This must be OZ! Surely if my friends who had been here for a year and were earning close to a 6 figure income, &amp;quot;Why or Why Can&amp;#39;t I?&amp;quot; Without a thought to is this really what I am meant to do - I set out on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At the beginning, there were Scarecrow moments - my friends and family saying - have you lost your mind - you&amp;nbsp; you could retire in 5 years. There were Tinman moments, trying to figure out how instead of taking action. Too many Cowardly Lion moments, when I couldn&amp;#39;t find the courage to open my mouth to even give my 30 second elevator pitch. The wicked witches, talking trees and flying monkeys appeared to scare and distract me. There were Glendas too, my mentors, to guide and coach me past my fears. I quickly rose to the top 15% of the company. I had made it! (or so i thought)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then I hit a long plateau and no matter how hard I worked there was no increase. I had seen the wizard behind the curtain. I saw I &lt;strong&gt;wasn&amp;#39;t home&lt;/strong&gt;, my passions and unique gifts were not being used. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In what I call a &lt;strong&gt;&amp;quot;Click your Heels&amp;quot;&lt;/strong&gt; moment! - I heard &amp;quot;Do&amp;nbsp; what I love, do what you know and the cash will follow&amp;quot;. As if by magic, PiggyBack Books was born - a website that will eventually empower millions of children around the world as authors and entrepreneurs. Once again, I am on the yellow brick road as we launch our kid centered engaging, interactive platform for children to write, illustrate, publish and market their own books. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Being an entrepreneur takes brain, heart, and courage and believing that:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;OZ is the passionate journey on that yellow brick road&lt;/strong&gt;, not the Emerald City. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;Two days before Thanksgiving 2007, my job ended abruptly after seven years. With five children to support - Christmas around the corner - and little money - I called on my network. Here is what I did:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I first sought out others looking to network, and went to:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;strong&gt;Craig&amp;rsquo;s List &amp;ndash; Barter exchange&lt;/strong&gt;. Two services I advertised for Barter: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. My soon to be broadcasting schools apprenticeship training program ( valued at $5000)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. A fully researched and formatted Google Adwords campaign for a business &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Next, I tapped into my network and contacted a friend who owned a web development company. He was more than willing to build a broadcasting school website and wait 180 days for payment. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Contacted a copywriting friend who agreed to fine-tune the copy I was writing for my still unbuilt website. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Consulted with a friend who is an SEO Expert to develop a search engine placement strategy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Reached agreement with a colleague to allow our sports broadcasting webinars to be used as the new curriculum. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Called a well connected acquaintance for a referral to the best graphic designer he knew. The graphic designer he recommended cut me the deal of a lifetime when she learned who sent me. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Within a month, agreements had been reached on both of my Craig list barter offers, resulting in:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; $1500 cash in exchange for formatting two Google Adwords campaigns for a Real Estate company in San Francisco. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; A player piano from a man in Atlanta in exchange for broadcasting training services. The broadcaster who agreed to mentor this person in her Atlanta radio station was also a member of my previously established network. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; My nephew then sold the piano on eBay, resulting in a $4300 sale. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Two months into my nomadic journey to start my own business, the web copy had been written and fine-tuned, six future issues of a newsletter prepared, and the website completed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In an almost too-good-to-be-true scenario, my very first lead turned into a sale. Within a month of this students training, he was hired by the radio station. I now had his success to point out as proof of my new company&amp;#39;s legitimacy. The company has been mildly profitable since day 1 and continues to grow - even in these tough economic times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;bull; Every single person I had contacted in my moment of need was a member of my network. Many had commented that they were willing to help me since I had done so much for them in the past and never asked for, or expected anything, in return. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Atchi ni ikitai!&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A little girl with sand-colored hair was being carried by her dark-haired mother, and was pointing to a candy store.&amp;nbsp; My then-2-year-old daughter paused and looked in the direction of the strange sounds.&amp;nbsp; I stared when I registered that the little girl was speaking Japanese perfectly.&amp;nbsp; I wished&amp;nbsp;my own young children could speak a foreign language.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What about a language school for young children?&amp;nbsp; Coincidentally, I&amp;nbsp;then read an article in the newspaper quoting a language school.&amp;nbsp; I researched to see if they had any partnership or franchising opportunities.  As it turned out, they were just starting to license their program. However, after a couple months of discussion, I was not satisfied.&amp;nbsp; I would start my own language school&amp;mdash;Little Ambassadors!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In retrospect, I&amp;rsquo;m relieved that I did not license.&amp;nbsp; It would have taken me years to recoup the cost.&amp;nbsp; Restrictions were numerous, including having to pass all advertising through corporate for approval.  Most importantly, the products being offered did not coincide with my market focus.&amp;nbsp; I was starting my business in Hawaii, where the most popular foreign language is Japanese.&amp;nbsp; The company did not even have Japanese curriculum!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A&amp;nbsp;key concern with small business is quality personnel.&amp;nbsp; Because Little Ambassadors is a service business, it is important to hire and retain skilled employees.&amp;nbsp; At least one teaching position is filled by an international student who returns to her country after graduation.&amp;nbsp; If I had licensed, I would&amp;nbsp;have had to send each teacher to NY to&amp;nbsp;take a costly 3-day training course.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since the inception of Little Ambassadors over a year ago, all three of my children have been participating in classes.&amp;nbsp; Enrollment is steadily increasing.&amp;nbsp; Just as important as the positive business trend, however, is my children&amp;#39;s&amp;rsquo; firsthand realization that there are many different languages.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Recently, my 3-year-old overheard a couple talking and said, &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Mama, they&amp;rsquo;re speaking Chinese!&amp;rdquo; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I proudly responded, &amp;ldquo;Hen hao!&amp;nbsp; Very good!&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My 5-year-old added, &amp;ldquo;He said, &amp;lsquo;Let&amp;rsquo;s go eat!&amp;#39;&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Again, I beamed. &amp;ldquo;Dui le!&amp;nbsp; That&amp;rsquo;s right!&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A few days later, the 3-year-old overheard another conversation.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Mama, they&amp;rsquo;re speaking Chinese!&amp;rdquo; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;ldquo;Umm, actually, that&amp;rsquo;s Spanish, honey&amp;hellip;&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;OK, maybe I better enroll them in the Spanish classes, too&amp;hellip;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now she&amp;rsquo;s constantly aware of language.&amp;nbsp; She proudly tells people that she can speak Chinese and Japanese, and will ask of others, &amp;ldquo;Can they speak Chinese, Japanese, or just regular?&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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    <detail>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I will never forget the day Xenia walked through the doors of FIT with her head down possessing little to no self-esteem.&amp;nbsp; She portrayed the typical model of an individual with Down Syndrome and the plethora of health problems they are faced with.&amp;nbsp; She was soon running through the doors, hugging and high fiving everyone and was even caught posing in the mirror as she turned from side to side to admire herself.&amp;nbsp; She turned to me with tears in her eyes and exclaimed, &amp;ldquo;Look at me!&amp;nbsp; I&amp;rsquo;m amazing!!&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I started FITBuddies seeking to combine two of my passions:&amp;nbsp; I wanted to focus on the health and wellness of individuals with intellectual disabilities.&amp;nbsp; Three years later, FITBuddies, small group training for individuals with special needs, has surpassed all my hopes and expectations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Individuals with intellectual disabilities wage constant battle trying to fit into our society.&amp;nbsp; Exclusion, failure, and a lack of self worth are simply part of life&amp;rsquo;s daily battle. The FITBuddies program is scaled to meet the needs of the individuals but pushes them beyond what most think possible.&amp;nbsp; They train together alongside others who can witness first hand that they can do the same things as everyone else.&amp;nbsp; The effect of being a part of a community and achieving success in their pursuit of physical fitness is overwhelmingly empowering.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Participants have gone from shy individuals lacking confidence, repeatedly telling me &amp;ldquo;I can&amp;rsquo;t do it, it&amp;rsquo;s too hard&amp;rdquo; to exclaiming, &amp;ldquo;I can learn something new; it just takes practice!&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; They have proven, if given the opportunity, time and ongoing instruction, they can and will learn and adapt &amp;ldquo;just like you and me.&amp;rdquo;&amp;nbsp; Jeremy provides an example of how this increased confidence and sense of achievement carries over into their everyday lives. Jeremy has progressed from a deconditioned, uncertain individual to a confident Starbucks employee, giving presentations to promote employment for individuals with special needs.&amp;nbsp; He credits the confidence he&amp;rsquo;s gained through FITBuddies as one of the keys to his achievements.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My current goal is to expand the FITBuddies program nationwide providing training and guidelines for professionals, facilities and parents/caregivers who are interested in providing professional, physical training to individuals with intellectual disabilities.&amp;nbsp; If granted the money, I will be able to accomplish many of my goals and continue my quest to help improve the health and wellness of this special population one buddy at a time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</detail>
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