It’s amazing how your life can change in an instant.
At the age of 20, I married David, my best friend of five years. We were finishing school and were getting ready to embark on our life journey together. His dream was to be a millionaire by the time he was 30, do it “on his own” and create a company that supported his desire to succeed and share wealth. When he realized the family business was not going to support his dreams, he started our marketing company, Advantages, with absolutely nothing. Eventually, it evolved into a mom-and-pop printing business.
After about a year, David needed help managing the growth of the company, so I offered. Together, we were a powerful team. But, just as everything was going right—we were on the threshold of breaking our first US$1 million in sales—David was diagnosed with cancer.
While he was battling this illness, I took over all aspects of the business. For two years, I lived my life in a blur. While David was being treated all over the world, I would either be with him or with the kids and the business, always on the go. Week to week it changed. I had three full time jobs: researching David’s illness, maintaining the business and trying to keep our family from falling apart.
After a two-year battle, I lost my husband, our kids lost their father and Advantages lost its leader. I was left to carry on. Honestly, I am not sure how I got through each day. All I knew is that I would not fail ... skin my knees maybe, but not fail.
During this difficult time, two voices kept me going: the first was David’s voice. He always used to tell me that it was a waste to have me behind a desk; that I would do much better selling in the field. The second voice that kept me going was my grandmother’s voice. “You are your own best investment. Invest in yourself. You are the most determined person I know. I would rather invest in you than the bank,” she used to tell me.
Still, I did not know where to start. For about 14 months, I felt like I came to work every day and had no idea how to succeed. I wasn’t motivated, and I stared out of the window a lot. Then I found a group of fellow entrepreneurs who offered me the solid support system I needed to learn and grow. One day, a friend and fellow business owner dragged me to my first EO event. It felt like coming home.
I found other people like me! They were passionate about business and very driven. What’s more, they were all experiencing the same business issues and were interested in sharing their experiences. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Typically, networking groups tend to be all the same. You walk into a room and try to meet as many people you can, hoping on a prayer someone will like you and want to do business with you.
EO was completely different thanks to its “no solicitation” rule— you are there to share your experiences, not sell your business. I felt supported in EO. Even better, I was able to talk securely about both business and personal challenges, as well as get ideas and take them back to my business.
Thanks to EO, I rebuilt the company, redirected its vision and brought new levels of success. I have since grown it into a $1.5+ million business (and I happened to meet a new love in the process.) If there were any tips I could share regarding how to pull off a professional recovery, the one thing I would say is: Be open to changes in the market and live your passions. I’ve learned that you must be true to yourself in order to be successful, and be open minded enough to learn from others.