Strategic Positioning

You often hear about strategic positioning in the marketing and business world. It’s all about proper product placement and marketing angles and opportunities. Strategic positioning is about observing patterns, being aware of the behaviors for your target market and audience, and knowing and understanding trends, which requires: doing your homework, paying attention and having excellent situational awareness.

I’m keeping the terms very broad because I want to point out that strategic positioning applies to everything in life…finding a date, a job, new opportunities, the best deals, getting a raise and even cutting time off your commute—to name a few.

I actually thought about this post and the topic while I was driving. I think much of life’s wisdom and lessons are found on the open road, but that’s a whole other post…heck, I also think you can tell a great deal about a person’s personality and abilities based on their driving. But, once again, that’s a whole other post.

So back to strategic positioning, and how it saves me about 10-15 minutes every day while driving into work in the morning. It took me a day or two to notice the pattern and then another two days to confirm my findings. What I discovered is that a timely and specific lane change at a certain point in my commute on I-495, both before the merge with I-66 and right afterwards…allows me to keep moving into open road, while everyone else is bumper to bumper.

Normally, on any routes I take more then two times, I discover which lanes move faster, the timing of the lights (so I know how fast to go to be sure to catch all green lights) and the state of the road itself.

People do normally apply strategic positioning to acquire the things they want; however, once they acquire them, they go back to living a life in the shadows and in slumber. The key is to continuously keep improving your strategic positioning opportunities and skills…even, if it’s only through driving. This is important to do so you remain sharp and conscious of all your surroundings.

A lack of situational awareness and the natural habit of constantly looking for the best strategic positioning is what brings people to follow in tow. Ever wonder why people in a burning building all go for the same door when other exits are available…or why, although there’s two turning lanes, everyone is lined up behind one another in the same exact lane...

I don’t just drive, I don’t just work, I don’t just talk, and I don’t JUST do ANYTHING. I’m always observing, deciphering, looking for patterns, the best options, smartest alternatives and therefore, the perfect strategic positioning for my next move. Being at the right place at the right time isn’t about just luck…

A Pro at Online Dating with no Success

In early Spring of 2004, I reluctantly came back to Virginia after my tour oversea. My three year tour on Okinawa was fabulous. I have many fond memories of Okinawa, to include quite a few romantically related memories. I had my share of island romances—not with Okinawans, but with other Marines (of my rank) who were on deployments to Okinawa.

I was certainly used to dating Marines. My high school sweetheart joined the Marine Corps and frankly, prior to 2004, I had dated only Marines. My last island romance left me with a broken heart, and the sense that, it was time to date outside of Marines.

When I arrived to Northern Virginia and was semi-settled in, I began to consider my options for meeting men outside of the Marine Corps. My friends and I went out often…however, we also all went out as a big group of Marines. It became obvious that no man alive would dare infiltrate a group like what we had. I would need some other means.

Out of boredom, I turned to the Internet and came across some adds for online dating sites and decided to try it out. I joined Tickle and later down the road I also joined Yahoo Personals. Again, this was over three years ago…I peeked at the Yahoo Personal Ads the other day and saw pictures of guys from when I was active on the site. Just one of those things that makes you wonder about online activities.

Anyway, my friends all thought I was a little crazy for doing the online dating thing. I figured I had nothing to lose. I wrote a very specific profile of what I was looking for and who I was. I wish I still had my profile information—of what I can recall, it was quite candid and direct. I know I had something written in there about not being interested in men with spaghetti arms and beer guts…

I rapidly learned the pitfalls of online dating and the necessary methods to make the process more efficient. We’ll discuss what those are in future posts and our upcoming Blog Talk Radio Show.

For now, we’ll just say that I went on many, many, many first dates and barely any second dates. Out of probably a hundred or so men I had some sort of contact with, I ended up meeting no one I wanted to date regularly.

I did the online dating thing for probably 6-9 months, along with setting-up a MySpace profile. I stopped for about two years, and a little while ago, I started dabbling with meeting men online through Craigslist’s Personals. Actually, I also tried eHarmony for a few weeks

The last few months have confirmed what I had deduced…online dating is NOT for me. I’ve become a pro at it…I believe it’s an effective way to date and I know it works for many people, just not for me. I’m simply way too, into, having real physical chemistry with someone I date. I’ve met many wonderful, nice, smart, sweet and great guys that I’ve had to turn away because they just didn’t ‘do it’ for me and there was no chemistry. No amount of personality tests or looking at pictures, emailing or even talking on the phone guarantees in-person chemistry.

Here is something interesting though, I still email and chat with men I’ve met online three years ago, but actually never met in real life. They are all mostly in NY…which isn’t that far from here. I often ask myself what’s the point in maintaining contact with them and I never can come up with anything that makes sense, but at the same time—I enjoy the sporadic contact. Who knows!?!

The compilation of the last three years and a few things I’ve noticed and observed is what lead me to develop Why Go Solo. If the solution you’re looking for isn’t there—CREATE IT.

Am I Behind the Eight Ball??!!?

I’m barely 2 months away from finally turning the big THREE-ZERO…yes I know, I keep making a big deal out of that…it’s called having a quarter life crisis. Turning thirty is not something I’m in a hurry to do or something I can avoid for that matter!!

I realize thirty isn’t old, but when it comes to being an entrepreneur in the social network, media and technology sector—being a thirty year old entrepreneur, that does not have a success story under her belt makes me somewhat behind the eight ball to the many young 20 year olds that are out there breaking-into the same business.

Let’s face it, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Flick, Facebook and the list goes on, were all established by young entrepreneurs and innovators. While some are still young, and some have aged...the other common thing they have in common—they are all huge successes.

In his blog titled: Start a Company While you are Young, Wil Schroter, the founder and CEO of Go Big Network encourages young people to try their hands at starting a business. He makes a few valid points—the main point being: What do you have to lose? The answer for most is, nothing.

I’ve been thinking of different business ideas, since I was 8 years old and yet, I never pursued any of them while in high school, or even part time, while in the Marine Corps (mainly because there was no time) but the entrepreneur calling was always there for me. The calling to write has also always been there, but when I was younger many people discouraged me; they said it would be too difficult to make a living as a writer.

I don’t regret any parts of my ten years in the Marine Corps and having served my country. It was an amazing experience which makes me who I am today. I was given leadership and life experiences unparalleled to anything else…I just wish I could have joined the Marine Corps at 12 instead of 17.

The fact is, the majority of the general population will never become entrepreneurs and strike out on their own. The world of entrepreneurship is known and lived by a small percentage of people, and that percentage appears to be getting younger and younger, particularly and obviously in the technology sector. Being a young entrepreneur has a different meaning now. In your mid-thirties, you’re almost expected to be a seasoned entrepreneur with extensive management skills to be worth taking a risk on. CEOs are getting younger and younger as well. The business and corporate landscape has been impacted by this and will continue to shift. There are many different opinions on this matter, this is a post on the same topic with excellent input and feedback in the comment section, A VC: The Age Question.

No matter what, I’m going to continue to carve my way and maintain my mature, but always youthful outlook. Our life experiences are all worth their weight in gold at different times in our lives. I don’t make a habit of comparing myself to others however, I absolutely believe in having and keeping an edge. Sometimes you have to turn up the heat, apply more pressure and get a little more on the ball.

The saying goes something like: it’s never too late. But, here is my take-away for you; if you have been thinking about a business concept/idea and you are simply sitting on it…don’t be surprised when someone 10-15 years younger then you makes it happen.

Get in front or on top of the eight ball!!

Our Danger in Bootstrapping

I’m a former Marine…so, I am very familiar with the term bootstrapping—the Marine Corps is the smallest of all the U.S. military services and renowned for having a small budget that requires some serious creativity, innovation and bootstrapping. The Marine way of life depends on it ; it’s actually a big part of why Marines are the best trained, the toughest, most motivated and least delusional about what it means to serve.

However, what I’m talking about today is business and financial bootstrapping for a start-up business. Bootstrapping can be defined as “a collection of methods used to minimize the amount of outside debt and equity financing needed from banks and investors” (Ebben and Johnsen)

I can’t continue to talk about raising funds and capital without answering the one question a lot of people I meet have been asking “Why not bootstrap your venture and start small and slow?” My best and only answer to that is: The Competition. We either start with a bang or we won’t be around to see the second act.

Why Go Solo is going to become part of the social networking and online community realm, which I realize, for the most part is already overpopulated—however, we have a few twists in what we are doing and features that are not part of any one current site or community at this time (to my knowledge). Our problem is this: when we launch, if we don’t make a splash, those sites and other organizations that are not tapping into what we will be providing, can easily steal our thunder and utilize their already massive following to bury us in the ground. Not a pretty picture and a pretty major threat.

That is not to say we are not utilizing some aspects of bootstrapping…I am writing this blog, am I not, and it is on Blogger, which is free! I’m definitely already expanding energy, time and sweat and we are all prepared to hit the pavement when the time comes to promote, market and sale what we will be offering.

Another major way we are looking into bootstrapping is by taking key equity partners. The right partnership saves time, up front expenses and adds to the pool of knowledge and interested parties who want the business to be a huge success. I sent our business plan this morning, to the owner of a company that would be a perfect equity partner for us and the answer to our current headache.

I’m always looking for ways to save, to be more efficient and to be innovative because that is what makes, breaks and grows a company. There are a few blogs on bootstrapping that are worth taking a look at: The Bootstrapping Blog, Bootstrapme.com Blog, and The Art of Boostrapping which is part of the How to Change the World Blog by Guy Kawasaki. I'm sure there are many other great blogs and sites on this topic, so feel free to add them in your comments.

We have reached our max of current bootstrapping options and ability to continue to have significant momentum until we are injected with some funding. We have made contact with the Director of Investments at the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and are hoping we qualify for the CIT GAP Fund. The GAP fund is designed to assist companies like us get over the hump of getting enough funding to prove the concept and receive Series A funding. In our case, the funding would allow us to establish a beta site. The beta site would not be for a full launch (for the reason stated above) but rather, to properly prove our concept to Series A type investors.

The story continues...

Initial Listing Rejection From DCBlogs

Last week, I submitted a request to be listed on the DCBlogs’s blog list. I did not hear back from them and since their site states to email again after a week if your blog hasn’t been added, I did just that. The reply I received early this morning ended up getting me all fired up. The reply, in a nutshell, stated that the Why Go Solo blog did not appear to be a good fit; they prefer to list blogs that focus mostly on life and the DC area local neighborhoods.

It’s a funny thing about rejections—for some people it brings them down, while for others, like myself, it’s a great source of motivation.

I replied right away and attempted to better explain the Why Go Solo blog and Why Go Solo. I guess, I have failed to explain this blog thus far and I think, I also failed to do that in the email I sent out this morning—I needed to rush into the shower and get to work. So, with great vigor and added motivation I’m going to do a better job at explaining the Why Go Solo blog.

This blog is about the lives of a few entrepreneurs who are aiming to establish the next trend in social networking and the concept that will make it happen. I know we have many budding and ‘want-to-be’ entrepreneurs in the area. I also wouldn’t be surprised that quite a few folks are interested in learning what life is like for someone who is embracing the risky lifestyle of being an entrepreneur. If there is anybody in this city or any other city that has a colorful, eventful, challenging, and exciting life; as well as a story to tell, it’s an entrepreneur.

Our story is about who we are, our lives, our passions, interests and the process of starting a business—from the birth of an idea, to formulating a plan, establishing a team, finding funding, and overcoming obstacles, to include: growing and learning about yourself, new processes, ways of doing things, partnerships, friendships…you name it!! Bringing an idea and business to life is a roller coaster ride. It’s a thriller, drama, comedy, romance and action film.

Now, on top of all this…we are not simply starting just another business—we are aiming to set a new trend. Why Go Solo will become known the way we now know: MySpace, Facebook, Craigslists and Match.com.

We are not choosing to start this venture in Silicon Valley, somewhere else on the West Coast or in New York city. We are proudly establishing this amazing venture in the DC, VA and MD area. We are counting on the people of this area to show the nation and eventually the world what we are capable of doing and accomplishing.

What seems like perhaps an insignificant blog at this time, will become the tracking of an ongoing story of how to become a huge success and multi-millionaire by following your dreams, overcoming struggles, believing in possibilities and keeping a positive attitude.

This blog is alive and unfolding a wonderful story while educating, coaching, assisting and hopefully, also motivating people.

I have said this before, I believe in the strength of the concept of Why Go Solo, our abilities and our story…I hope we get added to DCBlogs, but if we don’t, I will wait for that faithful day that will come sooner or later when someone ON DCBlogs will blog ABOUT Why Go Solo.

I’m that confident…it’s simply a matter of time.

Grubstake Breakfast

What a long day this has been…but, I don’t want to end it, without first, getting this post out. Today, Martin and I, were finally in a room with VCs!! We attended the Grubstake Breakfast this morning, which is hosted three times a year, by the Business Alliance of George Mason University at the McLean Hilton, in McLean, Virginia.

Our wonderful Banker Judy arranged for us to be there. The way it works, eligible companies seeking $250,000 to $2 million in investment capital apply for the opportunity to make a formal presentation to a panel of investors and to an audience of other investors, fellow entrepreneurs, potential strategic partners, and other interested parties. After each presentation, the panel and the audience provide feedback and ask questions.

The companies that presented this morning were:

And The Learning Accelerator—can’t find a website for them.

I won’t critique the presentations or presenters since, frankly, who am I do to so…however, I will state how surprisingly different each presenters were, although, they all used the same basic six slides. The companies ranged from different industries and each presenters had a style of his/her own. One of the presenters did break a few of the: “How to properly pitch VCs rules”, I have been reading about. Four out of the five companies had the CEO presenting and one did not, which I thought was odd.

The other thing I found rather annoying was when a presenter used to terms “our secret sauce”--be it in their presentation or while answering questions, I decided that, that is one expression I will stay away from using.

The panel of VCs consisted of: Hannah Clifford from InterSouth Partners, Mark Frantz from RedShift Ventures and S. Tien Wong from Opus8. Each member of the panel asked 1 to 2 questions to the presenters. None of the questions were tricky or difficult.

I walked away knowing that I could definitely, and with ease, do that type of presentation in this meduim and nail it. We will submit to present next quarter and will hopefully be selected, that is unless, we have raised the money by then.

We didn’t get to speak directly to any of the VCs, but we did meet a couple of interesting people and leads to potential funding.

As our first event of this nature, I feel it was a success and a good learning experience. I know, believe and am confident about what we have to offer, the potential of Why Go Solo and our abilities.

We will look for more of these type of events and will become regular attendees. That's really the way to do it. People, as in other entrepreneurs, investors, and supporting organizations have to see you at the events, get to know you, network with you and then, over time, more and more opportunities begin to present themselves.

We just have to remember...even taking baby steps, will eventually get you to the the top of Mt. Everest!

Give me my Password...

Please. Pretty Please. For crying out loud!! I want my password. Okay, I realize the fact that I don’t have my password is my fault—I have good excuse for that, but come on, a little customer service and support from MySpace wouldn’t hurt either.

I attempted to retrieve my password multiple times by submitting my email address and although I get the message that my password was sent to my email address…nothing ever arrives into my inbox.

I have also sent out a few emails to MySpace support, which are obviously lost in the mix, and no one at MySpace cares. May be I need to email them everyday, but who has that kind of time!?!?

I really want to get back into my MySpace Profile for a few reasons:

1) To gain the option to delete it. Thankfully, at the same time I changed my password I also updated my profile. When I created the profile, back in 2004, I was in a different place and had a different mind set, then I do now. I’m starting to worry about some of my friends selection back then.

I ran into one of my MySpace friends that used to live in California on Craigslis in Washington DC—he was looking for a bi-girl for him and his girlfriend in the men seeking women section. It’s a small and somewhat scary cyber world.

You would think since I haven’t logged-in for 18 months that they would automatically delete the profile…

2) To update it. May be, I don’t really need to delete it, but I definitely want to update it and may be, start using it again.

3) Avoid creating a new profile. I already have “friends” in my old profile, albeit some dubious ones, but friends none the less, and comments, messages and what not. I really don’t want to create a new profile. Plus, I was on MySpace before it became what it is today…I want to keep my seniority!! I realize this is semi-illogical and pathetic thinking…

This makes me wonder out of the 160,000,000 members on MySpace how many of those are duplicates??

So why did I change my password? When I first established my profile I was single, when I changed my profile and password it was because I was in a relationship. My boyfriend at the time, had a habit of snooping and I felt it was safer to change my password, as well as, the content and pictures I had posted. I changed it to something that was completely different from all my other passwords…so different, in fact, that I can’t for the life of me remember what it is!!

I guess at some point, if I want to have a presence on MySpace again, I’ll have to bite the bullet and create a new profile.

Why Go Solo is going to have excellent customer and service support to avoid this from happening.

Local Online Community on HOT 99.5

Hot 99.5 in Washington ,DC has started their own local online community called the Hot Spot. The reasoning behind the Hot Spot, according to their website and radio commercials, is that, since online communities such as Facebook and Myspace have millions of members you end up lost in the crowd and unable to find people you have things in common with…therefore, you need something more local.

First, that makes no sense. Common sense tells you, the more people on a site, the greater your odds of finding people you have things in common with…plus, since those sites are designed for you to invite your friends to join you--you would think, the people you invite to be your friends are people that interest you and you have things in common with…same with the folks whose invitations you accept.

However, don’t get me wrong, the idea is a good one—it’s a good one—because it enables you to be connected online to people that are closer to your area, listening to the same radio station, and knowledgeable about the same community and events. It’s also a great deal for the radio station (see my cash cow comment below).

I have browsed through the Hot Spot. The layout of the website and profile pages are decent and basically resemble all the to other online communities out there. I have not joined yet and not sure I will.

I listen to HOT 99.5 throughout the day for the music, but I really don’t like the DJs or the topics they select to talk about. It’s definitely a younger and immature level of intellect, selection of issues and subjects compared to the DJs on 93.9 WKYS and WPGC 99.5 and my morning show of choice is Elliot in the Morning on DC101. I realize the maturity level on Elliot’s show is often lacking…but at least, it’s FUNNY.

What I’m a little taken back by is how long it’s taken them to reach 10,000 members. Especially when you consider, how easily they are able to get the word out over the air. They are now offering to pay out $10,000, once they reach, 10,000 members. Yeah, I would certainly hope so, since they are running advertisement on their site, and will be able to cash in with local advertisers in a BIG way. Not surprised the plan is to turn the Hot Spot into a big money cow for the radio station.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens next and who, if anyone, will follow suit.

The Sky is the Limit

Back in late April, once we had the business plan done; we started sending out emails to people we knew, who might know people with money, who might be interested in investing in Why Go Solo. We basically began soliciting for investors.

Shortly after the email blast, our lawyer sent us an email to inform us of the blue sky law. I have a saying: “The sky is not the limit…there are no limits.” Well, turns out, when it comes to soliciting unaccredited investors there are some limits, 35 to be more exact, in the state on Virginia. We can legally solicit 35 unaccredited investors without first seeking the approval of our state or federal officials. Our lawyer recommended we start keeping track…

A blue sky law is a state law in the United States that regulates the offering and sale of securities to protect the public from fraud. Though the specific provisions of these laws vary between states, they all require the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of stock brokers and brokerage firms. Each state's blue sky law is administered by its appropriate regulatory agency, and most also provide private causes of action for private investors who have been injured by securities fraud.

Great, I thought. There’s always a catch and there’s always something. When our lawyer sent out the email he did not mention that there is a difference between an unaccredited investor and an accredited investor.

Accredited investor is a term defined by U.S. securities laws that delineates investors permitted to invest in certain types of higher risk investments, limited partnerships, and angel investor networks. The term generally includes wealthy individuals and organizations such as a corporation, endowment or retirement plans.

For an individual to be considered an accredited investor, he must have a net worth of at least one million US dollars or have made at least $200,000 each year for the last two years ($300,000 with his or her spouse if married) and have the expectation to make the same amount this year. This rule came into effect in 1933 by way of the Securities Act of 1933.

Once I knew the difference between the type of investors, I realized that the law made sense. We also rapidly realized that an email blast isn’t going to result in finding investors. Also, accredited investors are obviously more knowledgeable, better equipped to invest, provide help and increase your chances of success. Plus, accredited investors are in the business of making investments—so it’s typically less of a hassle and risk for the entrepreneurs.

Update: Check out Ask the VC, turns out they posted on the same topic.

Pride and Ego at Play

What a ride the last few days have been! First, sorry for keeping you in suspense—I did get the job at Vitalia MedSpa…as a matter of fact, I interviewed on Wednesday at noon and was told I had the job before 5pm the same day.

I was happy and excited to find out I had the job and at the same time I felt like crying. Not tears of joy—tears of change. For most of the last two years , except for a stint at Starbucks (yes, I worked for two months as a barista) and some freelance coaching with Career Services International; I’ve been working for myself…setting my own hours, setting the pace and only answering to me. It’s been difficult at times and at times very boring, but to be honest, being self-employed is the only option for me.

On Thursday, I went in to work for some training and briefings. I came home Thursday evening, after being stuck in traffic, completely exhausted. The entire day involved dealing with more emotions related to the whole situation I'm in and I realized how much my ego and pride were key players to me feeling bruised, hurt, discontent, out of place and under new constraints.

Everyone is fabulous and wonderful and the new job, is indeed, a perfect fit…the way I feel has nothing to do with that…it has everything to do with me. I am currently not where I imagined myself to be in life. I have fallen short of my expectations, my desires and my goals. I can’t think, nor see myself, as just someone who works for someone else. I can’t have others see me or think of me that way either. I really thought, that by now, I would be further along in building my own empire.

About two weeks ago, I went to the movies with someone I met online through Craigslist. After explaining what I was doing to him, he replied: “So you’re unemployed?” I wanted to cuss at him and get up and leave. I realized, of course, that he was just calling it the way he saw it. I replied with: “You’re obviously not a visionary.” But his comment, unfortunately, stayed with me and it took me a few days to digest it. That is not what drove me to get a job, paying the bills is what brought me to get a job, but everything is wrapped up together and suspended all around me.

I know what I’m capable of doing and yet, it’s not happening. I’ve been brewing on this a lot more. Given that I am trained as a coach, I understand that there is no value in our ego or in our pride. Neither are useful when it comes to reaching real happiness, contentment, or spiritual growth. My worth, my confidence and who I am is not rooted in what I do, accomplish and possess, but guess what—I’m HUMAN. My ego and pride do come out and play…they do drive me to perform better, to achieve more and to reach higher levels of success. I think BIG and I want BIG things to happen in my life and for my life.

I’m a little (as in very) pissed off that I’m not where I want to be and I’m determined to turn up the heat and get there.

Temporary Homepage

Very short post!! Just want to announce that our temporary homepage is up!! Check it out...I realize it's not much and takes you right back here but still, I'm pretty happy with it :)

www.whygosolo.com

The Weight of Doing Business

By weight…I mean literally, as in 15 pounds. That’s how much weight I gained starting my first business. I got out of the Marine Corps after coming back from Iraq, so I was lean and in the best shape of my life. I started my life coaching practice and found myself against a steep how-to-run-a-business learning curve, which I felt, I needed to master right away. I buried myself into reading, writing, networking and learning. I also went through a break-up about the same time. The stress, the pressure, and the sense of urgency I was feeling allowed me to justify skipping the gym and eating a whole lot of chocolate.

Since I was working mostly at home and wearing sweats or pajamas all day…I couldn’t necessarily tell just how much weight I was gaining. Eventually, it was time for me to really get out there, which meant networking in person and putting on clothes—that’s when I had to face the horror that was my new weight. Everything I owned felt tight and some clothes didn’t fit me at all anymore.

I bought some new clothes through Weekenders, which for the most part, come with elastic bands and no size designators. I was determined to get back in the gym, but just couldn’t find the motivation. Plus, I was attending all kinds of networking events with all sorts of crappy food (I mean really, are there any healthy finger food choices?), as well as, going to lunches and dinners. This only compounded the problem.

I think a lot of start-up business owners make the same mistake. We hear it all the time, that to be successful you must dedicate all of yourself to your business. We work around the clock and neglect everything else in our lives. We also get busy and grab whatever we can get to eat--when we remember to eat.

I finally got the motivation to get back into the gym when I knew my business was failing; turned out, all the sacrifices I made for it, didn’t make a lick of a difference. The other factor that really motivated me is this---and pay close attention. You are GUARANTEED RESULTS when you exercise and diet. The equation is simple. Not always easy to follow, but simple.

Discipline + Hard Work (in regards to diet and exercise) = Results.

There is nothing else in life that can provide you the same guarantees. Think about it for a second...for me, it was a slap in the face and a concept I really wanted to come home to.

I did everything I could to make my business successful and it still didn’t work out. No matter how well you follow the rules of business you are NOT guaranteed results. That really jumped-started my workouts and motivated me…I needed results somewhere in my life!!

I’ve been back in the gym and being conscious of what I eat since January. I have lost weight and inches. I’m also starting to feel pretty amazing again. I will never again place my health and well being on the back burner for any future businesses, to include, Why Go Solo.

This also applies to your loved ones, your interests, friends and family…yes, you must dedicate a lot of time and yourself into a new venture and business, but that won’t guarantee your success--you want to keep your life and have something to go back to, when it’s all said and done.

Vitalia Medspa, Family Business or Sin City

The title states my three current options. I had an interview today at Vitalia Medspa. The position I interviewed for is a sales and marketing job. I was fortunate enough to get the interview through a wonderful friend of mine. I feel the interview went really well and I have to admit this is the perfect job for me while I wait for the funding and future of Why Go Solo to unfold.

I mean, HELLO, it’s a Medspa and I’m one girl who would love to get the hair removal procedure done and the body contouring and cellulite improvement…So, you better believe that I can sell it and promote it along with the other products and services. Also, it’s a position that is all about networking, meeting people, creating relationships, building rapport and it offers great flexibility. I honestly liked the owner, everyone was nice and it was a great environment. It’s a match--I really want the job. I should know by Friday!! Keep your fingers cross for me.

If, by great chance, I have truly entered a phase of absolute bad luck and complete disagreement with the entire Universe (in that, I just can’t get anything I actually want) then I have two other options.

Option #1: My older brother wants me to come work with him in what he calls the “family business”. My dad and brothers have been in construction basically all their lives. It has NEVER appealed to me. Anyway, a year or so ago, my older brother struck out on his own and started a mold remediation business on top of doing construction work. He would like for me to join him in order to do the networking, schmoozing and selling, which he doesn’t necessarily like or excel at. He would also love to get me involved and gain the woman and veteran owned status, in order to move along on the GSA schedule. He would probably push me to get my disability papers in to the VA (Veteran Affair) too…I haven’t because I hate doing paper work, which is the other thing, my brother would want me to get involved in.

I love my brother dearly and I know he and I would make a killer team but, and this is a big BUT, this would require me to move to Massachusetts. I hate Massachusetts. Hey, this is nothing against anyone who lives there. We’re not talking about Boston or the Boston area here…we are talking about Western Mass. There’s nothing there. Think about it, who would leave the DC, MD and VA area to go to an area that has nothing and gets freezing cold in the winter!! I’m hurting and semi-desperate—yeah, still a hard one to swallow. Oh, and mold remediation and construction aren’t exactly on my list of top things to be involved in either. Lets see—MedSpa or mold remediation??

Option#2: “Yeah, come on over. I have a spare bedroom with bed and everything. You can stay as long as you want and would have nothing to worry about.” Those were the words of one of my friends, yesterday. We met on Okinawa 4-5 years ago. He lives in Las Vegas. I would leave DC, MD and VA to head out West…especially when there’s a place waiting for me and all I have to do is pack my clothes. He also mentioned how Vegas is a great transition town and he would start looking for jobs for me in sales and marketing. A part of me doesn’t mind that option at all. However, we were planning on starting Why Go Solo in VA (it’s already incorporated in VA) and my business partner and all other associated team players are in VA. I couldn’t leave without keeping my townhouse and a way to come back once the funding came in. It’s tricky, but might be doable.

What I really want is money to drop on my lap, but realistically, my best option is the job at Vitalia Medspa…we’ll wait and see--then look at the other options if that doesn’t pan out.