When I was 9 years old, I made colorful eggs out of Play-Doh, dressed up as bunny and set up a roadside stand on Easter weekend. I made $10 in just a few hours. I think my customers were mostly paying for the entertainment – I must have looked hilarious.

But hey, it worked. Around that same time, we lived on an acreage that was once a hobby farm. I saw the potential in the run-down old buildings and started a chicken farm selling eggs to pay for food for my first horse. The horse, himself, was free. I found out why he was free shortly after adopting him, but that is another story. I’ve been an entrepreneur since and had many failures and a few really successful adventures.

Since then, I’ve almost always been self-employed doing work I am passionate about. I’ve done tens of thousands of dollars worth of business training, (none of it in college or university!) and it has always paid me back in multiples.

I’ve gone from being a super awkward and stuttering public speaker to feeling at ease teaching & speaking in front of any size group. I didn’t know how spreadsheets worked when I first started and now I do, (kind of). I’ve learned a LOT about the practical skills it takes to run a business, and even more about the resilience required to do so successfully.