I’m no Superwoman, but I do Have Some Advice About Multitasking.
Gift baskets have always been a passion for me. I made my first gift basket with my mom when I was 13, and ever since it's been a way I can show people how much I care and also express my creativity. Eight years ago I took the plunge once again with my mom and began a gift basket business, Gourmet Gifts. Today, I enjoy owning the business while working full time as a global safety and security manager for Cisco Systems. But that's not where the story ends. Far from it!
From Gourmet Gifts, I noticed a need for gifts focused on health and self-improvement. This idea sprang into opening Spirit of Wellness, a separate business focused on self-care products.
But I'm no super-woman. I'm a 40 year old divorced and remarried, mother, stepmother, and grandmother. My family is my priority and there's nothing I enjoy more than spending time with them. In fact, I've even become the manager for my musician husband's band. I want all working women to know that they can achieve all that they want to in their career without sacrificing time with their family.
My personal secret to multi-tasking success? I strictly manage my time and look at it as my most precious commodity. Every year I try to make my business model more efficient. My resolution for this year in fact is to tackle tasks the minute I think about them, no more procrastinating! I have learned that accomplishments can't be achieved on your own. You need to find great people to work with and I've been blessed to have excellent colleagues at Gourmet Gifts and we all work together to the point where it feels more like a family than a company.
Seeing that us businesswomen really needed a forum to share our challenges and successes, in 2007 I founded the Women’s Networking Alliance (WNA) to support and empower women entrepreneurs. WNA is now an independent entity and in 2010 we went national, with chapters all across the country!
The WNA does a minimum of one major partnership with a charitable organization each year. I'm very proud of this work. In 2008 we helped Career Closet, which assists low-income women in dressing for and landing well-paying jobs. WNA was able to collect six SUVs full of clothes, shoes and accessories. This year we are partnering with Girls For Change to help teenage girls.
