As I sit here writing this, I am in the back room of the retail women’s clothing business I built with my Mom.  Today the store turns 24 years old.

In 1989, I was a student at the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Chicago (now the International Academy of Design and Technology). For my business management class, I had to create a business plan as a final project. The business plan I wrote became this store.  We opened it on Valentine’s Day 1990.

Ten years later, in 2000, I was ready for new adventures and experiences. I was burned out with retail hours and work life; curious about computers and the internet. I didn’t want to keep the store going and Mom did, so I left.  She trudged along, growing the store to what it is today.

In 2008, I began helping her again, virtually. Needing help with her online presence, she became my first VA client and was the reason I started my VA practice. I would work on her projects on evenings and weekends while I managed my corporate office during the normal work-week.

It was because of this and being back on a ‘retail’ type schedule that I even looked into whether or not I could help more people virtually, which is how I then learned about the VA industry and AssistU.  In truth, that business plan from 1989 was the first step for me to have the successful VA practice I have today.

So, I am here to celebrate 24 years. Ten with us together working crazy, stupid hours to grow a business together, eight more years when she grew it without me, then another six with us together again virtually. I am in awe of how God works, and the changes that have happened in both my Mom and I over these 24 amazing years.  Also in awe of how very little sometimes changes.  And, after awe, gratitude of the awesome experiences I have had because of this opportunity.

How has your past shaped your work life today? I would love to hear about it.