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If Everyday Women Can Become Empowered Entrepreneurs - So Can You!

Guest post by: Anne Bachrach

Article Overview: Here are three stories about everyday women who became empowered entrepreneurs by letting their desires pull them to greater achievements. These women weren't extraordinary in the common definition, but they allowed their desire to pull them into the unknown. They did not let their fear pull them back; they just continued walking their own path - even against the critics.

If Everyday Women Can Become Empowered Entrepreneurs - So Can You!

The fact is that few women plan to become entrepreneurs; more often, it happens because they were simply making their own path. While many women may have dreams of great achievements beyond their current reality, they rarely see them come to life because their fears prevent them from breaking from the "traditional." They feel the discomfort of the traditional, but their fear outweighs their desires, keeping them forever trapped in the familiar. The traditional is safe and familiar, yet it can be unfulfilling. The unknown can be intimidating, yet it can be an awakening. Here are three stories about everyday women who became empowered entrepreneurs by letting their desires pull them to greater achievements. These women weren't extraordinary in the common definition, but they allowed their desire to pull them into the unknown. They did not let their fear pull them back; they just continued walking their own path - even against the critics.

Suzy Prudden

A brand in the fitness/weight-loss/personal development field since the 1960s, Suzy Prudden opened her own fitness school as a matter of necessity. "I was putting my husband through school and going to have a baby, I needed income, and I couldn't do it working for someone else."

She was a fitness icon ahead of her time, teaching fitness to toddlers and young children when no one believed it to be of importance. By the 1980s, she incorporated mind/body teachings into her fitness philosophy, sharing that people couldn't resolve their weight issues, without first healing the inside.

But things weren't always perfect. At the age of 26, she was a successful entrepreneur who was about to lose everything. Clients canceled her guest appearances, she didn't have the money to hold seminars, and her bills were piling up. In a humbling experience, Suzy lost it all only to gain a new perspective on herself and her business.

Little by little, she built her business from the ground up learning to trust, be kinder, and have more compassion. She would eventually go on to appear nationally on Oprah, The Today Show, and Good Morning America.

Today, Suzy has created a licensee business model, Pounds Off, training people to become an independent Pounds Off Coach, which is taking her message and philosophy to a global market.

Says Prudden, "It has not been an easy road; it's been a fascinating road. There are times that have been very, very scary. What I've learned and what I try to teach others is that you're not falling off the planet; you can fix this. Everything is an opportunity."

To learn more about Suzy Prudden, visit the website SuzyPrudden.

Erin McKenna

BabycakesNYC website

Raised a Southern California girl, Erin had dreams of moving to New York City to pursue a career in fashion design. It would be just one year later that Erin found her dream had turned into a nightmare. "The fabrics, the designs were dazzling, but the job, as a fashion assistant, was demoralizing and paid next to nothing. I had to get a second job as a waitress." One day she couldn't take anymore and quit, walking off her low-paying fashion assistant job.

She put on a confident face, acting braver than she felt, but secretly praying she would find another job that fed her soul and paid her bills. It appeared her dream of becoming a fashion designer had died and she wasn't sure what she would do.

Although she was feeling discouraged, her new passion was about to emerge. After attending a birthday party for her friend's son, she had an idea to open a bakery for children with food allergies. Erin had developed food allergies herself, and opening a specialty bakery seemed like the logical solution. She couldn't get the idea out of her head, so she called her brother to get feedback. When her brother encouraged her to do it, she still wasn't sure, so she called her mother.

Expecting her mother would talk her out of it, she was shocked when the opposite happened. Her mother said, "Erin, you've got to do it." Every second after that conversation was centered on Erin's new dream.

After a year of perfecting her recipes, she found a vacant building to house her bakery. In August 2005, Babycakes opened its doors with great success. Today, Babycakes has expanded their operations that now include a second storefront in Los Angeles.

Visit the website BabycakesNYC for more information.

Ali Brown

Ali has always been independent and spirited, exactly the kind of employee that often wears on the nerves of executives. Moving to New York City with dreams of becoming a high-powered career woman, Ali didn't know she would find so many rules dictating her destiny.

It didn't matter where Ali worked (and she had many jobs), she wanted to make changes. She wanted to change the dress code and other company policies to allow more freedom and creativity. Not surprisingly, she soon grew tired of her ideas going ignored, not to mention the hum-drum of 8 to 5. She assumed, of course, that her desire to do things differently meant there was something wrong with her. Little did she know that she had an entrepreneurial spirit, she just needed to find the right venue.

When she learned that freelancer advertising consultants were earning more than she was for the same type of work, she quit her corporate job to embrace the freedom of becoming an independent consultant. The only trouble was that she had no idea what lie ahead of her. Often broke and struggling to pay her bills and living in a cramped fifth-floor walk-up studio, she almost threw in the towel.

Without a mentor to guide her, she immersed herself in books and courses on everything marketing and prosperity. Using a hand-me-down computer from her younger brother, she slowly learned how to harness the power of online marketing, eventually creating her first ebook, Boost Business with Your Own Ezine. Her hard work and branding eventually paid off, earning her the title as "The Ezine Queen" and gaining thousands of followers.

Today, Ali is CEO of Ali International, Inc., (a multi-million dollar company) that recently ranked #263 in the 2009 INC. 500 as one of the fastest-growing companies. Building a multiple-income stream business on a solid foundation has pushed Ali to the top and made her one of the most prolific and successful women entrepreneurs in the nation.

To learn more about Ali Brown, go to the website AliBrown.

Life is not a test-run - you only get one shot. It does not matter where you come from or who you used to be, you can always become the person you want to be. Start today - not tomorrow - not next week, to incorporate your desires into your life. The smallest change can bring about the greatest happiness; but it won't happen until you take action.

Start with these first steps:

1. Write down your goals

At the end of your life, what will have truly mattered to you? Make a list of how you would like people to remember you and put those ideas onto a Long-Term Goals list. From there, create a Short-Term Goals list that breaks the long-term goals down into smaller goals that can be achieved quickly or in the near future.

2. Analyze what's important to you and how you can begin to bridge the gap

In order to achieve your goals, you've got to build your life based on those goals. For most not familiar with goal building, their current life looks nothing like what they really want; nor can they achieve what they really want based on its current structure. Make a list of things that are most important to you (health, time with family, money, travel, work less, etc.) and take action each day to make changes that bring you more in line with values that are most important to you. From there, goal achievement will become much easier.

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Article Tags: accountability, business owners, business success, desire, results, women, work life balance



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