LifeStyles
From Banking to Coaching, and Dinner With Her Family

Paula is bright, energetic, fun loving mother of 10-year-old twin boys. She had started her career in retail as an area manager. While she loved the work, she didn't love the hours. So she had transitioned to operations management for what was then Signet Bank, soon to become Capital One. As her job grew at Capital One so did the level of job related travel, which meant time away from her family. After more than 10 years with Capital One, she began to think about what she could do on her own. And that's how I got to meet her.

During our conversations, Paula told me she wanted to be able to spend more time with her family and to have a flexible schedule to accommodate the boys' schedule. Her husband Jimmy is a high school teacher and band director. She wistfully said she'd like to be able to take summers off with everyone.

Paula also wanted more control over her activities. She wanted to have a say in what she worked on and when she worked on it. She expressed frustration with having a job that no one in her family could understand or really see what she did everyday. She wanted something her whole family could believe in. She also said she missed her creative activities. In retail, she'd been able to express some of that creativity but much of it had been suppressed during her years in a corporate setting.

As Paula and I journeyed through her research of opportunities, one thing became clear: time with her boys was paramount. And while she would love to be able to take the summers off, being there when they got off the bus was even more important. Paula really wanted to find a franchise that would fit that bill. After looking at several options, Paula found a franchise that gave her control over her time; and that allowed her to be there for her family and she loves what she's doing.

Paula started in January of 2005 and in the fall of 2006 she won an award at her franchise's national conference. After almost two years, how does she feel about the business now? "I love it. I love that I am in control of what I choose to do. I love that I am home when the kids get off the bus and I can help them with their homework. I love that I can cook dinner for my family and that we actually eat at dinner time and not several hours later. Owning your own business is very challenging and there are days that you will ask yourself if you made the right decision, but anything worth doing is going to be a challenge...if it weren't challenging, none of us would do it. When I look at what I have gained with my children and my husband, it makes the blood, sweat and sometimes tears that I have put into this all worth it!"

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