I am incredibly inspired and humbled by the amazing people I meet. This past week I had an amazing opportunity to work with startup entrepreneurs at JumpStart StartUp. I am blown away by the inspiring stories, the progress, and the determination of so many amazing men and women who desire to create their own future. Here are just a few stories of the people I was blessed to have met.
Paul is a young man who literally walked into the JumpStart StartUp pop up store 10 minutes after starting his property management business. He owns a multi-tenant property and is looking to purchase more, creating a property management company will allow him to eventually put the day to day management in the hands others so he can focus on the next business. He was so excited about our conversation that he brought his friend Ray back to speak with me the next day. Ray is a bright young man who is creating a niche business helping business owners evaluate their numbers and identify areas where they will be able to improve their business, he is a virtual CFO for small businesses.
Jennifer is a lovely young woman who loves working in retail. We spoke about several ideas for her to research and people to connect with to gain some insight. Another young woman, a single mother of a beautiful 2 year old daughter, shared her desire to build a business that will allow her to follow her passion for writing and helping people. After having met Dominique we spoke of several ideas to help her build a business that will support her creative spirit. After our meeting I had the opportunity to pitch her to MyNewPhilly.com and another business owner looking for some writing help.
I met two women who have non-profits that address feeding the hungry in two very distinct ways: a gluten & dairy free food pantry called The Rachel Way and Sweet Fields where they will be turning an urban lot into a working farm field. In my opinion, these ladies will be a great collaborative team.
Then there is Michael. Author, publisher, and poet. A man with an incredible personal story and a passion to follow his heart and his calling to reach as many women as possible with his book Dear Woman. His story about how this book is changing the lives of seniors in an Atlanta public school and the movement this book is inspiring touched my very soul and I will be forever grateful for having met this poet.
There are so many stories and these are just a few, I’d love to share them all. There are so many amazing people out there doing wonderfully inspiring things, we just need to stop long enough to hear their stories and JumpStart StartUp gave me the opportunity to do just that. I feel like I learned as much from these amazing people as was my intent to help them. When we are called to serve it never ceases to amaze how much more we grow from the experience. Thanks to all for blessing my life!