Here’s the story of my blessing in disguise, how I became a better businesswoman after a tragedy.

I had just checked into the hotel where I was staying the night before the attorney ethics exam at Mercer  University in Georgia. My phone rang, and my son told me that my husband had fallen off a ladder and was in very bad shape.

That event marked the end of life and business as we knew it in 2013 and started us on the journey we travel today, and made me a successful business woman.

We just marked the 7-year anniversary of Mike’s accident. For those who are new to my community, Mike and I had a multi-six figure consulting business, named UNEQ Consulting, which we started in early 2011.

On November 1st, 2013, Mike’s near-fatal accident changed everything for us. Mike lost his hearing and suffered four skull fractures and a severe head injury in the accident.

Our company closed. We went from upwards of $200k to zero. We were in severe financial distress.

It changed my trajectory to consumer law and financial coaching. And has helped me become a much better businesswoman that I wouldn’t have been if UNEQ was still running. Here are a few ways I have grown in business. 

I am 10x better and more successful business woman when it comes to business planning, strategy, and managing as a CEO now

UNEQ operated (rather successfully) from a lack of real planning as to the direction of the company. We had client projects, yes, and a calendar for execution, but I cannot remember a single time Mike and I sat down and asked, “Where are we going this quarter, and how do we get there?”

This lack of planning was quite a liability when the company closed because we didn’t have an emergency fund or continuity plan, so we had to turn back all of our contracts for 2014. All $375k worth of contracts. 

How did I become better?

Now, I make sure that the annual, quarterly, and monthly planning is done. What is offered, when, how much we are bringing in, the content we are putting out, and when I need to add another hire.

I make the time to create a business strategy, not just sales, and marketing, to drive us toward the future I see for Entre Money Coach. I also give myself a regular CEO space to step into powerful successful business woman energy.

That is just time to brainstorm and be with myself and my vision for the company. This is the time I let myself have a higher-level plan and I have the 3 year and 5-year goals for where we are going. 

I always try to operate from a place of service, knowing that there are no coincidences

I believe that people are put in our path for a reason. I didn’t believe it then. We lived in a company bubble and believed that people existed because we had a great team and great project execution. One thing UNEQ suffered from was a tinge of arrogance. 

We were good at what we did, not too many companies did it, and we were thriving on referrals and without marketing. It made us a little bit too confident.

We took risks we shouldn’t have, didn’t always pay attention to the finances, and because we always had another contract coming, allowed our personal lives to sort of suffering. We operated from contract to contract, doing a great job- but not from the perspective of being in service to our clients. 

Today I operate from a completely different place. I have become better as I see myself first as being in service to my clients.

Sometimes that means a lot of hand-holding, sometimes it means a little bit of tough love, but it is always in service to their company and financial goals. I see myself as on a mission to help my clients become as profitable and successful as they desire.

I make decisions without fear, based on the best information I have at the time. With no regrets

During the UNEQ years, I spent way too long worrying about making decisions and worrying about making mistakes. I would game plan 100 different things and constantly second guess myself when I finally chose to do something. For this reason, Mike made a lot of daily and weekly decisions.

My fear of failure was to a level of causing anxiety. After the accident, I was put in charge of making the decisions surrounding closing the business, Mike’s medical care, and anything else related to our daily lives. I actually didn’t always get the chance to think about failing, I just had to make a decision and we moved on it. 

My coach James Williams declared, “You either win or you learn.” And I resisted this for a long while. I was still wavering a lot on making decisions for Entre Money Coach.

• Do I hire social media support?
• Should I pay a copywriter?

Honestly, for the first months, I struggled with this. I lost the art of making decisions the way I had in the months following the accident. But I started to embrace, “you win, or you learn.”

There are no mistakes, and I don’t have time to regret it. I do the planning, the due diligence, and I have clear goals for this journey.

So, now that I feel I have become better and grow into being a successful business woman, with that confidence, I just decide. And I keep moving forward.