I was on maternity with my second baby. I’d been a middle school counselor for nearly a decade, and while I loved serving teens and families in crisis and growing up… I knew there was something else that I needed to do. Something that would serve some deep yearning I’d always had to make a difference in the world. And, allowed me to be a mom, wife, adventurer… with freedom. I never considered entrepreneurship, but life coaching seemed like the perfect fit to partner my skills as a counselor with my love of transformational work. Marie was literally the very first person that I found who exemplified this model of smart as hell, deeply committed to service, confident with money, and comfortable with her sexy womanhood at the same time. The world broke wide open for me when I saw my first MarieTV episode. I literally had no idea that this entire world of female entrepreneurs who are heart-centered and ambitious existed… and it was like I’d discovered the most exciting possibility for how I wanted to create my life.

That was it. I put my overachieving, learning nerd, passion junkie into action. Joined B-School. Devoured all that I could of Marie’s teachings (while maintaining my commitment to my family and well-being!) and am still plugging away at building my next dream. I’m not going to lie, my first year of business included a ton of learning. I have a master’s in counseling psychology, not business. But, I managed to have 1:1 clients, a live group program, a paid speaking gig, an online group program, get published in HuffPost, be interviewed twice and more. Marie, whom I think of as this perfect blend of “elegant business maven meets edgy Jersey girl,” was the catalyst. As a Philly girl who loves me some hip-hop, with a solid dose of smart, I was smitten.

There literally was no business before. I was slowly stumbling through, finding the pieces, but B-School packaged it all up in one brilliant spot that I can return to again and again to grow and improve. As someone who had no formal business training, B-School gave me the essential foundation to build my business, make strategic decisions, and write from the heart. I’ve had many huge shifts from Marie’s work, but one that I cherish is her emphasis on authenticity in all we do. This gave me the permission to write more freely and show up more clearly in a profound way with my audience. My list is growing and my open rate is always 40%-60% mainly because it’s ME writing. Along the same lines, I never even thought of myself as a creative person. I thought that was reserved for “artists.” Marie has reframed that for me completely, through her interviews with Elizabeth Gilbert and Mama Gena, her own writings, the way she integrates hip-hop and humor into her shows… I now proudly declare myself creative and wrote my first book this year (which has been a lifelong dream!).