Liz McGowen

I'm rumored to be the tooth fairy, but shhhhh don't tell!

Actually, I'm a mother of three girls who works from home. The road of home-based-business has been pretty bumpy, still with lots of ups and downs. You too?

Let's see. I started out after college with a whole bunch of tedious jobs, eventually went to grad school to become a social worker, and ultimately learned that I'm a really terrible bureaucrat. I tend to ask "why" too much. After about 20 years of working for other people and the government, I took advantage of my last chance to be "mom" and stay at home after my third daughter was born.

After about 6 months of being at home with the baby, I must admit I was going pretty nuts. It was clear that neither the dog nor the baby were ready to work on ego development. So I started my own business in spring 2006. At the beginning it was a very traditional private therapy practice. The practice plugged along fairly well, and I only recently stopped seeing clients in December 2009.

Now between you and me, being a therapist day in and day out is not as fun as it sounds. The "Bob Newhart Show" really doesn't give an honest portrayal. I loved my clients, but I'm a very take-action kind of person meaning that long-term therapy bores me to tears. After a while it was clear that I needed at least one more outlet, and I soon found it.

Part of what developed with the therapy practice was a fascination with marketing. It started with a little e-book about child behavior, which led me to market it online. That led to other online marketing niches, blogging, and much to my amazement often helping other people create their own blogs and online marketing programs. I still have those in place, and while they aren't making me rich they're at least keeping me in lip gloss, which is a nice perk.

This fall, I started working with a network marketing company. I must admit that I got involved because my enroller is a terrific woman who has become a good friend. I also love the products and feel truly good about using them.

Unfortunately, the whole "go talk to everyone you know and start conversations at the grocery store" just wasn't working for me. And most of my friends and family could care less about signing up. Go figure.

So, after a few months of feeling silly and struggling and convincing my husband that this IS going to work, I realized that I needed to trust my instincts and find a different solution to my marketing issues. I was worried that no one in my organization was really using comprehensive internet marketing strategies to generate their leads.

Thus I find myself with a new blog, a new marketing plan, and tons to learn. I'm not gonna pretend, it's a little overwhelming. So if that's you, too, I'm glad we can share this experience together.

Well, that's probably ten times more than you wanted to know about me. I'd love to connect with you, find out more about what makes you tick, and see if there's anything we could help each other with. Feel welcome to send me a note or leave a comment in my guest book!

All my best to you,

-liz