Today is Thanksgiving 2018. It’s my first Thanksgiving since starting my business, The Job Search Center. I want to celebrate by bringing to your, and my, awareness what it takes to start a business. My business is my skills.  I can only imagine what it must take to start a business that produces things. 

 My vision is for a brick and mortar center, where job seekers get up in the morning “to go to work” on their job searches. I’m inspired by the Career Initiatives Center, co-founded by my mentors, Cary Arden, Sally Morely and others who saw the need of job seekers to have a place of support, encouragement, inspiration and practical skills development, along with contacts and networking. My experience with them and the success of the job seekers who worked with us is the inspiration for my dream. As they did, I now carry forward the idea that there are more efficient and effective ways to engage in job seeking – from both the applicant and employer sides. This is a different approach I am seeking to provide.

 

Gratitude List

Starting my business has required the talents of many people beyond my own.  Here are the talents I received in abundance from my colleagues, friends, acquaintances and people I’ve never even met, yet they’ve had important influence on me developing my business:

 1. Expanding

I’m grateful to my Higher Power and spiritual wisdom for the courage, strength, inspiration and ideas to start my new business helping good people  get great jobs.  Workshops are a staple of my business and these are the people who help make this happen:

Teresa Sawicki who got the whole thing started with her generous and timely sharing of her own experience with online courses in business training and the impact it was having on her own business development. As I checked out Christian Mickelsen, the person she recommended, others showed up in my FB feed and eventually I was led to find me person…

Bill Baren and his team; the accountability partners in my Master Mind Group: Janet Eichorst, Barbara Katz, and Kathy Vaske. The ones who are upholding me in sticking to a schedule, getting programs - the heart of my Center’s practice - out to the community: Shaw Mumford, Andrea Ianetta, Mindy Hayes, Joanna M, Heather Houk, Lisa J, Richard SB

Greg Reynolds has taken my interest and recommended the value of my service to over 3500 networkers.

Carrie Carpenter who started the Face Book group Women's Networking Group - Cleveland and her team, plus all the members who respond to me and each other. Networking is solutions meeting needs - I love this one!

Inspiration has come from Julie Gelfand, MD; Elizabeth Purvis and Mel Pharr and Caitlin Bacher who encouraged me with their bold, authentic and heroic visions, all online gurus

Elise Newman who got me to see that I am more than I think I am and can do more than I think I can do

Communications and User Experience advocates Laura and Judi Pfancuff

For encouragement with writing, you couldn’t ask for more thoughtful, generous support than Dave van Horn gives to his Cleveland Writers Group, and me in great dollops

 2. Relationship building with interests

Early support, brainstorming and advice: Eric McGarvey (over and over again), Rebecca Morgan, Len F, Stephanie and Reggie Owens

Wise words, coaching and confidence sharing with Peter Cavrell and Jeff Hexter

Support and networking expansion with Michelle Ryb and the Connect Plus Group, Send Out Cards group and Lamar Ratcliffe’s FENG, Networking After Work, LinkedIn Local, The City Club of Cleveland, Greg Reynolds and North Coast Job Seekers, Cleveland Women’s Networking FB group,

Tara Reynolds and Diana for trading sessions with me so we could test out each other’s talents and give feedback from what we were learning in our How To Start This Business, Premium Packages course

Victoria Avi, Jessica Whale and Yulu Li for their enthusiastic encouragement

Exploring the work with me: Successful Job Seekers Helping Each Other, Lisa J, Shaw Mumford, Andrea Ianetta, Joanna, Richard, Heather, Donna, Chris

Website development! I  couldn’t have done it without Peter Cavrell and Al Mamun

Company infrastructure development: MidTown Cleveland especially Jeff Epstein, Carm Kelly, Tori and Gelise and Michael; Organizing space to have workshops and their interminable patience! Michele Kilroy at Limelight, Micki at the Dealership, Melvina at Trinity Commons and Anna Buchholz at TechHive, Dick Pace and Nate, both in MidTown.

Debby Peters, august networking maven (I’m not kidding)

My weekly wisdom check-in Angels are Tara and Mary Kay

Carol Laursen for encouraging me and coming with me to sketch! I need it!

 3. Encouragement

Cary, my unflagging mentor and friend, always curious, always with heart.

Marilyn who recently talked with me about starting her own business and showing me what hard scrabble is and how well I’m doing with all these many people.

The distinguished Encore Fellows: Lynn Berner, Abbie Turner, Stephanie Allen, Christine Stadler for their encouragement to go for the work I really love – and that this clearly is it!

Individual Support and encouragement from Tara B, Tim Garth, Carol Sadewasser, Gail Arnoff, Wendy Sanderfer,  Sarah Littlefield, Pat Sedlak, Shellie Sedlak – my person, the 3Ms: Marianne, Mary Kay and Melissa; Juli, Mick and Bill;  Susan Fowler; Josh Mendel; Nancy and Pam Fioritto and their New Year’s Day friends who are a) becoming my friends and b) encouraging me by their requests to hear more and offer to help; Kathy Browning;  my sisters, Sara, Joanie and Katie and my brother Jim, plus my cousin Joe Gill

Denise Warner, Breakthrough Catalyst Coach with Bill Baren coaching who really did bring me a major breakthrough!

 4. Competence in me that was received or credited

Joanna M and Richard SB,

Ensign Cowell for early support ongoing through the years, and Hugh Fiebig whose faith in the earlier years gave me experience and carried me forward. Cathy Lewis who gives credit to my strengths, helping me become more confident to offer them.

President Beverly Warren of Kent State University who showed me the value in my own story and its strength

 5. Helping me get started in the community

Eric McGarvey, knows the people I need to meet, knows the best places to eat, knows business, and knows how to market it all! And he’s another one with amazing heart and leadership!

Teresa Lynn Crockett at Sugar Bowl Creative for teaching me more about video. When you are doing everything yourself, these tutors matter!

Bruce at IRS who helped me make sure my info was correct with them as well as the credit card processing companies.

Lamar Ratcliffe – everyone knows Lamar - who is helping me get connected.

Andie Peck who gave me great, encouraging, ideas to expand my promotions

6. The rest of the people who are in my corner is the most important part.

My mentor and friend, Cary Arden who has coached me throughout my career and continues to reflect on my work with her sage, and warm advice. I owe her a triple debt of gratitude - personal, professional and spiritual. She, with her deep wisdom has shown me humility and wisdom co-exits in the most wonderful fashion and also gets to the heart of the matter. She uses her charm, grace, intelligence and abiding faith to change me and others. I owe her a debt of gratitude for forbearance in how long it took me to embrace her vision for me. She never stopped believing in me. I know that for a fact. 

The ones who are in this with me to the end – Shellie Sedlak – my person and Sherri Green who keeps me sane and hope-keeping, as well as her grandson DeAnte, one of the young ones who give us hope for the future we will live in when we’re too old to make a big difference

Greg and Rosemary at the Basketeria who share their love of business and advice with me

Dollar Bank with their amazing customer service making sure my accounts are set up, I understand everything and all is working well!

Bruce Amsel and Shana who keep me in good health coverage during all this time

Courtney and Shameka who keep me feeling confident about my appearance

Artists Wally Kaplan, Mindy Tousley, Herb Ascherman, Kyle Holland and Jordan Wong who, by their interest and acceptance of my “eye,” encourage me

Charles Wiley who reminded me of the importance of returning citizens and their needs for good employment and how I could help them

Old (meaning long time) friend-colleagues, Jim White, Dave Nash, Pat Carey, Tom Bennett, Ron Fountain and Greg Reynolds

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and the generous doctors and psychologists at NICABM, who help me understand the trauma I and some of my clients carry and also the amygdala/HPA axis theory I need to help calm myself and give support resources to others who need it

My neighbors, David and Mollie, who kept me in wifi when my network went out for over a month

Kate Schifle who came back into my life at the perfect moment!

Angels rescuing damsels in distress Neil Lybarger and Qaisra Haddad,  and my super travel companion Kathy

My Grandchildren – Xavier, Natalia, Olivia, Jakiv and Lucia who are the focus of my vision.  May they be encouraged to pursue their dreams and one day point to this company and say, “My grandma started this! And now I’m building my own career!”

You Are Not Alone

Sue Nelson has worked in Career Coaching for over 20 years.  More than 3800 clients have improved their job search speed and outcomes with her unusual, whole-system insights about how jobs are obtained, the obstacles job seekers face to obtaining them, and the step-by-step, word-by word practices, tools and templates she creates - sometimes right on the spot - just for you! 

“I love the creativity of job search coaching. Every candidate brings a unique personality and package of skills so I’m constantly challenged to find just the right tools and inspiration for them.”