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Current Work in the Computer Diagnostics Field:
A Desire
to Return to an Organization: After five and a half years of self-employment, I was feeling unfulfilled and unchallenged... and lonely!
I am basically a people-person and an organizational-person. Yet my small business activities were fairly devoid of
people contact and had no real organizational aspect at all.
A Return to Customer
Service: In October of 2004, I joined PC-Doctor,
Inc. in Reno, Nevada. This firm makes diagostic products for testing computers and components, holding
an 80% market share and serving virtually every significant computer manufacturer in the world.
PC-Doctor, having moved to
Reno's favorable high-tech business climate from Emeryville CA, is a dynamic, fun, rapidly-growing company and
I very much enjoy working there. It's great to look forward to going to work each day, to have fellow workers with which
to interact, to have an organization to which I know I'm contributing, to have customers I enjoy serving, and to know I'm
making a difference.
| From Our Church Directory |
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My Vending Business:
Gran'Mom & Bop's Snacks: From June of 2000 until November of 2004, I operated this snack and beverages business, serving doctors' offices, manufacturing
companies, recovery centers, adult residential centers, and other businesses.
Performing all activities - sales for machine placements, negotiations of commissions, contracting route
servicing, servicing the route myself, inventory planning & management, product purchasing, procedures development, and financial
management - was an all-consuming and often exhausting job.
While the business afforded great flexibility of time for my vacationing and spending time with local
grandchildren, it was very INflexible like many small businesses in the sense that it was always there, always needing
attention. Further, it just didn't meet our standards regarding "standing for healthy things." Barry sold the
business after I came over to work for PC-Doctor.
My
Home Based Businesses:
Several Concurrent Home Businesses: While operating the Gran'Mom & Bop's Snacks, I also ran several other home-based
businesses between 1999 and late 2004 in the fields of Personal Development, Natural Products, Financial Products, and Day-Trading.
Liberty League Work: I became an Associate and consequently a Freedom Advisor, then a Summit Advisor for Liberty League.
This involved selling their Personal Development and training products and recruiting others to do the same.
A really enjoyable aspect of this business was working
with my support partners. Even though my main one was all the way across the nation in North Carolina, we talked several
times a week... he was always available to assist me with new situations or just to talk over approaches and options.
We worked together for months before even meeting... then Barry and I spent time with him (and two of his brothers and his
mother, all also in this business) in Orlando and Hawaii.
I had a lot of fun studying the Liberty League course materials.
Both Barry & I - and our daughter, Lianne - took the Beyond Freedom course and found it quite valuable.
It's a 90-day course that seems to bring miracles... by using a structured approach to examining one's life in virtually all
areas -- and defining what we really want. In February 2004, we took the week-long Liberty Course in Hawaii... and stayed
over for another week. In June, 2004, we took the Summit course in Greece... and stayed in Europe for a month.
Interestingly, the main thing I got out of this work and the course was that, rather than continue
my almost six years of self-employment, I really wanted to be back in an organization!
| On Board the Grandeur of the Seas |
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My AdvancingWithUs Work:
This work was concurrent with my vending business and Liberty League activities and involved selling healthy food, cosmetic,
and household products.
When I joined the AdvancingWithUs Team, I did it mainly because
Barry and I so believe in healthy things. We really liked the idea of a company totally dedicated to health and wellness
through natural, environmentally-friendly products. We had bought many of these types of products at healh food stores...
but they were so expensive and there were many gaps (i.e., no real cosmetic or household cleanser choices). When we
were first exposed to this company (Melaleuca) and its products, we were very impressed.
For Me, Work & Personal Life Must Be Balanced:
At
One Time, My Life Was Out of Balance: Back when I was
a senior manager for Grass Valley Group, I routinely worked 10-16 hours per day, commuted another hour and one-half, and
traveled out-of-state heavily.
I Need a Balanced & Varied
Lifestyle: Before and after GVG, I had been active in church, music, philanthropic activities, other
businesses, lots of travel, and was extremely involved and active with my husband, adult kids, and grandkids for the years
of self-employment.
Learning how important "balance" is to me was the most important lesson
I learned during these periods. Even though self-employment and the Beyond Freedom course helped me discover
that I wanted to be in an organizational setting, I also learned that - even when I returned to full-time employment - I must
keep balance and fullness in my life... I just couldn't continue my activities if I had to work like that any more.
Part of a "Balanced Life" Is Travel:
We Have Made
Work Fit Well With Our Love of Travel: My home-based work supported our love of travel, which
often involved traveling as much as three months out of the year: Many trips to Mexico; numerous weeks to major
resorts around the nation (Napa, Williamsburg, Southern California, many Oregon destinations, resorts in the Texas Hill Country,
Washington DC, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Nashville, Austin, and so many more); cruises to Alaska,
the Caribbean, the Mexico Riviera, etc.; Victoria and Vancouver, Canada; Orlando for a week in January 2004; Hawaii for two
weeks in February 2004; Greece, England, and Scotland for a a month in May & June, 2004; Palm Desert for
a week and a half in September 2004; and many, many other trips.
Fortunately, my new work has lots of vacation time and, by staying healthy so I can use my flex
time and holidays, we are able to take not only our multiple week-long vacations, but also numerous long-weekend ones, as
well.
| On board a cruise ship |
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My
Work in the Financial Field:
Financial
Products: Starting in 2001, I was an independent, licensed securities advisor associated with
Equity Advantage, Inc. and sold investment products (such as annuities, variable universal life, etc.) and
long-term care insurance on a part-time basis, concurrent with my other business activities.
This was a interesting process,
as I learned that the average person thinking of retirement (in their 40's through 60's) was in an almost hopeless shape.
Meeting with prospective clients was an eye opener --- the bleak financial picture for many was truly heartbreaking.
Only about 8% had enough savings to cover three months of expenses and less than 5% could support themselves "comfortably"
in retirement.
Earlier Work in Day Trading: From 1997 until
2001, I engaged in day-trading. I was doing this even when I was working full-time - I got up at 5:00 am, traded on
the internet for a couple of hours, then started work at 8:00 am. This was fun, interesting, and exciting... sometimes
I would trade options for the same stock several times in just a few hours. This continued from 1999 (after I was laid
off) until 2001, when the market crashed (even though it's possible to make money in a declining market, I'm just too positive
a person to "bet" on things losing money or value).
| On Grand Cayman Island |
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My Work in the Video Industry:
Rapid Growth & Promotion:
I joined Grass Valley Group, Inc. in 1991 (GVG was then a subsidiary of Tektronix Inc. of
Beaverton, OR), where I was Director of Customer Service for several years, running five first level and technical call centers
(two in Oregon, one in Grass Valley, one in Hollywood, and one in Wisconsin). GVG's special-effects video products were
used by all the major TV networks, most of the world's commercial & university production video studios, and in Hollywood
for movie rush-analysis.
Starting with GVG as a minimum-wage "temp," I ended up as a member of the president's
Management Committee. I learned a lot and, mostly (except for laying people off), enjoyed the work.
A Double-Edged Learning Experience:
I worked long, hard hours at GVG, often leaving my home in the dark at 5:30 am and not getting home until 10:00 pm... not
a good way to live!
During my last five years there - due to a combination of fierce competition by
SONY and, perhaps, a poor overseer role by our parent, Tektronix - we slipped from 80% market dominance to an "almost ran"
presence... and I had to engage in major lay-offs of employees several times a year. It's a horrible experience watching
grown men and women cry in heartbreak and panic!
In May of 1999 the company made what I consider a fatal mistake for any
firm and decided to outsource its customer support function... and I was suddenly redundant.
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| 1987 in the consulting firm |
Logistics & Financial Support Roles:
Support & Financial Management for Executive Consulting Firms: From 1989
to 1991, I was vice-president for finance & logistics for the executive consulting firm of Leadership
Growth Inc., handling accounting, conference site arrangements, client coordination, travel
& logistics support, and some facilitation assistance to the consultants.
From
1985 to 1989, I performed a similar role for Barry Barnes & Company (Leadership Growth's predecessor
firm, founded in 1981).
Services
included: Rapid Growth Strategies; Optimization of the Product Development Process; Executive Sounding Board Counsel;
Executive Team-Building; Conflict Resolution; Inter-Functional Problem-Solving; and related services. Clients included
the CEO's, officers, and senior executives of fast-growth firms and susidiaries and tended to have numerous engagements
per year for many years running.
These
two firms served such companies as AT&T, CalComp, Consilium, Datachecker, DataQuest (Dunn & Bradstreet subsidiary),
DuPont, Fujitsu (four divisions), General Motors of Canada, Hewlett-Packard (13 divisions), the Institute for the Information
Industries of the Republic of China, Kraft Foods, Maryland National Bank, QAD Systems, Ross Systems, Rubbermaid, Sybase, Sytek
(now Hughes LANSystems), Tri-Steel Structures, Ungermann-Bass (Compaq subsidiary), Wells Fargo Bank (110 districts), and about
15 other companies.
Support & Financial
Management for a Sales Consulting Firm: Additionally and partially concurrently, from 1985 to 1987, I managed finances &
logistics for The Barnes & Senne Group, another consulting firm serving sales management
and "consultive" sales professionals in the high-tech and banking fields.
Executive Assistant: From 1983 to 1985, I was executive assistant
to the president and CEO of BDS Inc., a printer manufacturer in Mountain View, CA.
This role involved scheduling, coordination, and some minor project management activities.
| At a lovely shop in Bernal, Mexico |
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My Other Activities:
Church Leadership Roles: For our church, I have recently been
a member of the Board of Trustees, founder and chair of the Endowment Committee, served on the Administrative Council,
and organized the "Forests" - a series of social and outreach "small groups" consisting of 25 to 40 people each.
I sang soprano in the band, ReGenesis, since the mid-1990's, which, for two years, served many churches
in northern California and Nevada. Then, about 2002, I was one of about a dozen who initiated the church's Contemporary
Service, continuing to sing, with ReGenesis becoming its musical centerpiece.
In the church's earlier years, I co-started a mid-week multi-generational youth program and co-managed it for several
years. I also was in charge of outreach and publicity. With Barry and another couple, I organized and
implemented a 4-day Family Camp event at our present church.
At our previous church, Barry & I, along with two other couples, managed the 4-day Family Camp one year, as well
[Barry and his former consulting partner, Jeff Senne, put on the multi-morning program that year, focusing on communications
styles and behavioral typology].
Philanthropic Activities: I'm a member of PEO, a women's philanthropic
and educational organization, for which I have been Corresponding Secretary, Ways & Means Chair, Chaplin, and State
Convention Liaison. I also organize and manage two major fund-raisers each year, which support local families-in-need
and other causes.
Manager of Vacation Planning: Taking as many vacations as we do -
often with them having complex itineraries - is a major task. Fortunately, I love doing these travel plans.
Barry kids me that I'm a misplaced travel agent. I love researching destinations on the internet and in our timeshare
guides, managing our 12 weeks of timeshare, researching travel options, preparing itineraries, and coordinating the dozens
to hundreds of activities necessary for a really great vacation. Barry, on the other hand, is great with his attitude
of:
You select the destinations, you plan the vacations, and I'll come
along and have a great time, whatever and wherever they are.
So I do plan them... I do arrange them... he always likes them, and we both DO have a great time!
To see pictures from just a few of our vactions, click on the Vacations or
More Vacations!
links at the bottom of this page.
| Liz (center) singing in ReGenesis band |
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 singing in ReGenesis band)
