1. Where were you born and raised; current city; family; hobbies; past business highlights...
I was born and raised in the Houston area. I grew up and raised my children in Highlands and I currently live in Mont Belvieu. I am the mother of three adult children: Doug, Matthew, and Lauren; YaYa of five beautiful grands: Ty, Harrison, Alyse, Davis, and Reese; wife to Bennie for 25 years; and we share our life with two rescue fur babies (Scottish terriers), Scruffy and Lulu.
My one and only hobby, ironically, is TRAVEL! Mostly road trips. My husband and I used to hook up the camper and head out to Colorado or the Smoky Mountains, maybe the Grand Canyon, and definitely a couple trips a year to New Braunfels, TX to float the Guadalupe River during the summer months. Now that we are empty nesters, we travel a little differently. We have flown to San Francisco, rented a car and driven the Pacific Coast Highway up the western coastline to Washington State, we flew into DC and drove the eastern coastline up into Maine and briefly into Nova Scotia, flew into Buffalo, NY, visited Niagara Falls, and drove east to see the fall foliage. We are doing a few more Caribbean vacations than we did in the past with a Costa Rica trip scheduled. My bucket list destination is St. Andrews, Scotland; my husband is an avid golfer and I want to take him to the birthplace of golf.
I worked corporate America for 25 years as an account executive with a staffing agency and the Faculty Affairs office with a hospital in the Houston Medical Center. I was spending 12 to 14 hours a day getting ready for work, going to work, being at work, or coming home from work. One day I hit a brick wall and knew there had to be a better way; I was working all the time and not living.
2. How have you grown or personally developed since joining PlanNet?
PlanNet Marketing is the first time I’ve been challenged to personally develop myself. I have been encouraged to read books about working my business, leading my team, and becoming a better person. I accepted the challenge. I read…well I listened. I know Mr. Bradley prefers we read the book, but I’m an Audible gal, so I listen while I’m cleaning house, while I’m driving, during quiet time… but I do buy the book so I can highlight chapters or information I want to refer back to. I have developed a hunger for personal development.
I want success for everyone so I search out what I can, to find ways to help my team think outside the box, to be creative and unique in their approach, not to be cookie cutter marketers. I don’t want to settle for mediocrity and I don’t want to develop mediocre leaders.
3. What drives you; what motivates you?
My husband is at that age that we should be seriously discussing retirement. We didn’t make the best financial decisions along the way, so although we can retire, we would need to go on a tight budget. We have spent years building this amazing life; I do not want to go backwards. I want to continue to live this beautiful life that we have invested years creating. So, I need to supplement our retirement income so he can retire and enjoy life the way he wants…on a golf course.
My motivation was retirement in the beginning…don’t you know it changes on our journey. While it still drives me to get to six figures, what really motivates and inspires me now is the journey I see my team on. They are hungry; they want financial, personal and time freedom. They see the evidence and they want a piece of that! I love seeing the personal growth, the determination, and being a part of their journey. We have a long way to go; we are all still developing into leaders, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt they will reach their goal of financial independence!
4. Who would you consider a role model and why?
We are so fortunate in the Houston market; I have access to some of the top earners in our company. Directors JP Watkins and Phillip Rollins are always available to us at the Houston meetings. Director LaVonda Thornton spent hours mentoring; she took time out of her busy day to pour into me and another Director. Directors Walter and Tiffany Powell are the epitome of servant leaders; they are always reaching out to me and offering priceless nuggets. My accountability partner is Director Judy Cantu – now this lady is real, transparent, and shoots from the hip. She does not hold back and we have learned much from each other; her friendship and guidance has been priceless.
My sponsor, Director Shannon Addington, and Director Cathi Bray are always available to me and let me use them for a sounding board or they will help direct me. I met Director Rachel Russell in 2018 in Baltimore, and that’s when she took me under her wing and has been a constant on my journey ever since. She is my coach and mentor and I can be as real with her and matter of fact as I need to be and she will be the same with me. I admire her for her tenacity, her resilience, her kind heart and servant leadership. Rachel encourages, motivates, and inspires all around her…how lucky was I that April day? I am extremely fortunate in having many role models for different reasons but I appreciate and love each one of them for taking me and my business seriously. Each one of them has invested in my growth and success!
5. The three words that describe you best are:
Bold, Loyal, Honest
6. If you had some sound advice to give to anyone what would it be?
Failure is not the opposite of success; it is part of the process. You need to fail more to be successful!
7. What does your life look like five years from now?
Five years from now, we will be living life on our terms…my husband will be retired on a golf course somewhere and I’ll be traveling the globe helping my team continue to grow!!!