Lisa Montanaro, Certified Professional Organizer, Business & Life Coach, Motivational Speaker

Lisa Montanaro realized early on that she did not like the practice of law even though she had given it her all for 9 years. She loved law school, and later teaching law, but the practice of law was never an ideal fit.

Like many lawyers, Lisa spent time at a large law firm learning the trade and working 90+ hour weeks.  She was working in New York City where the legal field is intense and competitive and Lisa was able to move from her firm to an in-house counsel position that seemed to be a better fit. This was 1999 and the Y2K craze was consuming all business sectors including the legal field and Lisa started thinking seriously about finding a different career that honored her passions while still playing to her strengths. [Read more...]

Being Laid Off Opened a New Career Door for Nicki Beekman

Nicki Beekman has always been motivated by working with others to help them achieve their goals. She was able to put this entrepreneurial spirit into practice when she was laid off in 2009. A single mom who also takes care of her live-in mother, in addition to her teenage son, Nicki was terrified about her next career steps knowing that she had others to provide for. [Read more...]

Candace Alper Loves Being a WAHM

It all began for Candace Alper when she was on maternity leave. In Canada, new moms are able to take up to a year off which has led to a growing number of mompreneurs in the country. Having a year to herself and her new baby, Candace was able to take the time to think about her life and her career. With an infant daughter, she started singing the songs all moms know and love but she would incorporate Hannah’s name to personalize the tunes.

Before long – “If You’re Happy and You Know It” became “If You’re Hannah and You Know It” and the idea of Name Your Tune was born. Candace’s husband, Eric works in the music industry and he supported the idea of the new business venture and also brought significant skills and expertise to the table. From the beginning, the focus has been on making music fun for children and parents alike. By customizing songs with a child’s name, this wife and husband team has been able to take classic children’s songs to a new place. [Read more...]

Sandra Downie, Creative Director & Lead Designer – Event Designs

Before launching a new career in the wedding industry, Sandra Downie was working as an Executive Assistant in Corporate America. It paid the bills and utilized many of her skills but it did not ignite her passion or get her excited about going to work each day.

With this lack of passion, she decided to tap her creativity and enrolled in Aesthetic School with a focus on skin care therapy. She thrived in her Aesthetics program and embraced how truly impactful the beauty industry can be on building confidence in women. This is where she found out how exciting and fulfilling helping people feel special truly was. [Read more...]

Melani Lust, Photographer

From her first dark room class at the age of 13, Melani knew her life’s work would be about creating imagery. A native of San Diego, she left California to move to Manhattan where she earned a BA in Art History and an MA in Fine Arts from New York University on full scholarship with magna cum laude distinction.

This Renaissance woman has a sophisticated understanding of aesthetics and composition and her earlier career pursuits explain her profound ability to create moving works of art in her photography.

Melani enjoyed a career as a professional dancer while earning her undergraduate degree at NYU. Dancing with the world renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, she also danced in numerous off Broadway productions and as a featured commercial dancer during the birth of MTV when dancers were highly sought after for the emerging music video genre. [Read more...]

Michelle Jaffee, Owner Sweet & Simple

A native California girl, Michelle Jaffee moved east to attend George Washington University. After an internship on Capitol Hill and two professional positions after college, she went to The Big Apple to put her English Literature major to work in the publishing industry.

The pace of Manhattan was thrilling and Michelle immersed herself in the culture taking a writing class and earning her keep with temp jobs, one of which turned into a full-time position. But Michelle knew she was not doing the kind of work she loved and felt like she was being swept along in the momentum of the city without a particular goal or focus. The problem was clarity of expectations. Michelle knew she wasn’t 100% happy but also didn’t know what she wanted career wise. Little did she know then that a natural talent, which also brought her joy, would turn into a viable business enterprise down the road! [Read more...]

Candace Alper, Name Your Tune – Personalized CDs

It all began for Candace Alper when she was on maternity leave. In Canada, new moms are able to take up to a year off which has led to a growing number of mompreneurs in the country. Having a year to herself and her new baby, Candace was able to take the time to think about her life and her career. With an infant daughter, she started singing the songs all moms know and love but she would incorporate Hannah’s name to personalize the tunes.

Before long – “If You’re Happy and You Know It” became “If You’re Hannah and You Know It” and the idea of Name Your Tune was born. Candace’s husband, Eric works in the music industry and he supported the idea of the new business venture and also brought significant skills and expertise to the table. From the beginning, the focus has been on making music fun for children and parents alike. By customizing songs with a child’s name, this wife and husband team has been able to take classic children’s songs to a new place. [Read more...]

Pam Beattie, Venetian Décor

When Pam Beattie, a stay at home Mom, married for 20 years had a yearning for something more, she focused on her passion for French furniture to launch a new business. Venetian Décor is her boutique upholstery and design house that specializes in creating down duvets, custom filled seat cushions and reproduction French furniture, to name just a few of her offerings. Pam is the ultimate recycler using vintage fur coats to bring a new life to these heirlooms and re-purpose them for something new and unique. [Read more...]

Kim Daly, The Urbane Concierge

Kim Daly has worn many hats during her professional career from an Executive Briefing Program Manger to the Director of Global Travel Operations. In her previous life, Kim was working a full 40-hour week and spending 20 additional hours running errands and doing a plethora of other miscellaneous tasks. Her free time was hardly spent doing the things she wanted to do. She soon discovered that there were many people in the same position– their lives were lost to mundane chores. [Read more...]

Janet Sanders, The Diabetes Coach

Janet Sanders went to law school because she wanted to exercise her philanthropic muscles. After reading an article in Time magazine about a parent/child support center, she aspired to open a similar facility in her native Philadelphia. By pursuing a law degree, Janet thought she would gain the skill set and professional competencies necessary to realize her dream. She did in fact hone these transferable skills, but her career went in a different direction than she had planned. [Read more...]