What is my story? (Today’s version)

I was glancing through my LinkedIn feed this morning and noticed Leadership Coach, Ken Sharrar, asking “What is your story?”

Hmmm…my story is always evolving.  I am a serial entrepreneur and of course ideas flow constantly.  Determining which of those ideas can be profitable is the question I always have.  But my entrepreneur story starts about ten years ago in a building at Hill AFB, UT where I was writing database software for the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron (RADES).  I got hired as an Oracle DBA but was also a talented.Net programmer, so a few information systems became born or enhanced during my time there.  I love writing software and data has always been my thing.  I love getting information out of a relational database and formatting to fit what the user wants.  I was perfectly happy being a cube rat.

When I started at the RADES, I was just going through a divorce.  My husband had moved out the weekend before I started.  It was not expected although we had issues for a while.  So the first week I was in shock but also relieved.  So while my personal life was in strife, I had to turn my life around and take care of my three teenage kids so that their life was somewhat normal.  I poured myself into my work and managed to run the kids around to all their activities. 

I never thought about being an entrepreneur although as I look back I can see I had tendencies.  I sold things door to door as a child.  I had ADHD so my mom was constantly shoving me out the door, so I didn’t drive her crazy.  I wasn’t good in school until I was a teenager, and I always got good grades while being involved in FBLA, sports, and band.  I grew up in a penniless single mom household.  From meager beginnings came the experience in how to work hard to achieve results.

I was working in the RADES for about two years when I got the call that would change my career forever.  The call that came was from Vincent Kinsey.  He was working for IHS and was trying to integrate an RFID tag into a Hazardous Material system called HMMS at Edwards AFB in California.  As a single mom, I had to consider my family first.  Then I thought, I have skills, what would be the worst thing that would happen?  My kids might have to sleep on somebody’s couch for a month or two.  It doesn’t hurt children to experience hard times. 

I jumped in and became a sub to MECX, and Sensory Technology Consultants became born.  That was in June of 2006.  It is so hard to believe that I have worked for myself all of that time.  Sensory Technology Consultants has since become Dynagrace Enterprises and is a 100 percent women-owned small business and we are 8(a) certified.  My kids never slept on anybody’s couch, and I managed to give them an excellent lifestyle.

No matter what your story is, you can be successful.  Don’t let anything stop you and don’t be afraid to take risks.  Believe in yourself and your abilities and you will go far.

What? A radio interview? Me?

Being a serial entrepreneur I started networking as a means to get out and meet people.  My primary market was not entrepreneurs but the poor federal employee with little to no budget.  These employees are visited by me and other defense contractor business development sales people on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  I found myself working at a home office a lot and missing the water cooler talk so to speak.

My adventures into networking took me to a group called SLCircle (Formerly known as Entrepreneur Circle).  I have been involved with this group for over two years and I am on the board for this large networking group located in Utah.

I got the chance to speak on Women in Business and that led me to my latest adventure, a radio show.  Tysen Webb of the GoForItShow.  How does one prepare for a radio show?  With Tysen it was easy.  He guided me through the questions and I just answered them off the cuff.  I arrived at his recording studio in his basement and he put headphones and a microphone in my face.  We took a selfie of course.

 

We talked about my early beginnings in a small Utah town called Morgan.  How I started my first entrepreneur effort.  We talked about my new company BigSexyWords.  Listening to it later I realized I did have some ums and pauses but it was super fun.

Please listen to the podcast here -> http://www.goforitshow.com/59/

I am extremely grateful that I get to influence other entrepreneurs through my life story and get to meet people like Tysen Webb.  So many talented people in the universe!

My Story

I have lived in Utah my entire life, born in a small farming community, in Morgan, and was raised by my mother, who was a single mom raising five children in what I will refer to as litters. My half-brothers were at least a decade older than me, and then a decade later she raised her two grandchildren. In Morgan, Utah it is difficult to find diversity, and even more difficult to be different. Morgan is a small, predominately Mormon, town, in which there are certain expectations of the role of a woman. Men are regarded very highly in the Mormon religion. Women in Morgan are expected to be a homemaker, handling all of the responsibilities of taking care of a loving home. My Father was an alcoholic and left our home when I was 1 1/2 years old and moved out of state.

My Mother never went to college and did not have any dreams of owning her own business; she did her best to provide for her children while remaining within the expected role of a woman. She worked at an Air Force Base where promotions were generally given to women who would do sexual favors for the boss. My mother chose to not lower her standards and therefore struggled to make ends meet by not receiving promotions.

Of my family, I am the only one to dream of owning my own business and the only one to have pursued higher education, thus breaking from the family mold and becoming a success in the business world. I have exceeded any expectations of my family and never let the various challenges and obstacles associated with being a woman impede upon my path to success.

Living in a small town for most of my life, I was expected to follow into the traditional role of a woman, and in some memories of my childhood, I remember how my family and I were socially biased. I can remember being wrapped in a socially acceptable "pink" blanket, how my mother spoke to me with a soft voice of understanding, and how I was given a baby doll to play with instead of a truck, all because of my gender. As I became older, I already understood what were "acceptable behavior" and the tasks and responsibilities for girls, which did not include owning my own business.

It was not socially acceptable where I lived for girls to have technical skills or design anything that was not fashionable. Becoming a software engineer was not socially acceptable in my family, my town, or the business world. Many girls in adolescence go through changes which negatively affect self-image and future choices. As a result, girls often refrain from asking questions and sharing answers. Many girls feel inferior to others or wish to mask their leadership abilities and intelligence and decline opportunities to take part in student government, clubs, or challenges that may cause failure. These issues also discourage some girls from taking part in higher track classes in math, science, and computer science. These are all biases, which were not always this obvious; I had to overcome in order to become successful as a software engineer.

I remained in Morgan for my education through high school, experiencing the same environment, interacting with the same people, and following the path I was expected to pursue. I then married out of high school and only attending one semester of college before beginning to work full time. I underestimated the difficulty of breaking out of the stereotypical role I had been following, graduate high school and get married. It was not until 1995 did I return to college, while continuing to work full time and raise three children, and begin pursuing my degree in Business Information Systems, graduating from the University of Phoenix in 1999.

During my employment at various organizations, I was indeed the subject of blatant gender discrimination, which propelled me to other companies in which I succeeded. It is interesting to note that this gender discrimination did not hold me back and in fact may have made me stronger on my pursuit of higher potential in my career and ultimately my own business. Unfortunately this progression to entrepreneur did not allow my marriage to survive.

I decided to start a business, Sensory Technology Consultants, in 2006 after having a great friend offer me a contract with Nasa to do some software development work. The purpose of the ChemSecure Phase II pilot (NASA) was to control item content and staff credentials based on real-time information, to ensure safety and security of personnel and chemicals, and to push organized mission critical data to emergency responders when addressing chemical accidents. The ChemSecure Phase II pilot enhanced the HMMS application using sensor based technology and real time response technology to track hazardous materials using radio frequency ID tags.

Today Sensory Technology Consultants is a multi-million dollar business and we are thriving and growing. You can choose to make something of your past or you can become a victim of your past. The choice is yours and I chose success.