My career has been quite varied.  I’ve been a music teacher, an adult education teacher, a career counselor and a vocational rehabilitation case manger.

After my son was born, however, my priorities shifted dramatically.  It became very important to me to work in a way that allowed me to be there for him during the day.  A nine to five job no longer met my needs.

At the same time, I was feeling a real need to bring more creativity into my life.  I have always enjoyed taking simple materials and turning them into something useful or beautiful.  The idea of making more out of things you already have (or can easily and inexpensively acquire) is very appealing to me.

So, several years ago, I decided to turn all of my creative impulses into a business.  That’s when I started selling my handmade jewelry at art and craft shows, home parties, local gift shops and online.

As I researched ways to build and promote my jewelry business, I realized that all of the advice I was getting about promoting my business was the same advice I gave to my clients when I worked as a career counselor.  That’s when I realized that I could combine everything I’d learned through running my own jewelry business and everything I’d learned about helping people build a career and share that information with other professional craft artists. That’s how Inspiri Art and Craft began.

I quickly discovered I love working on an online business; it’s a very good fit for my needs and work preferences. I also have a habit of taking on a lot of projects when I find something that is interesting and really works, so a few months after launching Inspiri, I began to build my other site, Career Choice Guide.

Several years ago, I never would have guessed that my career would take me in these directions.  Building my business has be a great decision for me and has provided a lot of great opportunities.

You can see more about how and why I launched Insipiri and And Craft here and if you’re curious about the tools I use to build my online business, you’ll find that information here.