This is the 5th in a series of stories from entrepreneurs who have not let limitations in life and business stop them from reaching their goals of owning a successful business.

In this installment, you’ll meet Tiffany, who didn’t let cancer stop her from landing her product into CVS; Lisa, who didn’t let lack of time stop her from growing a successful business, and Savannah, who went from nearly bankrupt to millionaire in under a year. Read on to be inspired and remember – Kick those obstacles to the curb!!

Tiffany Krumins, creator of Ava the Elephant said, “I created a product that makes medicine time fun for babies, children and parents! Ava the Elephant is a friendly elephant that talks and then dispenses medicine to the child. I was shocked that there was nothing on the market that made it a pleasurable experience for children. Last year I pitched my idea to investors and was able to secure the $50,000 needed to bring it to market. However, two months after I started the process I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 28. I decided to push through and continue working at my “paying job”, do all things necessary to start my business, raise my new daughter, have surgery, radiation and recovery all at the same time! CVS will be our first large retailer. It retails for $9.99. They are also available for purchase on our website.”

For more information on Tiffany and Ava the Elephant visit http://www.avatheelephant.com/

Lisa Tener, Book Writing Coach, and Author said, “My biggest limitation was time, when my son was younger. So I built my business slowly. And it took time. Some of the keys were: – appreciating every payment that came in, no matter how small and seeing it as a victory! – sticking with my vision, even when others wondered how it would ever work. – Finding good mentors – finding supportive women entrepreneurs to brainstorm with and support each other. – I value the flexibility of owning my own business. Once I had more income, I began to outsource. I help people write and publish their books. I serve on the faculty of Harvard medical school’s CME publishing course and also teach my own book writing courses locally and by teleseminar. I also help people with book proposals. My clients have been published by Random House, Simon and Schuster, Prometheus, Karnac books, Atria Books, and Beyond Words.

Visit Bring Your Book to Life at www.Lisatener.com/book
Follow Lisa’s blog at http://www.lisatener.com/blog

Savannah Ross, a real estate investor and trainer went from nearly bankrupt to multimillionaire in under a year through real estate investing. Savannah had to overcome many obstacles that included the near death of her youngest son, a house fire, and an impending divorce. Savannah now runs the Rich Mom Corporation which teaches people about investing in rental real estate.

For more information on Savannah and Rich Mom visit http://www.richmom.com
Follow Savannah on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheRealRichMom
Become a Facebook friend at http://tinyurl.com/26x53fd

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron, lovable dog Hank, and sweet kitten Sammy. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

This is the 2nd in a series of stories from entrepreneurs who have not let limitations in life and business stop them from reaching their goals of owning a successful business.

In this installment, you’ll meet Robert who shares is wisdom on the “gut check moment” that all entrepreneurs need to be ready for and Dana who did not let domestic violence and being homeless with four children stop her from becoming an entrepreneur. Read on to be truly inspired.

Robert Tuchman, Entrepreneur, Author of Young Guns Fearless Entrepreneur said, “If you want to become an entrepreneur, you are going to have to take a few deep breaths and get ready to enjoy the ride. At some point during this journey, you are going to encounter a “gut check moment.” This is when you answer the WHY question of your business that you will have to figure out with your partner. Everyone must answer this question. There are going to be those times during the early stage of business that you come across these “gut check moments” and are unsure what to do. However, if you know what you are doing and realize WHY you are doing it, you are setting yourself up for a good future. Many people understand that they are going to come across these “gut check moments” and are going to have to make tough decisions along the way. It is a great thing to have confidence and you need that in order to be successful, but you also need to know that there will be scary decisions that you will come across.

When you come across one of these moments, you must stand tall and stick your chest out. You need to be in full control of the decision and make sure that you are feeling up to the challenge. If you put off one of these decisions, you will not be prepared the next time a situation arises. Being an entrepreneur is a learning process just as everything is in life. The more decisions you make, the more you grow as a person and as a company.

A “gut check moment” that I had to face was when we first started out the business and sold a client packages to the MLB All-Star Game that was taking place in Colorado. The cost for us was $25,000. The phone rang and it was not a call I was looking forward too, but I had to step up and stay calm. The supplier told me that his company was going bankrupt and would not be able to deliver the tickets. $25,000 was a lot of money to the company, especially since it was our first year of business. I knew that I had to do something to make the pieces fit into the puzzle, and we were able to get other hotel inventory and ticket inventory to make everything work out. I had to do the right thing for the client even if we lost money on the deal. If the client is happy, I am happy.

When engaging in these moments where we second guess ourselves, we have to keep going forward and never look back. After that phone call, I could have gave up on my dreams and quit but I kept going and did what I needed to do. As you are on this wonderful ride, keep positive and stay determined.”

Visit Robert’s website at http://premieresports.com/

Dana Rankin, Advertising Sales Representative said, “I did not let the crisis of domestic violence and being homeless stop me from building successful online businesses. Most started while living in a shelter with my 4 children. I used resources on and off line and researched in the library to help get my businesses started.

Visit Dana’s website at http://www.hopeforwomenmag.com/
Follow Dana on Twitter at http://twitter.com/devosbydana
Follow Dana’s Blog at http://therecipediva.wordpress.com/

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron, lovable dog Hank, and sweet kitten Sammy. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Author and career consultant Deborah Bailey is a sought after expert in career transition and reinvention. Deborah has written for Baseline magazine, Dailyworth.com, Identity magazine, Bankrate.com, The Bridges, and Daily Career Connection. Deborah has appeared on the Fox News Strategy Room, and NJ Perspectives Show on ABC6 TV. Before leaving to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams, Deborah spent several years in corporate America working at such companies as AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and Johnson & Johnson. In this interview, learn how Deborah went from corporate employee to successful entrepreneur, who started not one, but two companies, DBC Communications, LLC, and Writing Services Central, LLC.

You coach people that are ready to make a career change. As a career transition and reinvention coach, what is the biggest obstacle you see when a client is transitioning from employee to entrepreneur?

A big problem is that people have no idea what the transition will require. They don’t realize that their thinking has to change if they want to become successful entrepreneurs. I don’t think they’re ready for the uncertainty and lack of security. Generally people are told to focus on business plans when they want to start a business, but no one addresses the emotional and mental transitions that are going on.

What is the one piece of advice you could give someone who is thinking about taking the leap from employee to entrepreneur?

Research everything before you leap! Prepare yourself for this new life you’ll be living. If you have an idea of what you’re getting into, it will make things much smoother.

What are some areas of starting a business that you are finding new entrepreneurs are not prepared for?

They aren’t prepared for how to find funding. They’re also not prepared with sales skills. I find that they tend to focus on marketing and social media, but not on having the ability to close the sale. Probably the biggest issue is that people may not be prepared for the sacrifices and long hours involved. You have to have a passion for what you are doing and be ready for the long haul. I don’t think a lot of new entrepreneurs understand that.

Can you tell us about the coaching services you offer and how they can help in the transition period?

Right now I’m offering two transition coaching programs. They’re designed to help people through the challenges that come with change and insecurity. It’s very difficult to go through this process alone because you need accountability. Transitions will call for us to step out of our comfort zones. When we have someone who we have to check in with, it will help us to stay on track. It also helps to have someone who always wants the best for you.

Are there any books you recommend people read that are considering transitioning from employee to entrepreneur?

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber talks about how people start companies because they are good at something, but don’t realize that running a business requires different skills. The key point is that you should be working on your business as compared to working in your business.

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield is very motivational and gives information about transformations and how to build a supportive success team.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a story about finding your purpose and following your dreams. It’s a deceptively simple read, but it made a major impression on me when I first read it.

You also have a new book coming out in April. Congratulations! Can you tell us about Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Getting Control of Your Life and how readers might find it helpful?

Thanks! I’m very excited about it. I wanted to show that employed professionals can benefit from using entrepreneurial traits.These days the world of work is changing and people can’t depend on having secure jobs. This book encourages people to use qualities such as creativity, risk-taking and visioning. I wanted to show that you can be proactive and take control, as opposed to waiting for the company to determine your fate. Entrepreneurs have to be able to create a vision for what they want and take action to get it. These are traits that employees can use so that they can be in control of their careers.

When will your book become available in April?

I don’t have the exact date yet, though I expect it will be around the third week of April. In the meantime, the book can be ordered from my website and I’m including a couple of free gifts to thank pre-release book buyers.

Where can readers find your book?

My website, Amazon.com and B&N.com – and hopefully a few book stores as well!

You also host the weekly internet radio show Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success. Can you tell us about the show and the guests you interview?

I started the show as a way to find out what other women entrepreneurs were doing. It seems that you only read about people who make millions of dollars, but I wanted to interview a variety of entrepreneurs. I expected that the show would go for a few weeks and it’s almost a year and a half. The guests have included Lori Greiner who sells her products on QVC, former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan and Chef Ana Garcia who was recently named “spokeschef” for IMUSA Cookware, and Anne Roos who plays the Celtic harp.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Thanks very much for the interview. This was fun!

For more information on Deborah’s coaching services visit http://www.dbaileycoach.com.

For more information about Deborah’s writing services visit http://www.writingservicescentral.com.

To listen to Deborah’s weekly internet radio show Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success visit www.blogtalkradio.com/coachdeb.

To read the Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success companion blog visit http://womenentrepreneursecrets.blogspot.com/.

Follow Deborah on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/DebBC

Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” (Available on Amazon) in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.

Jim Garland is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, professional speaker and business consultant.  He started his first company Sharp Details, Inc. from the trunk of his car as a boat cleaning service in 1991. Today Sharp Details, Inc provides corporate aircraft cleaning and support services to fortune 100 and 500 companies, has 60 employees and produces $3,500,000 in annual revenue. Jim is the author of The Practical Guide to Exceptional Living. In this interview, learn the tools Jim used to become a success in all areas of his life.

You started Sharp Details, Inc out of the trunk of your car 1991. How did you grow Sharp Details, Inc. into a company that produces $3,500,000 in annual revenue?

Most of the growth came from old fashioned cold calling and referrals; I banged on a lot of doors. As we got into aviation in 1994 people would see us working and like what they saw and would recruit us to do their aircraft. The big growth began in 1998 to the present when we were able to use our reputation in the industry to get government contracts with the FAA and the US Air Force. In 2002 we also began working with some large fractional ownership programs that currently use us at all of our locations from VA-CT. Again this came from referrals, reputation and simply asking for the business.

You began your business providing boat cleaning services. What made you decide to change your company’s direction to providing corporate aircraft cleaning and support services?

After doing the boat cleaning for two seasons we began to look for ways to turn it into more of a full time year round venture. The natural progression was to start detailing cars on site at people’s homes and offices. While detailing a client’s car she noticed what a great job we had done and how professional we were and she mentioned that her dad managed corporate jets. This was in 1994 and we landed the contract after our first meeting. After this first contract we saw the opportunity for growth and fell in love with the industry. We also realized that in the aviation industry we could provide services 24 hours per day

Has your business felt any affects of the economy?

The corporate and private aviation industry was hit very hard by the down turn in the economy. This was coupled with the notion created by Washington over the past 12-18 months that private aviation is excessive and bad. We had one customer whose volume with us was cut by 80% over a 60 day period. We had others who simply parked their aircraft for 90 days and did not fly. We have also seen a slowdown in payments from customers, everyone still pays but some take as long as 90 days now. To combat all of this we are constantly looking for new streams of revenue and additional services we can offer new clients. This has helped us stabilize our revenue. From an operations side we have a very secure line of credit (a solid banking relationship goes a long way) to help with cash flow and we watch our P&L like a hawk. In 2009 we made a lot of adjustments related to the efficiency of our operations and this helped us weather the changes in the economy as well. In 2009, our revenue was even with 2008, but we saw an increase in profit because of our increased efficiencies.

You credit much of your success to reading and studying self development, health and business concepts. What top five books or programs would recommend?

There are so many great books and programs out there but a few clearly stand out. The E-Myth is the only modern era book–the others were written 40-50 years ago, but the lessons they contain are timeless.

Books

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
How to win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Programs

The Strategic Coach by Dan Sullivan www.strategiccoach.com. I was in this program for four years from 1999-2003. The claim is they can double your income and free time in three years and they delivered.

This success led you to develop Garland Communications, LLC along with the release of your first book The Practical Guide to Exceptional Living. Congratulations! Can you tell us a little about your book and why readers might be able to use it as a success tool?

I wanted to provide a simple guide that could help people improve their lives on many levels. The goal of the book is to get people to think differently about their life and their life’s purpose. I have great tips on improving health, which I feel is the base of any successful person. There are chapters on faith, goal setting, attitude and money. The beauty of this book is it can be read in one day and referenced over and over again. I pose many questions and encourage the reader to take action by answering a series of questions. This book can truly transform your thinking which will change your actions and in turn produce better results.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Your thoughts and how you think will have a far greater impact on your business than any outside influence. As an entrepreneur you must constantly find the good in any obstacles you face and start each day as a new adventure no matter what the circumstances. I learned this going through a frivolous law suit that almost bankrupt my company several years ago. What I realized was this. I have control over one thing every day and that one thing is my thoughts. I could not control the attorneys, the company that was suing me, or the opinions that some had formed because of poor information. By focusing on my business and all of the things that were working, I was able to overcome the suit, grow my business and make it stronger than ever, while improving my business reputation by leaps and bounds.

For more information on Jim Garland and his book visit http://www.sharpdetails.com/ or http://www.jim-garland.com/

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Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.

David Cole has been in book publishing for almost 30 years. He has been involved in every aspect of the industry including stints in editing, production, publicity, marketing and management. In this interview, learn what David looks for before signing an author to a book deal.

How long have you been in the publishing industry?

Since the mid-1970s.

What is the name of your company?

Bay Tree Publishing

What genres do you publish?

We focus on nonfiction in the areas of business, psychology, health, and the environment. We also work with memoirs and recently published our first work of fiction.

What does a manuscript have to contain to be considered?

We look for intelligent writing that gets beneath the surface of a topic. We are also attracted to works that make difficult subjects more understandable for readers without a specialized background.

Do you work with first time authors?

Yes. For most of our authors, we are publishing a first book, though many have already published other kinds of works such as newspaper and magazine or journal articles.

Do the authors you publish have to meet a certain criteria?

Authors must be committed to marketing their work. A good book proposal should contain a solid, realistic marketing plan. Beyond that, we would like to see evidence that an author is truly committed to following through on that plan. Do you write regularly for a periodical? Do you blog? Do you have an established audience online or in print? These are all indications that you are serious, not just about a particular book, but about communicating with readers.

Do you work with authors directly or must they have an agent?

Since we don’t offer advances, we rarely work with agents.

Do you evaluate the competition to ensure that the manuscript can be marketed and advertised as a unique stand alone title?

Evaluating the competition is an essential component of every publishing decision. If there are already ten or a hundred books established in the market that address an issue or need, bringing out another will only be successful if it is twice as good as those already available. If it is only ten percent better, it is unlikely to gain market share unless the author is either famous or engaged in very aggressive self-promotion.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Good writing is essential, but passion sells. From a publisher’s point of view, the best author is already famous. Since Bay Tree is too small to attract famous authors, we look for those who are on fire to reach an audience and who are already actively pursuing that goal. These are the authors who will most benefit from our expertise and who will be of the greatest value to us.

For more information on David Cole and Bay Tree Publishing visit http://www.baytreepublish.com/

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Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.

Copyright © 2010 Julie Barnes and One Who Writes