Have you ever awakened and try hard to grasp onto lingering wisps of a dream hoping to remember every detail more clearly, but it quickly blurs and slips through the tendrils of your mind? Several years ago I met Ellena LeJeune Smith and I liken dreamy experience to our first encounter. Like a dream that has become blurred, our business connection goes back to a timeline that has become unclear. But what I distinctly recall is how she made me feel - seen, heard, and appreciat

During the first evening event where Women Who Inspire & Network (WIN) it was clear that all the women who attended did not want to see the conversation stop. HLA Consulting knew that it was important to hear from our panelists on how to grow business by giving back. Setting the GPS, I set my sights to meet up with guest speaker, Tonia Camardella of the Downtown Rescue Mission. Upon meet with Tonia, I asked, "Small businesses are job creators, and most of those jobs are local

This is me on the day of my high school graduation where I was part of a class of about 230 students in rural Ortonville, MI. I know, you might be thinking “geeky-nerd with braces and acne!” And you’d mostly be right. I was a little behind the “You've got game” curve. Truth be told, I still don’t have it all together, but I know who I am and whose I am. This is a story about how I began my career as a writer. My inspiration to scribe for others began when I was accepted in hi