Deciding to start your own business is one thing. Leaving a successful 25-year career in pharmaceutical research and development to do it is quite another. Yet that’s what Anita Russell faced in 2013.
Anita D. Russell
Founder/ CEO
The Place to SOAR
Deciding to start your own business is one thing. Leaving a successful 25-year career in pharmaceutical research and development to do it is quite another. Yet that’s what Anita Russell faced in 2013.
“I just started feeling like it was time for me to move on,” said Russell. “I wasn’t exactly sure what I was moving on to, but I knew it was time.”
For the next few years, Russell took stock of her life and talents in the hope of discovering her next chapter. The epiphany struck while she was working with an executive coach to figure things out.
“She told me on more than one occasion, ‘I see how you work. I see how you connect with people. You’re a life coach, ‘“said Russell. “The light bulb went off and from there I just started on this journey towards getting fully certified as a life coach.”
In 2017, Russell founded The Place to SOAR to help others find the solutions to leading richer, more rewarding lives. But she immediately ran up against her own challenges, including the tenet at the core of entrepreneurship.
“I have this nurturing gift and I have this gift of exhortation and helping bring the best out of people,” said Russell. “But how in the world to I monetize that?”
Russell’s quest for answers initially led her to several networking groups. But it quickly became apparent that she needed more help than the groups provided. Russell knew she needed a deeper, more personal level of business support. Ironically, it was a networking group member that suggested she explore Entrepreneurs Forever.
After one meeting, Russell was sold.
“The main reason is that the group is truly about supporting my efforts as an entrepreneur,” said Russell. “What I get out of the peer group is that everybody is so incredibly supportive. I’ve never walked away from a session where didn’t feel good about what came out of that session, particularly when it’s something I can directly apply to my business.”
Watch Anita’s video to see how Entrepreneurs Forever transformed her business. And how it can transform yours, too.
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Entrepreneurs Forever is the flagship program of the Mansmann Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, a public charity.
