You ever notice that what worked for you at one point in life usually doesn’t quite work that way five years down the road. Maybe a divorce happens or a wife gets a job transfer. Someone in the family could become ill, and of course, kids come in to their parent’s lives and eventually leave to start their own. New opportunities arise at any time and old ones disappear. It’s life, you know.
Some years back, we were introduced to a woman via the Internet who happened to have changed her work from home career three times. Now, it may sound like a lot to you, but nevertheless, she’s got a great story and the most important thing is how we overcome and the solutions we find in place of the excuses.
Her name is Aleta, and her story started back in the early nineties when she and her husband left South Africa and headed for Germany. It couldn’t have been an easy move for Aleta, but she was young and full of adventure and optimism, which can drive you far as long as you keep it up and nurture it.
Aleta’s husband—who was of German descent—found work right away when they moved, but Aleta could barely speak small words, such as “ja (yes), nein (no), and ich liebe dich (I love you).” Not being fluent in German was Aleta’s biggest hindrance to getting hired. In Africa she was a Promotional and Advertising Manager for their second largest wholesale group, but now she had to think of a different approach to making money… like starting her own business.
She didn’t have a clue of what type of business she wanted to start, so the Internet became her very first resource. Back then, Aleta happened to cross paths with a site formerly known as bizymoms, where she would read about women who had their very own home businesses. “I couldn’t stop reading… all of those business ideas! I printed it all and read all of the stories of all the Bizymoms and their home businesses. I made a decision that I too, can start my own business,” explains Aleta.
What Aleta did next though, is the key to finding a profitable business. She looked at the needs of her area. Aleta says, “It was a time in Europe where English suddenly became a necessity because of the borders opening between the countries, and most people between the age of thirty and fifty suddenly needed English for their careers.” Aleta had no problem speaking English even though Afrikaans was her native language.
Guess what? Aleta made her mind up and decided to take a five-day course on how to teach people a second language.
Now, we’ve all had a fear that kept us from improving our lives or moving forward, and if you haven’t… keep on living! Aleta was scared as hell to take the course. She feared making grammar mistakes, that she wouldn’t be good enough, or that she wouldn’t be able to cope with everything that comes with the position. She explains, “I think the biggest problem is that you lose your identity when you move to a country where you can’t speak the language. You lose confidence in yourself when you go to the bakery and you cannot even say what you want. The phone rings and you just stare at it and don’t dare to answer because you don’t understand and can’t speak to whoever is calling you. The fear probably came from living with this situation for months prior and losing confidence in my abilities and myself.”
Amazingly, today Aleta speaks German better than English.
The first day of class was hard.
“I must admit that the first day I was so petrified that I could hardly get my legs to move from my car to the entrance, but I survived.” All Aleta did was take it one day at a time to complete her five day-course. Pay attention to how the promise of the reward outweighed all of her fears.
Next it was all about getting the word out about her new business.
Aleta placed an ad in the newspaper and waited, not knowing or even thinking that anyone would actually contact her or not, but it happened! She started to get clients, and then large companies began to contact her to teach their office staff.
Aleta says, “English is not my native language, but with determination and good preparation one could be a success at anything imaginable.”
Soon, Aleta became pregnant and had a little boy. She made it clear to all of her clients that her son would be joining her for all appointments. But, Aleta’s son did something that all kids do at some point… he got older! Aleta says, “But, as my son grew I found that it wasn’t fair to him for me to spend so much time in the classroom, where he had to keep himself occupied while I was teaching, so we were kind of back to square one.”
Aleta didn’t have time to play, but had to find a new way to make money.
Again, she turned to the Internet to gather some ideas on what types of businesses she should start. She explains that “All these years I’d been following Bizymoms’ progress and as I needed a new idea I came across stories of Bizymoms who started daycare for little children.
Aleta’s daycare, ‘The Zwergenstübchen,’ was born.
“It was a wonderful time. Five little children came from Monday to Friday, and my son loved it too!”
Aleta truly enjoyed her new business and thought she was bringing her family even closer. She describes… “I learned so much from them. I’ve learned to just leave all the adult work and just play and live a little. Then my son and all the other children eventually went on to Kindergarten. We were finally building our very own dream house and life was wonderful.”
Life is great when it’s wonderful, but when it gets ugly it can be devastating.
During the building of Aleta’s home, her husband had an accident where he slipped and fell from the two-story building. Doctors gave him a 20% chance of ever walking again, which Aleta didn’t find out until later. Her husband—being the positive soul that he is—was telling that he had an 80% chance of walking. He spent many, many weeks in the hospital, ten months in a wheelchair, and underwent lots of therapy. As a result of all the time he had taken off for recovery, he was let go from his job. Aleta found herself with no job, a half-built home in the middle of winter with a husband not able to perform to his fullest capacity, and brown loads of debt.
The situation was grim, but Aleta didn’t give up. Don’t you ever give up either, because we’re here to help.
Again… Aleta turned to the Internet for help and motivation. She recalls, “I read everything on Bizymoms again and again, trying to find something that I could do, and then one day I found it! Liz Folger advised someone who didn’t know what kind of home business to start to do what they really love. Well, I’ve always painted and loved it, so, I tried to draw a picture of my son to combine the two things that I love most.”
Anyone would be amazed at seeing Aleta’s work. She’s such a gifted artist, and that is exactly how she currently makes her living to support her family. On the front page of her site is the picture she drew of her son. Aleta’s business is her dream come true. She says, “I get up in the morning and cannot wait to get started!”
Really… that’s exactly how it should be! Aleta now works on a commission basis and has the support of her entire family and circle of friends.
Aleta’s son is a huge supporter of her business, especially after witnessing everything she’s invested on behalf of their future. He’s learned its value and has been so proud of his mother’s work. He tells everyone his mom is an artist and all of his little friends get a business card with the strict order to hand it over to their parents. Aleta said, “When they come to play, he always shows them what I’m working on and tells them if they want a picture of themselves, his mom can draw it. I’ve even gained two commissions because of his networking!”
Now, it is evident that Aleta’s determination and the power of positive thinking—let’s not forget the support—has clearly helped in the success of her business. Two quotes that she loves are, “It’s always too soon to quit, and it’s true that if you do something that you love, you’ll never work a hard day in your life.”