A feature about the members of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities.



What is your background and how did you get into your business/career?
I got into my career on accident.  I was working in a restaurant that was located inside a hotel during my college years.  A position for a Catering Sales Assistance became available and I was offered the job.  Within 6 months of taking the assistants job, I became a Catering Sales Representative focusing on Corporate Training Events & Weddings.  Two completely different types of events, but valuable knowledge was gained.  After some time at the hotel, I moved on to do restaurant event planning, which was much more simplistic, yet less creative for me.  After a year I transitioned to catering where I found my true passion and my talents & strengths were exemplified.  After some time with catering, I learned how to plan and think of event from beginning to end.  It was a cold February morning, 3 years ago, with a cup of coffee, and Oprah & Suzie Orman on the television, discussing controlling your destiny, when I took my first step to crafting Liven It Up Events.  It has been a difficult and triumphant 3 years, but Liven It up Events now plans over 50 events a year and is booking into 2010 and 2011.       

What is your business and how is it unique?  
Liven It Up Events is a boutique Wedding & Event Planning company that specializes in planning events in raw spaces.  

Who are some of your clients; what do you especially appreciate about them and how have they reacted to your service or product?  
The majority of my clients are couples who are engaged, planning their wedding day.  Most of them are working professionals, where they are paying for their big day themselves, so they appreciate everything that I am able to do for them.  My clients do enjoy working with me, but where I see the greatest reaction is the day of their wedding or event day.  When they see the vision come to life for them to enjoy with their family and friends.

What do you like best about what you do?  
I love the creative side of what I do.  Working with lighting and floral designers, my creative team at the furniture & rental houses, and take my clients vision and create anything.  It's truly the best part of what I do.

What role does passion have in your work?  
Passion is what drives me.  I am not sure if I was not passionate about my work if I would be able to do what I do.  There is so much pressure on putting on any event, you only get one chance to do it right.  If I did not love doing it, I would not do it!

When you first started were you able to visualize your expected final outcome?
I knew when I began in the industry that I would have my own planning company, but I did not know that it would be like this.

Can you tell us about that final outcome – what will your business look like then?   
This is still to be determined, but what I see is an office, with multiple planners working on triple the events that we are working on today.

What were you top three obstacles/challenges?  
Learning how to get business, branding a company, not me, and accepting that I am only one person and cannot be in two places at once.

How do you deal with doubt, fear, and self recrimination?  
This is one of my challenges but I am working on it.  I have found that when I plan an event outside of my comfort level, I doubt myself, even though my clients and other colleagues believe in me.  After the event is complete and the rave reviews are in, my doubt and fear subside.  Each time this happens, I become more confident in my ability.  

If you had the opportunity to get the best advice from a business guru, and could ask only question, what would your question be?  
I would ask the guru to look at my business model and ask how can I improve what I am doing to better the clients' experiences.  

As you look back, what is the one thing you wish you knew when you started?  
The importance and necessity of networking.  

Any regrets?  
None.  Anything that was a "bad" working experience, I found the lesson in my mistake and learned from it to not make that mistake again.  

Do you believe luck has something to do with you getting to where you are now?  
Luck had nothing to do with it.  My success is due to a couple of things.  Changing the way I thought about business.  I had to get out of the mind frame of collecting a paycheck every two weeks.  And my drive and thirst for learning how other people became successful.  Trust me, I did not reinvent the wheel!  I just followed the advice and tips from other successful business owners.    

What is the best piece of advice you have for other women on their way to their Optimal Level?  
When you feel like giving up, that is when you are going to find your greatest success.  

Leah Richter, Richterworks Web Design, has a Master's Certificate in Web Design from Sessions.edu, an accredited online school of design in New York City. Her Master's areas of concentration were Coding and Graphic Design. She has completed many additional courses in the areas of Print Production, InDesign and Flash. She is a member of   more »

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? I have been a writer for over 16 years. I started my writing career covering local stories and writing press releases. I headed to Hollywood to make my mark. While there I spent several years developing story ideas and scripts for an innovative production company that specialized in “edu-tainment.” When I returned to Chicago, working in   more »

A feature about the women of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities. What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? My whole life I have been interested in personal growth. I have always been fascinated with how people find meaning in their life and how they creatively express that sense of meaning by trying to make their dreams in life come true. Certainly, there were many experiences and people who played a part in leading me to my career, but    more »

A feature about the women of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities. What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? Since I’m one of the “older” Optimal Level members, I have three careers in my background! My first career began as a registered nurse in 1966. I worked as an Operating Room Nurse, a Home Health Nurse and a School Nurse. Along the way I returned to school and graduated from Barat College in Lake Forest in 1977. With those experiences under my belt I took a position at a Condell Memorial Hospital in the Libertyville that blossomed into my second career as a hospital administrator. That initial position was Nurse Manager of a brand new/under   more »

My background is in the health and wellness industry. Previously to my current occupation I was the owner of an organic wellness spa with two locations in Wisconsin. I have always been passionate about working with people and helping them find a more peaceful place within themselves. So at first it was with spa treatments, later with wellness classes and now with entrepreneurs. Although my work now may seem very different to the spa business, it really is not. My goal is to empower people to create more balance and authenticity in their personal and professional lives.   more »

For some reason, many people starting out in business think there is a magic key and secret formula known only to existing and successful business people. Beth shares her thoughts when first starting a fast growing, successful public relations firm. Having some concrete, valuable experience developed before starting her business, Beth discusses what she likes best about being a business owner and how she feels about her clients. Read her blog to find out about her goals, luck, and what she would ask a business guru.    more »

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? I've done a lot of things, actually. I was a preschool teacher, a waitress, an assistant chef at an assisted living home, a receptionist, and the last 15 years, I've been at ADP Dealer Services going from customer service to software development. I had a catering and custom baking business for a while on the side. I got started with PartyLite in January, 2006 because my husband had been laid off and I was looking for some extra income while he changed careers.   more »

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? For the past 20 years, I have worked on the North Shore as a successful brand expert and graphic designer. I have been very fortunate to have worked with some of the most prestigious brands in the US today. From the time I was seven-years-old, I was winning awards for all kinds of creative productions. I graduated with a BFA from the University of Kansas and then was fortunate enough to study under designer Milton Glazer at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City. I have also taught design classes at the college level and lectured on “Brand and The Creative Process” at the MBA level. I have been a judge for art competitions across the US, and I’ve won many awards for my customers and their brands.   more »

Sandy Roos is the owner of Shadow Executive Services, an association management company that provides administrative support to small associations. Working with various Boards of Directors, she manages the day to day details they need to operate their group efficiently and effectively. Whether it’s handling membership issues, putting together the monthly newsletter or handling events, her services provide the solid foundation that relieves the Board and other volunteers from performing these tasks so they can focus on doing the work they want to do.    more »

Dawne Y. Simmons is the president and founder of WordStorm Communications, Inc. With more than 20 years of experience in all areas of corporate communications, she assists company leaders develop and promote their strategic messages. For the last 10 years, she has written speeches, presentations, scripts and other business materials for high-level executives in the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors. An award-winning speaker, Dawne assists executives improve their on-stage presence. She provides confidential, private coaching sessions that help business leaders quickly improve their presentation skills.   more »

Maggie Wilkins is with C&M Wilkins, Inc., a distributor exclusively of Fieldstone Cabinets and a company with a reputation for excellence in cabinetry craftsmanship. Sturdy and attractive, Fieldstone Cabinets will add elegance to any room where they’re installed. Not only are they beautiful, but Fieldstone Cabinets are also competitively priced and ESP Certified (Environmental Stewardship Program) or “Green Friendly Product” In 1998 Maggie developed a non-profit “Building Group” who helped build inner city homes for disabled individuals. This non-profit organization was called “Eureka” and is still helping the community today. She also served as a business advisor on several boards in the arts and business community. She makes it her commitment to support community wellness through her industry.   more »

Marie Hale is a self made woman who turned a life of poverty and struggle into the inspiration that she needed to support and uplift the women around her. Starting at the age of 12 she has worked for others and worked for herself, eventually opening her first business in 2003 at the age of 22.    more »

After being a special education teacher for four years, Kathy founded the Wicker Park Learning Center in Chicago (Wicker Park neighborhood) in 1989. There were no tutoring centers in the area at the time and the ones that did exist (Sylvan and Huntington), were far too expensive and too far away for the families in the area. She started in the the basement of a former Polish banquet hall in the community and eventually moved to other locations in Wicker Park and other neighborhoods.    more »

Rosanne Gulisano is the founder and facilitator of Lifestories: Creating a Memoir, a memoir-writing workshop. She has been writing and speaking about memoir-writing since 1999. Her mission is to encourage people from all walks of life to write their own life story for future generations. She has started a successful ongoing memoir-writing group and has taught her workshop for seniors groups, women’s   more »

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? I am one of the lucky ones, I decided early on, 11th grade, that I wanted a career in the field of interior design. After graduating from Florida State University, with a BS in Interior Design, I struck out on my own and moved to Chicago. For 13 years I have traveled a varied road of jobs, from retail furniture sales to real estate development, and have collected a great number of experiences in my field. Two years ago I grabbed a GREAT opportunity to own my own business. I convinced my best friend, and business partner, to look   more »

A feature about the women of Optimal Level; their stories, successes, challenges, and opportunities. What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? I grew up in Chicago on the far north side, attended Regina Dominican High School and later went to Loyola University where I majored in Political Science, I went to Loyola’s Rome Center as a junior, stayed there as a senior and am the only “graduate” of the Rome Center. I met my husband in Rome. I lived in Rome for 24 years during which time I worked for two U.S. multinational companies: Texas Instruments and Colgate Palmolive.    more »

What is your background and how did you get into your business/career? I first became interested in the graphic arts and printing industries in high school, through the performing arts; we printed our own programs and promotional materials and it became a fascinating hobby for me. That summer I got a part time job with a local print shop, and I’ve been hooked ever since.   more »

Irene Rozansky is the founder and CEO of R&A Crisis Management Services. Irene is an international speaker, consultant and author with an extensive background in business resiliency, project management and organizational change and communications. For the past 20 years, Irene has assisted organizations prepare for, mitigate, and successfully avoid or recover from all types of critical   more »