Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

I'm from a small town and I know just how special these communities are. After years in corporate marketing, I wanted to focus on helping small businesses and rural communities overcome the challenges they face with limited budgets, limited resources and limited visibility. I created Small Town Soul to empower these communities and businesses by teaching them how to market themselves even with a small budget. Giving them the knowledge they need to succeed and grow.

How do you stay motivated?

Every community I work with inspires me. No matter the location, they welcome me with open arms and make me feel like family. Seeing the confidence that businesses and community leaders have after our trainings inspires us to do even more and find other ways to help them succeed. Getting to see that "aha" moment when everything clicks and they think, "Hey, I can do this", is all the reward we need to stay motivated. Seeing that kind of impact is priceless.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I want to do more. I know there are more communities out there that could benefit from our services. I would love to have the money to travel outside of the Southeast and share our courses with small towns all over the country. It is difficult when you are on the road and training every day to handle the office, billing and coordination. This money would also help hire another person to coordinate training sessions and speaking opportunities.