2024 and Beyond

I am so touched by your comments in response to my post about closing up shop at Mod Mom Furniture. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Today, I thought I’d share a little more about what’s to come and the how my intuition played an important role in my decision to move on.
 
But before I do that, I want to share something that’s not talked about all that much in entrepreneurship circles. It’s the fact that most startup founders I know, at some point, simultaneously work a full-time gig during lean times. I was no different. Even from the start—from 2006 to 2016—I built Mod Mom while I was caring of our kiddos full-time. In 2016, after the multimillion-dollar Stanley Furniture deal imploded, I worked full-time for two years at Northern Arizona University in PR and Marketing while I continued to create new opportunities for Mod Mom.
 
In 2018, I was hired as Entrepreneur in Residence by the board of directors at Moonshot, the nonprofit Scott leads as CEO. Together, we expanded our entrepreneurship programming in Arizona, Nevada, and the state of Washington. My job has morphed over the years, sliding into the role of VP of Marketing and now, in 2024, Chief Marketing Officer, but one thing has remained constant: I still consult with entrepreneurs of all ages and speak to audiences across the US and Canada about my startup and Shark Tank journey. It’s an honor and a privilege to pass on what I’ve learned (the good, the bad, and the ugly) about what it takes to build and sustain a line of products. It’s one thing to have an idea for a product or to BE your product (consultants, speakers, etc.); it’s another to design, test, market, produce, and distribute products. My hat is off to all who dare to do so. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure!
 
So, that’s what I’ve been doing full-time while still pushing to attract and grow opportunities for Mod Mom. In February of this past year, my intuition said I needed to wrap up Mod Mom to open the door for new opportunities that are more in line with what I do as an intuitive medium. Being that I’m originally from the Midwest and it’s not in our collective DNA to quit anything ever, I didn’t jump to do so. Instead, I waited to see how my book and the work I do as a volunteer medium played out before I made any rash decisions.
 
Guess what happened? My intuition got louder: “It’s time…shut down manufacturing by August.” I listened and let the manufacturer know I was severing ties in August, but I didn’t announce it publicly. Out of the blue, in July, I started hearing from the designers and vendors who were also NOT getting paid by my manufacturer. I was gobsmacked because their messages (within one week of each other) put an exclamation point— in real time—that what I was hearing was indeed spot on. I couldn’t give the manufacturer a pass anymore because times were hard, Covid, etc. Enough was enough on all fronts.
 
The minute I made the decision to finally close Mod Mom, new doors started opening. I inked a deal with a production company in Canada who is excited to partner with a distributor for a docuseries about my life as a volunteer medium who helps families and law enforcement. The docuseries concept has been very well received by several networks/distributors. More on this to come in the next few months!
 
Another door that opened was an opportunity to sign with a major production company in LA. Without my knowledge or urging, a senior producer/manager read my memoir Little Voices and immediately reached out to my film/tv agency asking about rights to the book to turn it into a limited drama series or feature film. I’m excited to share that the Little Voices film concept is currently being read by an incredible list of producing and studio partners (many of whom you’d know by name). This project would give me the opportunity to help shape the screenplay (as a writer and producing partner). I’m beyond excited to see where this goes because I’ve heard for many years (from the kids in spirit) that Little Voices will indeed be turned into a film/dramatic series. They’ve also encouraged me to write a few more books, which I’ll do over the next few years. I’d love to share what I’ve learned about life and life after death from the kids in spirit like Jason, Nate, Carrie, and many others.
 
Without my Mod Mom journey, I doubt I would have had the opportunity to land a literary agent, let alone a traditional book deal and burgeoning tv and film deals.
 
And without taking the following risks…
 

• to start Mod Mom in 2006,
• to embrace and publicly share my late-in-life mediumship awakening in 2011,
• to share my journey as an abuse survivor in 2014,
• or to close the Mod Mom chapter of my life in 2023,

 
…I wouldn’t have the opportunities I do today.
 
Today, my weeks involve spending time with family and friends, working full-time with a team I love at Moonshot, speaking to groups of young and not-so-young entrepreneurs, helping families whose children are highly intuitive learn to manage their gifts, working with Detective Mark Pucci and the NILJ team to help families whose loved ones are missing or murdered, responding to messages from Little Voices readers (thanks for reaching out to me!) and speaking to book clubs, and passing spirit messages when I feel the nudge from souls on the other side.
 
I hope that reading about my journey—both the past and present— helps you remember that every time you step outside of your comfort zone to trust your gut (no matter what others think), you’re taking another step along the path to your best life. It doesn’t mean the path will be free from hardship, that’s for sure. But taking those steps—believing in your own power and intuition— is what creates magic in your life.
 
I think Martin Luther King Jr said it best when he said, “You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
 
No matter where you are in your life, I hope you’ll take the first step.

Happy New Year!