Stereotypes are a funny thing, they usually exist because, over time, some semblance of truth is found in them. This is not always the case, of course, and sometimes this evidence jumps up and slaps you in the face...like when I sat down with local entrepreneur Laura Holmes a few weeks ago. Laura is a multiple business owner - by day she runs P Is For Possible, a company where she uses her skills as a Certified Management Accountant to assist local, small businesses; by night (or in her limited free time) she makes jewelry and sells it via her Etsy shop, Kluster Happy Jewelry.
Back to stereotypes...five minutes after meeting Laura it occurred to me, she does not have the personality of what I would consider someone who likes to sit and crunch numbers. Laura was talkative, friendly, outgoing, and energetic. After some time in the traditional, big-business accounting world, Laura decided to get back to her roots in small business in 2010 (her family owns an automotive shop and she spent much of her youth there). Today, her focus is on educating, training, and advising small business owners on business management, accounting principles, and HR. Laura came across to me, not as someone who is going to come in, crunch some numbers, etc., and then leave, but as a person who cares about getting to know you, your business, and how she can help you best...all without trying to drain your pocketbook.
Laura is very involved in the flourishing NULU area as well. She is currently VP of the East Market District Association and handles the @nululouisville Twitter account and the eastmarketdistrict.com website. This leads us to her second business, Kluster Happy Jewelry. She use to make jewelry when she was younger, but slowly just lost enough hours in the day to concentrate on it. She started picking it back up recently, and was encouraged to sell her fashionable items via Etsy, which she started doing in late 2011. Now she is making extra money on something she does for fun, and I've never seen anything wrong with that.
You can connect with Laura in a variety of ways:
P Is For Possible
Kluster Happy Jewelry
"Like" Kluster on Facebook
@lauraneutz
@klustershop
@nululouisville
