~by Haley Lynn Gray~

It has been my experience that for most people who start a business, they do it for a reason. There is some driving force for them which nudges them to step out and start a business, and go through all of the work that it entails. For me, I am a multi-passionate entrepreneur, and also a Girl Scout leader. In each case, I have found that my reason for getting involved in these activities has been to make a difference in people’s lives. How I got there in each case is a different story.

Extension of You Home Care

Senior Home Care is one of those industries that has a very mixed reputation. There are some phenomenal providers out there, and there are some rather dubious players as well. I got to see the good, bad and ugly of the industry when I was taking care of my parents.  Since my mom had Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and my Dad had Parkinson’s, I had plenty of opportunities, over the course of almost 6 years, to observe various home care agencies up close and personal. I decided to drive change in the industry, as a result of those experiences, and am now the founder and CEO of Extension of You Home Care. It is something that I literally felt called to do, and I can’t say that I regret it at all. We are making a difference in the lives of our clients and our caregivers every day.

Girl Scout Leader

Too many times girls are told to sit down, shut up, and be good girls. As I was growing up, there was certainly the expectation that girls would be silent and not heard. When the opportunity arose for me to help out with my oldest daughter’s Daisy troop in Kindergarten, I reluctantly entered into the fray, deciding that I’d do it for perhaps a year or two, because I knew what a great experience I had in Brownies growing up, and how many opportunities I had as a result. 

Fast forward a few years, and I’m still a Girl Scout leader. I’ve had the opportunity to work with girls, and learn a lot of really cool business skills through the Girl Scout Cookie program. The leadership opportunities, as well as the challenges that we put in front of the girls to grow and stretch, are phenomenal. We are encouraging the girls to sit up, roar, and show the world what they can do. We grow them into leaders and influencers.

Leadership Girl

When I was attending Duke University, 10% of my class was women. I would look around the workplace at  my previous employer, and many times, when there were senior technical people, and managers in the room, there would be 20 people present. I was frequently the only woman in there. So, I started doing some digging. Women make up about 50% of the population. Yet, we only make up 5% of entrepreneurs. Why is that? I see women jumping into selling all sorts of things, like make-up, housewares, and more. They spend many hours of their lives peddling these items, yet they never achieve financial independence. To me, those facts are alarming. I see it time and again though. In doing a lot of studying, I’ve learned that true financial independence comes through being an entrepreneur and leader.  Having a job, and being paid by someone else isn’t going to give women the flexibility that they need to comfortably raise their families, and it also isn’t going to give them the income dollars that they need. I recognized a skill gap, and I’ve been working on educating women, and supporting and empowering them to become entrepreneurs and leaders in their industries. That’s why I created Leadership Girl. To make a difference in lives.

My Reason

I have started to realize that my reason and purpose is to enable people to achieve their best, to get what they need. Everything that I’m involved in is focused on enabling that purpose. I think it is who I am at a cellular level, and I’m enjoying being able to follow that mission and reason.

What about you?  What are your reasons?  What is your mission?  Have you found that mission yet?

Meet the Author: Haley Lynn Gray

Haley Lynn Gray

Haley helps female entrepreneurs create a strategy plan for their businesses – so they can make enough money to spend quality time with their family, pay for their children’s dance lessons, pay bills – and not worry about where the next client is coming from.

Haley is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Leadership Girl. She helps other entrepreneurs build their businesses by sharing the benefits of her business education and experience through Business Coaching.

Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or expand an existing business, Haley can assist you.

Connect with Haley:

• Work with Haley: https://leadershipgirl.com/work-with-haley/
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Leadershipgirl
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleygray