look back at the situation, I do realize I had to push past the point of being the victim and believe that there was something better out there for me. There was, and there is. Do not stay past your expiration date. I stayed wayyyy too long. Those three years were the ones that pushed me into my full-time entrepreneurial journey, and for that I will be forever grateful.
For 16 years I was an executive assistant, job hoping from one to the next. A few times I was laid off, others I was wishfully leaving within 6-12 months of starting. The last job I had for three years was brutally agonizing. I was the subject of a bully and verbally threatening boss. I was humiliated in front of my colleagues and yelled at behind the closed office door about my performance on various spreadsheets and other tasks. After a year enduring this I was hospitalized due to dehydration and found out I had kidney stones. My daily meals were nothing more than countless cups of coffee and throwing my lunch in the garbage. I had extreme anxiety and did not seek professional help. I just kept enduring, pushing, believing that I needed the paycheck and the insurance for my family. It was on my three year review with the company that I finally realized it was time to go. I must step out on FAITH no matter what the cost. Although I had been running a part-time graphic design business in the evenings, I was painfully yearning to design full time. That day I said to myself, now is MY TIME. I quit. When I
to you? Honestly, I often believe that I would. I was very comfortable running my business at night, while earning a check during the day. However, at some point it just became glaringly obvious that it was no longer the right move for me. However, if I was not treated in such a manner, I bet a few dollars I would still be there. OR, I would have quit that place and gotten another job by now, but I bet I would still be doing the corporate grind, because that is what I thought I was supposed to do. My dad worked in corporate for about 30 years and I always admired his dedication to the company he worked at. Do you think allowing the type of treatment you endured for so long stemmed from any other event in your childhood/upbringing or past, simply a need to provide in a stressed job market or was it something within yourself? If yourself, have you overcome those worth issues today or is it still something you are striving to daily? Well, I do believe that I was taught that a job is a necessity. So all the while I was enduring that pain, I believed that I needed the job. Additionally, my hubby was a stay-home dad for 10 years so I felt that it was going to be a very tough transition for
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
In your book you detail your step into entreprenuership and how a negative environment gave you that final nudge to freedom from corporate America. In summary can you tell the readers about that experience?
Do you think you would be still there, not taking your business and talents to that next level had this not happened
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Today I am anxious free, and feeling so liberated. The first year of entrepreneurship went from being very scary to being very fulfilling and powerful. I learned more about myself than I had in years. I learned more about my children and husband than I had paid attention to before, as I was always working. I am still a workaholic, but today, every moment of every day I attribute to fulfilling my dream and my destiny as an artist and someone that loves to help other new business owners. Have you allowed yourself to forgive them yet or do you still feel you have something to prove/accomplish before you can get to that space. I feel that I have forgiven about half of what I should. Part of me knows that the person that hurt me so much was somewhat of a sociopath. However, the other half, believe me, I feel I hurt myself by not asking for help and not leaving sooner. However, everything happens for a reason. I pray often and thank God for the courage and
strength, power and motivation to make the leap that I needed to, and I certainly thank him from removing all fear from my day to day life. I will not subject myself to that environment ever again. Tell us about your book. I absolutely love my book. I know that sounds crazy but I literally carry it in my purse and reference it often! On the back cover you will find that all of the people that were by my side before, during and after my QUIT day are still here. Many of these are included in our “original” group of ‘T.E.W.’ crew members. We call ourselves the cre8ive conglomerate. Within the anthology, there are 15 chapters about life, business and the pursuit of purpose and destiny. The book starts off with a fabulous foreword by Dr. Bernada Nicole Baker on “passion/purpose” then, the JMH Quit Story, then moves on to my 30/60/90 day review of my entrepreneurial journey (one of my fave sections). Next we move into the stories from all the contributors. Lastly, a T.E.W. journal that one can use to record goals visions and answers specific questions about their own journey. One of our readers claimed “TEW is not your average business book” because it is jam packed with inspiration, motivation and street-friendly entrepreneurial tips and information. The book has inspired hundreds, and we are currently looking for affiliates that would like to showcase and retail the book in their place of business. Additionally, we have a series of book signings which couple with networking sessions, workshops and teleshops coming up in the next few months. Our goal is to inspire, empower and equip entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and future business owners. We also started a segment called TEW jr. where we highlight our children’s businesses at events, online and in social media as well, to allow them to experience the value of having a business and networking with others at young ages.
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
me to walk out and for him to get back into the workforce. We knew it was possible, but it was something we just kept procrastinating. As for enduring this pain and bullying, well I have seen it over and over again, and although I physically could feel the pain I was in, something kept me from making a move. Quite honestly, I felt like I was “frozen” in a state of confusion. My colleagues would tell me I need to quit, to get out of there, that I was so much more creative than that. But I never left. My family told me get out of that place, that boss is crazy, but yet, I stayed. I cannot fully attribute why I stayed so long. I do feel that all along, I should have gone to a psychiatrist, to help process the issues that I was facing, but I was too scared to do that too. I felt they might say I was crazy or insane. At some points, I envisioned driving off the cliff on my way to work so that I would not have to end up “at work”.
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Once I began writing TEW I could not wait to share it with my friends, business associates and family. It was the most therapeutic feeling I had to actually be able to share my story and release the pain. It was a tough task to finish the writing and conjure 18 contributors while keeping them on task and on deadline. However, I truly enjoyed the process of sharing my story and also learning more about all of my colleagues, the co-authors. I had no choice but to push past the pain, because soon I realized how much I was helping others by setting them free as well. I have had many people come to me for quit advice, and have seen many of my colleagues quit jobs recently too, to pursue their dreams or other opportunities. Don’t get me wrong, every time I read my chapters, about the pain I went through I do get teary eyed and emotional, but for the most part, every time it makes me even stronger and more motivated! What is your motivation to keep going? My motivation to keep going is to never have to work another day for another boss. I want to be my own boss and show my kids they can do so as well. My motivation comes from my clients; every one of them is running or building a business like me, and that is what I love about this industry of graphic design and marketing. What roles did your spouse, family and close friends play in motivating you to step out on faith with your business? My parents were very pro-motivating. My hubby was a bit anxious and nervous, but he was happy for me. My kids were ecstatic that I would be home more. Overall, most of my motivation came from my colleagues and clients. The ones whom I talked
You mentioned how prayer gave you a sense of peace when you were making your decision to move on. Is this something you apply to your day to day when work stress, bad clients or workloads overwhelm you? When I was going through my situation and transition, I sought out coaching from a few different inspirational figures in my life, counselors and life coaches. I would ask one of them to send me inspirational messages and morning songs to help get me through the aches and pains. However, I also read about how to learn to pray. I had not prayed much or often in my life before that. So every night and day I would start with a prayer to ask for strength, courage, willpower, endurance, wits, guts, forgiveness, glory and many other things. I soon found that my whole outlook would change if I started my day off on the right foot instead of drawing in the negativity. These days, I pray a lot. When I get a lot of business, too much going on, kids driving me batty, I pray. I stop and thank God for the position I am in to be home with my family, work my business, and have time to do some other things I never did like help at the kids school, etc. I am very thankful and grateful. Every last client of mine has supported my mission and they are the breads of life in the JMH Cre8ive world! What advice would you give to others balancing careers and business endeavors about the balancing act as well as knowing when to step things up? I just gave out a few tips today! a) Don’t panic. b) Keep marketing. c) Keep Calm and Take Breaks.
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
How did you step out of your pain to speak to others with your writing endeavors?
to day to day that were seeking the same type of freedom.
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What is the big lesson you learned about yourself in the first year of business? I am a trailblazer. I have conquered my fear. I have inspired some peeps. I am a procrastinator. I am a bad bookkeeper! I am a great mentor and team leader. I love to be a project manager of creative projects. I’m a school-mom (le sigh)! I love to network. I am addicted to social media. I love to create. I am an artist, finally (just what I always wanted to be) THE WOMAN What do you do to relax and get away from work? Ha. Nothing! What I try to do is 1x per week; schedule a consult with a client at Starbucks. On Wednesday’s I go to gymnastics for my daughter, and usually invite a friend to hang out for a few hours, while she works out. On Saturday’s we always have family time. On Sunday’s I take the kids to the library at Noon, like clockwork. We get cocoa, play with kids there, check books out and just relax. In the evenings, although I am a late night owl, I sit on a little couch in my office and read a few chapters of a book or just sit in quiet and pray or meditate. Other than that, I am typically working 13-18 hours in a given day. I am Julie and I’m a workaholic! What non-work related hobbies do you have?
I am a painter at heart. I love to paint, draw, and sketch and write random poems. How do you start each day? Facebook. I pray in peace and quiet for 5-10 minutes and drink a cup of my healthy coffee by SereniGy. THE ENTREPRENUER Do you have any business group or affiliations relating to your field? The only group I consider part of is the one we created called TEW. The Entrepreneur Within. This group started as a workshop gathering, but soon ended up being a great networking group and then became a book. Other than that, I am just starting to look at various affiliations. What do you think are the biggest stumbling blocks for a woman in business, either with clients, colleagues, MEN or in general? I believe that some of the biggest stumbling blocks first begin with us. We can be and do what we want if we believe in you. It takes a strong woman, brave, powerful, confident and fearless to walk in our destiny, in what was created for us. Once we get over ourselves, as the stumbling block the only things that may get in our way is resources, lack of support from others, jealousy and competition, financial issues or blocks in confidence. Otherwise, I truly believe that everything we need is right within. Sometimes you just have to believe in the ONE thing that matters, yourself. How would you describe your business style—laid back or stern or somewhere in between? I would say my business style is amped, creative, rollercoaster-is and a bit laid back. I am a pure workaholic, and I truly love and am passionate about creating, however, I am a bit lacking in
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
d) Keep a good circle of entrepreneurs that motivate and uplift you. e) Be purposeful about your journey and share it with others. f) Rest. g) Eat well and exercise. h) Delegate!!! i) TeamworkMAKEStheDreamwork. j) Enjoy your family and friends no matter how hard you work.
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Did/Do you have a mentor? When I was going through the scenario of quitting my job, I had a few mentors. A few were my coworkers, two were more inspirational figures and lastly, a colleague of mine and client. He literally coached me through how he quit/got laid off from his corporate job and really took the plunge into entrepreneurship. It was awesome. I felt I had such a large support network around me that if something did not work, I would have all I needed. How has this field changed/grown since you entered? Well, I wasn’t all too aware of the graphic design field once I started my own freelance business. I did not study the field, I literally just jumped in!! Now, since I have been in business, although my focus is my clients and graphic design, my awareness and passion for entrepreneurship has grown deeply. Almost to the point that I feel like I live and breathe it 24/7. I go to sleep excited and I wake up excited to start the next day. What I see, and witness is the love for entrepreneurship is growing from city to city and it is being massively invaded with people who are passionate about creating a second or third stream of income, or who need to create a stream of income when they have lost a job or other circumstances. So my eye is on the whole journey of entrepreneurship and yes, I see it growing and changing daily. It is so exciting to me. I truly love to see other people’s businesses excel and flourish. Most of the success I see is via virtual and social media interactions. It’s almost electrifying.
What are your long term goals with your endeavors? My long term goals are to keep growing my design and marketing business. I am also very passionate about my book, the anthology “The Entrepreneur Within You” and literally strive to make a conscious effort to do something related to TEW once a month. Aside from that, my goal is to help nurture my kids into whatever they wish; to follow their dreams, passions and desires 100%. Lastly, my goal is to keep growing in my shoes, from faith to love, to business, to marketing and networking and ultimately leaving a legacy of “Julie GraphicDesigner Holloway, the Entrepreneur.” My desire is to truly inspire others to follow the footsteps that God has put in front of them, and never look back. THE AUTHOR Tell us about your written work, The Entrepreneur Within You. The Entrepreneur Within You began as my written work about the “quit day” ~ the day I quit corporate America to pursue my arts business as a graphic artist. It was about realizing my dreams, passion and love for art, and that it was my TIME. Shortly after I wrote the first 50 pages, I decided to send it to some colleagues for feedback. Immediately, a few of them asked me directly if they could contribute to the book! I didn’t even know of the concept of an anthology at the time. However, the book became an amazing collection of stories from all of my colleagues and friends, even some clients who are living their lives on purpose. All of our roads were not easy, and many, very troubling, but the commonality in the end is that we are still figuring out who were meant to be, where and why. We branded ourselves as the first “TEW Crew.” The book was published in
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
getting myself organized, getting back to calls, sometimes getting back to emails, and overall not so great at bookkeeping/records. However, I love to network and talk business with all new entrepreneurs who are looking for a little advice on how I did it.
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November, 2012 one year to the date, of my “quit day.” How did you discover your passion for writing? I have never been a writer very much; perhaps a bit of journaling here and there, however once I quit my corporate career, I needed "crazyJOBtherapy" and I needed it fast. Taking a MASSIVE leap of FAITH can make you crazy, scared, nervous, ecstatic, cautious, anxious, liberated, relentless, power-full and so much more. For me, in the end, after all of those feelings surfaced and much of the fear went away, it turned into pure adrenaline. Once my foot was out that door, life truly got better by the DAY!
ever, in the hearts of those who read it. Once my part was done, I began recruiting the other authors and there we ended up with a total of 18 contributors! It was amazing; and the journey lasted 9 months. We were truly in the birthing process of TEW! What advice can you give to inspiring writers? Figure out why you want to write. Figure out what you want the reader to feel. Make a concrete outline and stick to it, so your work makes sense. Write with all your heart, passion and soul.
One day, I literally sat down and just typed for 6 hours! I could not stop. It was so liberating to be able to just vent all of the feelings, experiences and frustration I had on my job, but turned it into a positive outcome. It was truly my therapy that helped me get to my next level in entrepreneurship. I am so grateful it happened that way. What is your prewriting process like? Honestly, I just sat down and let it pour! I did not know that the day I wrote for hours on end, that I would truly be publishing a book. However, something made me organize my work and thoughts more concretely than I normally would, typically my writing is very abstract, just like my art. However, I kept making improvements to my outline and adding so much detail the reader would not want to put it down. I was truly inspired that day to write something that would stick for
Hire an editor. A real one. Hire a great graphic designer to design the inside and outside of the book. Hire a great publicist, marketing team and any other team members that can support the endeavor. Writing a book and marketing it is a business one in its own. If you do not market, you do not get results. Enjoy the process; do not force it. Be proud of your work no matter how many books you sell; do it for YOU and only you! THE MOTHER/WIFE Tell us about your family life and how you balance it all with everything else you have going? I have a great husband of 12 years named Darnell. He supports my artistic nature and was one of the first people to ever buy a painting from me, when we were still dating! He’s the rock, the solid one that helps keep the household running smoothly! I have a creative, independent, powerful and
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
I had just quit the J.O.B. that made me crazy {o_o} for three years. So yes, I needed to write my "JMH Quit Story" for therapeutic reasons, but also to inspire others. . . . I would recommend you try it!!! Just remember, as Rhonda Alexander says in TEW "don't stay past your expiration date!"
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As far as work/life balance, I admit, not so good. I am a workaholic, I love my business, and if we are not having family time, cooking, playing, and going somewhere I am probably sitting in my chair designing and crafting! How have your children motivated and inspired you? While I was working the first majority of both of their lives, I was missing out. I did not get to participate in much at all, and truly felt time was going by too fast. Once I quit the job, and was now a full-time entrepreneur, I began helping with their classes, going on field trips, enjoying homework with them, and going to libraries, etc. This all was very new, and a turning point in my time spent with them. They both began to watch what I did day in and day out with my business, both of them now mini-entrepreneurs themselves. Jasmine started her business, wrote her book, and attended networking events and outings with me and our entrepreneurial circle. DJ on the other hand, became very artistic and aspires to write a book about “him and his mom” as well as started his own candle business (white sox candles that is)! Both of them have grown tremendously before my eyes and I am so grateful for this leap I have made. Best decision I could ever do for my family.
CLOSING If you had not chosen to share your gifts in the variaties mentioned, what do you see yourselve doing? I truly believe I would be very sick and still stuck in the same job, the same rut, the very dark place that I was in. I truly felt confined to my job as if I had no choice of a way out. I simply could not focus on anything that made me happy while I was so sad going to work every day. I was dwindling in my own mind and the confines of my heart. I felt I was not in the right place, the right situation or working on anything that made me happy. I was doing freelance design work in the evenings, but it required me to sneak around on the phone and email at work; knowing darn well I was not doing what I wanted to do with my life. Some really profound experiences praying and spending time with coaches and talking out loud truly allowed me to move my spirit into the frame of mind that I had to make a change. It was not going to be easy, but it would be worth it in the end. I knew just that and that was all I needed to know to get me by alive. I sing Marvin Sapp’s “My Testimony” daily remembering how ill I was going to work every day. All I can say is I am so glad I made it and I promise myself I will never look back. Are there any dreams or goals that you have yet to fulfill? I dream of having an art/gift boutique + coffee/candle shop with my daughter called JMH Goodies. I dream of opening a sports memorabilia shoppe for my hubby! I dream and have a goal to paint more (I have not painted as many paintings or murals in the past few years as I’d like to). There are a few placed I wish to travel. I am 3 semesters away from having my bachelor’s degree!
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
beautiful mini-entreprenuer of a daughter, named Jasmine. She is 10. She started a candle business and published a book at the age of 9! She rocks. She’s also a gymnast like her mom was! Then there’s my sweetie DJ. He is 6, and he has my heart. He’s so creative and just plain happy about life. I would do anything to protect him from the world! He is my baby . I have some great parents, family, extended family, brother and sister in laws that rock. I am truly blessed.
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I dream that my business flourishes, day in and day out. I have a goal of mentoring another graphic designer, but not until I am ready to make that promise. I have a goal of not being afraid to speak in a public forum, about my journey. Overall I feel quite whole right now.
Anything to add? Thank you so much for this opportunity to spotlight JMH and TEW! I am forever grateful for being invited to share my story.
What are you most proud of in regards to your business accomplishments? I am simply proud that I made the leap of faith to begin full-time entrepreneurship. I am proud that I am considered an inspirational figure in the entrepreneurial arena. I am proud that I am a model for my children. I am proud of my artistic abilities and warm spirit. I am proud that I doubled my corporate salary in my first year at entrepreneurship!
We have TEW book signings planned for 2/23, 3/9 and a signing/workshop on 4/6. We have a few more in the works for late spring as well! Follow The Entrepreneur Within You (Book) on facebook or visit www.theentrepreneurwithin.org to stay current). Who is Julie Holloway? She is an artist, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an entrepreneur, an author, an inspiring person and a wacky creative who hardly sleeps of late! She’s addicted to facebook and she’s a true marketing genius. She’s from Palatine, IL and currently resides in Hanover Park, where she enjoys her family and her business.
Contact Julie via the following : Julie M. Holloway info@jmhcre8ive.com www.theentrepreneurwithin.org www.twitter.com/TEWyou https://www.facebook.com/jmhcre8ivesolutions http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=26652075&tr k=hb_tab_pro_top
630.220.3655 business line THE BUSINESS WOMEN 101 MAGAZINE All Rights Reserved.
THE BUSINESS 101 MAGAZINE: Meet Julie Holloway –February 2013
Tell us about your upcoming projects/events/appearances that we are not aware of.
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