Phil:  Hello Wanda.  I'm really looking forward to your story today.

Wanda: Hi Phil, sorry it took me so long to sit down for this interview - this has been an incredibly busy time for me.

Phil: Wanda, your story is very unique and I know you have had your share of successes and failures.  However, before we get into that why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself.

Wanda: I was born in Poland where I spent a big chunk of my life as a journalist - now I live in the US paradise (Sarasota, Florida). I am a professional business coach specializing in helping small business owners build business that work (so that they can rest or play :-)

Phil: Wow, from Poland to Florida.  That's quite a move. I know it wasn't easy for you and you've really paid your dues in that you have worked many jobs along the way before settling in on the internet. Tell me about some of the various
things you have done to provide income for yourself.

Wanda: Oh Lord - I did pay my dues indeed!  Many ups and downs in my life! The hardest part was during the immigration process in Austria. My German was poor and as a Polish journalist I had no marketable skills in Western Europe. So, I went through a series of rather boring, manual labor jobs in places I didn't even know existed.  For example: working for the  toothpick factory in Vienna. I was sorting the wood and later advanced to packing the finished toothpicks into those little boxes....

The biggest lessons learned there: There are many people who feel fortunate to stay in the job like that for their entire lives (this was a big surprise that made me later probe deeper into the whole subject of happiness and where the true happiness comes from)

I remember reading books by Joseph Conrad, a great Polish novelist who became one of the most famous writers in this century. His biography is very colorful and I was fascinated by this man who immigrated from Poland to America and went through a string of low paid, hard labor jobs prior to becoming a recognized writer. I never thought, in my wildest dreams that something similar could happen to me...

Yes, it was hard - waiting tables, babysitting, cleaning houses.  Even selling cosmetics door to door. I was the Avon lady, actually walking door to door my territory, in the severe Northeast winter weather, snow up to my knees. I am not kidding!

But looking now at my life, from the perspective of today, I would not trade these experiences for anything. Because all of that helped me develop my understanding of self and other people. And it shaped my philosophy.

And all that brought me to the point where I had some of my most interesting jobs as well:

-  Serving as the interpreter for the parole hearing board in the US prison system. One of my cases involved getting into a very close communication with a man sentenced for raping    his own daughter - a truly incredible experience for a person interested in psychology.

-  Teaching self-development courses in numerous schools, including several colleges in Upstate New York

-  Training salespeople for one of the largest department stores chains in the US

-  Delivering a motivational programs on conferences with several hundreds people in the audience.

Not to mention the immense pleasure I get from helping my clients shape their own success. It's all been quite a ride!

Phil: Now Wanda, you have also had your share of successes as well.  You owned and operated a successful restaurant business as well as being a top real estate agent in New York.  I'm interested in learning more about these ventures.

Wanda: It was a little eatery called "Hanka". I started with 150 dollar budget, cooking Polish specialties and selling my stuff to local grocery stores. The place I rented for cooking had windows, so we added a store front and then a few tables. I decorated the place room with hand made Polish folklore art, the food was really good and all of the sudden we became famous. All newspapers gave us excellent reviews and we were booked solid for dinners way in advance...

But this success didn't last.

First - I had no passion for being a restaurant owner. Second - and most important - I was completely unprepared to run a business.  I didn't know how to delegate effectively, so I was working myself to death. Everything was depending on me and as a result the business ran me, not
vice versa.

Boy, I can relate now to business owners that are out of control :-)

It was similar in real estate. In my first year I was very hard working, because doing cold calls was nothing compared with cooking pierogi or selling cosmetics (not to mention that toothpick factory job). So, it was sort of natural for me to become the agent with the highest number of transactions. But being number one does not equal being successful.

I was a mess. I didn't enjoy it. I had many difficult clients, worked long hours, and was constantly in a fear that the next transaction will not close. On top of that I had no concept of managing higher income, so I was not only spending more than I should, but even going deeper and deeper in debt...

You see, getting recognition is a great thing, and getting many customers and clients is a great thing too. Many people consider that a success. And to some degree it is a success - but just to some degree. This is very often just like a thin bubble than can burst anytime.

I had a series of bubbles like that.

The real success is something else: it is about being successful on the long run. That's why I call my new training program "Strategies for *Lasting* Internet Success. Creating overnight success is easy - making it last is another story.

It is not about a race to the top, but about having a happy and fulfilled life, and business that contributes to the lives of many people, it is also about getting paid well and NOT having to work day and night. Most people confuse success with winning the lottery.  Or with these bubbles that burst easily.

Phil: I am very impressed with your attitude towards the lessons these jobs provided.  Many people would have just given up, however, it seems to have helped you develop great strength in your character.  Tell me about some of the failures you experienced and what lessons you've learned from them.

Wanda:  Aaaah - the failures!

One of the things I learned quickly is that there are no failures. In any case failure never defeated me. Perhaps it was a result of my Polish upbringing where you were doomed to fail at something all the time. If not in your professional life, then in the daily struggle. For example, at least half of the stories I wrote as a journalist were axed by the censorship - you develop immunity after a while for that sort of thing.  Then we had those shortages in stores, which meant that you had to go on the massive hunt to buy just a few rolls of the toilet paper.

When you grow up in the reality like that, you develop an attitude that there are no failures -- only temporary setbacks. One of the biggest setbacks I experienced with another business, my real estate office. It was called Loskot Real Estate. I worked really hard to get started and finally when I got established I experienced a massive burnout. I mean *real* burnout. I remember very vividly avoiding the telephone. When the telephone rang, I thought "Oh please, I hope it is not another prospect!"

That was not a healthy thought for a hard working real estate broker! I took a break from business. It was scary like hell but I did it. I Completely stopped selling real estate.

That was a big turn in my life - during that period I discovered the value of passion, and balance and contribution to others.  The things that are now so fundamental to my business...

After 2 years I returned. Much wiser. Much stronger. And most important, with much more commitment to business, to clients and even to myself. I became successful - but in different way. I was not number one, it was not even on my agenda. I was there to service my clients and to meet my own objectives - not to compete with other agents. It was then that I began to train salespeople, which eventually expanded in the full blown training and coaching carrier.

What I learned from those temporary setbacks? One of the most important lesson was always that I am a survivor.  Each setback was just making me stronger and better. I learned that we cannot learn without failing. Because those setbacks were the best learning experience.

From those painful experiences I also learned that a business is doomed to fail if it doesn't have a solid foundation: passion of the owners, sense of mission, solid systems for lead development and for delivery of the product/service. I learned that there can be no sanity if we cannot delegate. And that we cannot delegate if there is no system in place.

I also learned that following the right model saves sanity and somewhere there, at that point of time I realized that this is my calling. To teach people the sane way of doing business so that they don't need to go through as much pain as I went through to discover it on their own.

Phil: Now most of your experience in the business world was offline.  How did you get interested in the internet.

Wanda: I got on the internet initially because as a business coach I had an obligation to know what is going on. It was 1997, and it was time to explore the internet as a medium. I never expected things would happen so fast: within months my Success Connection was quite popular and I was getting coaching clients via internet.  Now I have clients on four continents!

Phil, the Internet changed my life. Entirely. In a way I never imagined it could happen. I compare my internet experience with my immigration. It was like entering completely different country, with different privileges and awesome opportunities.

Phil: Wanda, you must be an extremely busy person in that you seem to be involved in many projects. It's very obvious that you're passionate about what you're doing.  Tell me a little more about the various things you are involved with.

Wanda: Of course my Success Connection at http://www.loska.com keeps me busy - with the weekly MasterMind chats, and coaching, and teleclasses... I am now in the finishing process of launching a special program that will help all members of the Success Connection insiders refer business to each other.

I also coordinate the mentoring program for the Association for International Business. AIB has over 10,000 members in 160 countries and it is the first truly internet based organization with awesome benefits. Your readers can benefit greatly from the basic membership that is free of cost - for details go to http://aib-world.org

The most exciting thing is my new website http://www.InternetSuccessCoach.com - I just developed an intensive eight week tele-course "Strategies for Lasting Internet Success" which guides participants through a step-by-step process of developing internet business. With weekly tele-classes, daily homework assignment, daily email support, and even audio tapes. This is a true life-saver for procrastinators.

Phil: How important a role does passion play in your business.

Wanda:  Phil, I was always passionate about what I do but it took me a while to pinpoint my mission and connect it with the passion. Once I did, there was no turning back.  I am totally devoted to help other people build happy and balanced business. Based on their passion and their mission. So, I am not only passionate about my own business, but a passion is the core subject of what I am doing. My product if you will. I am definitely a role model here :-)

Of course it takes a bit more than a passion to succeed - organization, innovation, good marketing and other ingredients, but it all begins with passion. Every business created mainly to generate income, is heading for troubles - BIG time troubles sooner or later! I highly recommend to your readers my article "Passion or Business Need?"
http://www.makeyourbusinesswork.com/work/a-passion.html

Phil: Many people don't realize the importance the internet can play in developing offline business relationships.  You are obviously using the internet to establish contacts and then move those relationships to the real world.  For example: you do speaking engagements, tele- classes etc.  I would like you to elaborate on how the internet has helped you develop this side of your business.

Wanda: I am glad that you asked. Indeed I step out of the internet quite often - and I don't mean my speaking engagements. Whenever I meet someone on the internet I make an effort to connect in the "real" world as well, on the phone, in person, or at least via snail mail.

Too many people get stuck in the email communication only, I think it is a big mistake.  Using the traditional communication medium helps tremendously to solidify relationship. That is also one of the reasons I use tele-classes.

My speaking business is in the low gear at the moment and I don't do much to promote it. I just created the site Wanda Speaks! because it would be such a waste not to. I got a few inquiries, and even invitations to travel abroad - but this is still in development stage.

Phil: Wanda, you have carved out a niche market on the internet providing people with personal coaching. I would like to wrap this up by having you tell us how you're promoting your web site and services.

Wanda:  The core of my business until now has been professional coaching and as a coach I specialize in helping people systematize and build business through referrals. A vast majority of my clients come to me also through referrals because my clients have a unique awareness and refer me a lot of people. So, until now I didn't do much to actively *promote* my site and services. It just *became* popular.

But that doesn't mean that it really happened by itself. I spend a lot of time building relationships - with my subscribers, with participants of my chats, even with those who post regularly on my discussion forum. Not to mention my clients!. There are two types of referrals: one type just *happens* - another type gets orchestrated. So, I spend a lot of time to orchestrate my referrals.

And I also do a lot to contribute in various discussion lists, writing articles. My articles are published all over the web and my newsletter is definitely the most effective marketing tool.

Somehow, even without trying hard my sites got listed quite high for a couple of important keywords but on the whole I don't even care much about the traffic coming from the search engines. The dearest visitors to me are those who come to me via someone's endorsement. For example, if someone reads this story and gets intrigued enough to come and visit me, he or she is very likely to like my site, to stay and to become my friend.  About 100 times more likely than a visitor coming from the search engine, no matter what keywords were used.
And I treat these special visitors in a very special way too!

Phil: Thanks Wanda for taking the time to share your story with NETzine subscribers.  I wish you all the best and prosperity.

Phil's Notes:
 

Wanda's example of using the web to make business contacts is unusual in that most people focus on making the sale via the internet.  However, Wanda uses her web site to create leads and then follows up with a phone call.

Many people may think that business coaching services could only be offered locally but not Wanda.  She uses the web to establish relationships and offers her services to a global community.

Establishing http://www.loska.com has enabled her to reach out and expand her market changing her life forever.

Wanda attracts traffic to her site by having her articles published all over the web, participating in chat forums and relying heavily on referrals. These simple tactics have provided her with with the success she now enjoys.

Wanda's story is definitely deep with experiences and emotion.  She developed true character in her personality drawing on her past experiences growing up in Poland and migrating to the U.S.  And it's this character that is at the foundation of her Success and it shines through brilliantly when she says "There Are No Failures, Just  Temporary Setbacks".

Phil Clelland publishes NETzine, Internet Success Stories you can reach him by email mailto:phil@wwmall.com or visit his website at  http://www.netzinesuccess.com  "Where Netrepreneurs Tell Their Story"