Starting and growing a business requires far more energy than money.  As a single parent trying to juggle work and family ups the ante remendously.  Starting and growing my company, Sparkle Cleaning, had me on 24/7 and mostly, no always, at my children’s expense.  But I learned that allowing them to become involved in what I was trying to do, letting them know about the losses and successes alike, made all the difference.  I also learned that those we think cannot possibly relate to our challenges have often been where we are and pushed through in much the same way.  So Sparkle became a family affair, as you will see in an excerpt from my book “From the Pits to the Palace.”

“From the Pits to the Palace” (Excerpt)

     Derron was fifteen, Qion nine when I taught them the art of stripping and waxing floors.  Carlin had a small kitchen area that Sparkle contracted to strip and wax quarterly.  The kids were my floor crew the first time in.  Qion and I swept the floor and filled the buckets with rinsing water.  Derron moved the table and chairs out of the space.  The 300 pound floor machine sat in the middle of the room.  I was just about to explain to Derron the intricacies of handling the monster machine when he decided to go it alone.  “Now what we have to do,” I said turning around to direct our next moves.  I sucked in air and belted out “Don’t touch…..” But I was too late.  The floor machine mocked Derron’s command to do its job and careened across the room on its own.  It knocked a water bucket over flooding the floor, spun me around, knocked Qion down and pinned him against the wall.
     “Shit!”  Derron said. 
     I covered my mouth muffling my scream. 
     “You stupid idiot,” Qion fired at Derron pushing and pulling at the machine, trying to free himself.  I stayed in my space, fearful that Qion was hurt. He jumped up and shouted, “You coulda killed me,” charged up to Derron, and stopped short of his toe tips.  “You always think you’re so big.”  We were speechlessness for a few seconds before we burst into laughter.
     One step out to bring back the monster machine and Derron’s feet reached for the ceiling.  His butt slammed onto the floor, causing another flurry of laughter.  Then James Carlin, the owner of the building, appeared in the doorway.  He was a man of medium stature.  Grey hair speckled his temples, pronouncing his murky complexion.  Weary from working long hours, I thought.  Even so, his clothes looked crisp as did his smile.    Feeling like I had been caught doing something wrong with the kids in the building, I was sure Sparkle had lost its largest contract.  
     “You seem to be having far too much fun at this.”
     “Just a few snags getting started,” I said.  “C’mon guys, let’s get this water up.”
     “Your sons, huh?”  He started in and then stopped, reading the situation.  Derron got up from the floor and gingerly made his way to the doorway and dry ground.  He rubbed his butt and groaned all the while.  
“You okay, young man?  You look no worse for your trouble.” Mr. Carlin introduced himself and shook hands with each of them, pumping their arms hard and long. “It’s a good thing you’re doing boys,” he said. “My sons worked with me when I first started too.  They helped me build this company.”  Turning to me he continued, “You’re doing a good job young lady.  Keep up the good work and this is one contract you won’t have to worry about losing.”  
     By the end of the night, the floor sparkled.  Carlin was a Sparkle client for ten years.  It wasn’t until Mr. Carlin retired and new property managers took over that we lost the contract.