Looking back over the past several years, if you have been following me, you would have seen my progression:

• 2012 – Incorporating my company and running the Market Like A Queen digital marketing and coaching agency with a small virtual team based out of the South Fulton region of Metro Atlanta
• 2014 – Founded the Lead Like A Queen seminar and event series to help turn the conversation about marketing towards improving our leadership as marketers
• 2017 – Being accepted into Liberty University’s Business School and taking hiatus from business to focus on full-time graduate studies
• 2018 – Becoming a full-time caregiver to my husband while taking graduate classes and dropping to part-time graduate studies
• 2019 – Relocating family and business to Newnan, Coweta County, Georgia USA
• 2020 – Took forced hiatus from the Lead Like A Queen event series due to pandemic lockdown and unavailability of our normal local venues and sponsors
• 2021- Building new team as I finish my degree in 2021 (MAEL, Masters of Arts in Executive Leadership), including caregiver jobs

Honestly, I was not sure I would ever complete graduate school because it has taken twice as long as what I originally thought, but it has been a blessed journey and I am grateful. I also never imagined that I would move my family and my business to another region of metro Atlanta, even further south, to Coweta County’s capital in Newnan. I am grateful to be here in this beautiful, diverse community, and to now get to know the community (post lockdown) and how I can serve them well in the areas of career coaching and leadership development training, along with supporting small businesses and solopreneurs with marketing. I also am learning how I can find others to serve alongside me as part of my new team, starting with the focus towards professionals who would serve as personal care providers in our home.

My work is intellectually and creatively intensive (research and writing), so I minimize distractions and temptations for multi-tasking by delegating most caregiving tasks and home chores. Currently other family members fulfill some of these tasks and chores, but, after the new school year starts, their availability will be more limited. So, our goal is to hire and train two part-time caregiving professionals during the summer so that we will have consistent reliable support available in the Fall and Spring. Even though that’s our goal, current labor market trends are just not cooperating. So, basically, we are just relying on God to answer our prayers and send us the right people when we need them.

Truthfully, that’s the best way: to just depend on God, and stop trying to control everything on my own. This means that I do the work that is mine to do, and leave God’s work to Him. I have my part, and He has his part. This is all part of me staying divorced from perfectionism. I do not want even a hint of that creeping into my hiring activities. I refuse to let the work of hiring take over my life. I have hiring work to do, and I am doing it, and I am keeping it within the schedule I have set aside for it. The outcome of this work is up to the Lord, and I trust Him with that. He is faithful to answer our prayers and honor the work we’re putting in.

I am truly honored to have a season of my life to serve as my husband’s main caregiver as we enjoy living, learning, working, and serving in Newnan. I humbly admit that I am only “adequate” at this caregiving job. I look forward to him having caregivers who are excellent at it and passionate about serving. As we continue our search for professional caregivers, we have adjusted our expectations and our job listings to help make these jobs both meet our needs and attract the type of professionals we need. That’s part of my work in the hiring process, to research and learn how to hire, including how to write the job listings and how to set the pay rate scale, etc.

The original job listing was just for one full-time caregiver, but now it has been split into two positions. The first job listing has now been shifted into a weekend position for an entry-level care provider who is also available on-call/PRN for week days when the main care provider is not available. The newer job listing is a lead caregiver position for a more experienced professional who is consistently available on most week days. As a small business owner, I recognize the importance of having a well-built team and support network with experts who use their strengths to serve in areas where I am not as strong. So, I view caregiving professionals in the same way, as strong experts who are part of my team and support network. I also view both caregivers as a team that can support one another with continuing to grow in their careers and with providing full coverage of all the days to ensure my husband has enough help. The pay scale has also been adjusted to attract more experienced professional care providers with a scale of up to $16 per hour for up to 15 hours per week in the lead care giver position. The weekend PRN (on-call) entry-level position will pay up to $16 per hour for up to 10 hours per week.

My job as the hiring manager for my own company is to ensure that the recruiting process is sound and the marketing of the job listings is appropriate and targeted towards professionals who want to work in this region of Coweta County. My job is also to pray and keep God at the middle of all of my relationships, including starting new relationships with new people. Since I know that I am called to love God and to love people, I am encouraged in my journey as an employer and looking forward to being a blessing to my new teammates.

Clarification: When I say that God is in the center of all of my relationships, I mean that the unconditional love of Jesus is what motivates me to do all that I do, for the benefit of all, not just for my own benefit. I have shared about the spiritual side of my business journey in previous blog articles, videos, podcast interviews, and in my book. I pray that my authentic spirituality will be evident to everyone who meets me, and that there will not be any fear of self-righteousness nor of religious fakeness. Simply put, I live to serve like Jesus would serve if he was standing right here with me in the flesh. I truly believe He is standing right here with me in the Spirit.

So, if you’re a potential client or a potential new team member, I hope this new article sheds some more light on who I am, who I serve, and how I serve here from my business headquarters in Newnan.

God bless you and yours.