Meet WE Magazine for Women’s Woman in Business Interviewee, Hollis Colquhoun, Women‘s Financial Empowerment Expert/Author
Tell us about your business: Two years ago, after working on Wall Street for twenty years, my business began when I was working at a nonprofit credit counseling agency.After speaking to thousands of clients, most of whom were women in financial trouble because they had no financial education, a co-counselor and I decided to write a very simple and short, interactive guide for women. It would cover personal finance basics and be small enough to carry in their purse. In addition, I’m a martial artist (black belts in Karate and Tae Kwon Do) and I’ve combined my two interests, personal and financial survival, in workshops and articles geared toward women. Martial arts and finance principles have also been brought together in a program I’ve just created for women who are ending a marriage and looking to mentally and financially get back on track before their divorce process is finalized. The program is called “Design Your New Life Before You Divorce.”
Please tell us what being a business owner means to you and why you became an entrepreneur in the first place? I like being my own boss and I’m passionate about helping women become more financially educated and empowered. There’s a real need for this education and I couldn’t find a way to address it fully through the counseling agency program. I also couldn’t find another book or program that combined personal and financial self-defense tactics for women.
What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why? More recently Suze Orman. I don’t necessarily agree with everything she says but she has brought the topic of personal finance into the mainstream through her books and programs, and has begun to specifically address the specific financial education needs of women.
What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date? Co-writing the book “Women Empowering Themselves: A Financial Survival Guide”, but I am very excited about my new program which is coming out in a few weeks.
What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our readers? If you have a vision, a business and a financial plan, go for it. And from Wall Street “You can never lose money taking a profit.”
What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business? Networking with complementary professionals to market the book and program.
What one thing have you learned as a small business owner that has served you well over the years? Plan.
Are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you run your business? Google web search, services and tools, and local business networking groups.
Tell us about the new projects you have coming up? My new program, “Design Your New Life Before You Divorce”, which I mentioned earlier, is a combination of one-on-one counseling (with me), MP3 audios and a 50-page workbook that will help women who are coming out of a marriage but haven’t yet signed a divorce agreement. It will mentally and financially empower these women so they can design a more fairly structured settlement agreement and have a more financially secure and fulfilling life going forward.
What do you do for fun/relaxation? Karate, which I’ve been practicing for 17 years,and I teach self-defense classes and weapon forms, (bo staff, escrima, nunchaku). I also like to travel and spend time with my three girls (ages 22, 24, 26).
What is Number One Business Goal you plan to accomplish over the next year? Introduce my new program and help as many women through the program as possible.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers? Do your homework. Find out what is happening in your market and with your potential client. How can you address or satisfy a specific need? Your product or service should solve a particular problem or fill a void.
What’s the best way for our readers to connect with you? Contact me at: Facebook.com/financialsurvivaltools, email me at WomenEmpoweringThemselves@gmail.com, and visit our WEBSITES www.FinancialSurvivalTools.com/ and coming soon: www.EmpoweredBeforeDivorce.com
