blue water woman--fall 2013

a slow business
schedule in the
summer allows
editor/business
owner patti
samar to enjoy
all the blue
water area has
to offer, such as
sailing on the
great lakes.
from the editor
It was 10 years ago this past December when I quit my security-filled, salary-paying, paidvacation-providing
job in Corporate America to venture into relatively unchartered territory
as a full-time self-employed business owner.
Not only did I quit my all-time favorite job (serving as marketing director at St. John River
District Hospital) working for my all-time favorite boss (Frank Poma, who continues to serve
as the hospital president), but I had no real back-up plan in the event that, well, I failed.
While I had some money banked, it was more of a security blanket than a landing pad.
So what in the heck was I thinking?
I was thinking that I wanted something more than just a paycheck and security.
This issue of Blue Water Woman is dedicated to the hard-working self-employed women in
the Blue Water Area. A couple of stories are about women I have encountered whose stories I
found compelling and a number of stories are dedicated to those women who have regularly
advertised in Blue Water Woman since its first year of inception. I am so grateful for their
advertising support. Without them, there would be no Blue Water Woman magazine. I’ve
enjoyed getting to know all of them over the past two years and am proud to showcase them
in this issue of the magazine.
So why work for yourself? For me, it was about tradeoffs. First, I am afforded an incredibly
flexible work schedule that has changed my life dramatically. A year ago, I married a most
incredible man…who lives 500 miles away from Port Huron. He resides in my hometown
in the Upper Peninsula and we’ve been friends for almost 30 years. Would I have started
dating a man so many miles away if I had just a limited amount of vacation time dictated
by Corporate America? Maybe, maybe not, but building a relationship would have been
much more difficult if one of us didn’t have the flexibility of self-employment. I can, and do,
regularly work from his home.
Such flexibility is the upside of self-employment. The downsides include working many
more hours than I ever did working for someone else. In my last two “real” jobs, I was a
salaried director of a department and, depending on the work at hand, regularly found myself
working 50-hour (or more) work weeks.
Self-employment has shown me that a 50-hour work week would feel like a vacation during
certain times of the year. My fall and winter months are generally the busiest and I often work
seven days a week and many of those days are spent working well into the late night hours.
The flip side is that business is slower during the summer months, so I am able to take a lot
of time off and I am able to enjoy the very best of both Michigan peninsulas.
But: less business also equals less income. Cash flow is a constant concern for small business
owners. There are months when I tell myself it would be so much easier to once again get a
job with a steady, reliable paycheck and paid vacation. But the thought of giving up my yearround
work wardrobe of flip flops and blue jeans and once again dressing up in suits and heels
Every. Single. Day. kind of makes my stomach feel a little queasy. I’m probably not suited for
that life ever again for a wide variety of reasons.
The fact of the matter is I’m free-spirited and kind of a loner at heart. Self-employment
feeds both of those facets of my being. And nothing beats wearing flip flops to work in
January.
content
passions
Mary Weir 4
professions
SaraThomas 6
Vickie Burgett 6
Cathy Wilkinson 7
Kim Judge & Tammy Hutchinson 7
Sonja Schunk 8
Trista Bourdeau 8
volume 3, number 3 fall 2013
Blue Water Woman is published quarterly by The Write Company,
3155 Armour Street, Port Huron, MI 48060. Circulation 7,500.
Editor & Publisher: Patti Samar, owner, The Write Company
Advertising: Patti Samar at 810-987-1256 or pjsamar@aol.com
Subscriptions: To receive Blue Water Woman at home, mail $25 to:
Blue Water Woman, 3155 Armour Street, Port Huron, MI 48060
News releases can be emailed to pjsamar@aol.com
Questions or comments?
Call Blue Water Woman at 810-987-1256
Mission: Blue Water Woman is the premiere publication
for women living, working and playing
in the Blue Water Area of Michigan.
Its stories and features are written and designed
to be inspriational, motivational and encouraging.
www.BlueWaterWoman.com
© Blue Water Woman is the property
of Patti Samar of The Write Company
The Write Company is a writing, graphic design and marketing
consultation firm. View our online portfolio at:
www.TheWriteCompany.net
Patti Samar
Editor & Publisher
Blue Water Woman
2 fall 2013 BlueWaterWoman.com