Va Beach , VA (PressExposure) November 29, 2010 -- Local speaker, author, business owner, and Best of the Beach 2010 Silver winner in 4 categories, Lisa Smith, celebrated 4 years of full-time practice on December 1, 2010, despite the general economic downturn.
"I've been very blessed in my business this year," shared Ms. Smith. "Not only have I had the opportunity to work with more clients this year helping them create breakthroughs in their personal lives or businesses, I have created my own breakthrough by increasing my revenue by over 25%." This, in a year when many small businesses--even well-established ones--have had to shut down.
The same principles and tools that Lisa uses with her clients are the ones she credits for helping her business do so well. "So much of business is about mindset," said Ms. Smith. "Business owners just don't realize the power they have to help or hinder their success by what goes on between their ears. They rely too much on resources outside of themselves, like advertising and marketing and 'the economy.' When there is a lot of inner doubt and fear, we act from desperation vs. inspiration or we are held back from new ideas and opportunities. Remember, more millionaires were made during the Depression than any other time in U.S. history--except, perhaps, for right now."
In fact, more women like Ms. Smith are leading the way in business expansion. According to Maddy Dychtwald, co-founder of Age Wave, which conducts national and global studies exploring key trends and implications of the aging of America, "Every day, more than 400 U.S. women start their own companies--twice the rate at which men do. The number of women-owned firms grew by 19.8 percent between 1997 and 2002, then leaped a whopping 55 percent after 2002. Today, 10.1 million firms are owned by women."
Ms. Smith originally started her home-office practice on a part-time basis in 1998 in Virginia Beach after relocating from Massachusetts. After 7 ½ years working as a full-time staff hypnotist, coach, trainer, and nutrition instructor for the locally based hypnosis franchise, Positive Changes, Ms. Smith turned her part-time solo practice into her full-time business when Positive Changes closed its offices in Hampton Roads.
Life by Design, LLC offers hypnosis and coaching services, specializing in the areas of business and wellness. While the majority of its clients are helped with weight loss and reaching business goals, other clients are assisted in stopping smoking, eliminating phobias, preparing for surgery, dealing with cancer, improving sports and sales performance, and a variety of other issues.
In addition to her in-person and phone sessions with private clients, Lisa maintains four websites, a free bi-weekly online newsletter, Healthy You!, and a blog, "Lessons on Living Fully." She is an Expert Contributor on BeautyForeverNetwork.com, a frequent contributor to Tidewater Women Magazine; has numerous published articles throughout the internet; and has co-authored two e-books, "Ultimate Guide to Success" and "Top Coaches Share Their Personal Action Strategies," the latter of which is now available in paperback.
In 2010, Life by Design, LLC was voted Virginian Pilot's Reader's Choice "Best of Virginia Beach" Silver in four categories, an improvement from her Bronze win for Best Weight Loss Center in 2009. She also garnered attention in 2009 when she was featured in a series on local News Channel 3 for helping people quit smoking through hypnosis.