Success Reimagined

By Jennifer Bright, Rita Guthrie and Robert Sayre

Success Reimagined celebrates the inspiring stories of 28 local Lehigh Valley leaders. This full-color book shares the advice and experiences of these business luminaries, including how they triumphed over adversity, pivoted to overcome challenges, and reinvented themselves to improve their lives, businesses, and community.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Bright Communications LLC
• Release date: Jul 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781952481093

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©2021 by Bright Communications LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Internet addresses given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

Printed in the United States of America

Published in Hellertown, PA

Cover and interior design and illustrations by Christina Gaugler

Library of Congress Control Number 2021901221

ISBN: 978-1-952481-08-6

ISBN: 978-1-952481-09-3 (e-book)

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 paperback

BrightCommunications.net

To the Lehigh Valley Local Luminaries

featured here, whose stories

of success reimagined are so inspiring

Contents

• INTRODUCTION

Jimmy Olang: With Kenyan Roots and a Strong Work Ethic, I Brought a Well-Known Franchise to the Lehigh Valley

Ashley Russo: ASR Media: Telling the Stories of the Lehigh Valley

Mike Sosnowski: I Traded My Suit and Tie for a Caribbean Dream

Jill Strickland Brown: For 20 Years My Goal Remains the Same: To Empower Women through Fashion and Connection

Donna Hosfeld: At Insurance Chix, We Make Insurance Fun

Shelby Lawson: My Personal Success Reimagined

Erin Miller: I Took a Winding Path from Counselor to Entrepreneur and Now Mentor

Steve Gingras: I Left the Corporate World, Got into the Sign Business, and Made a Mark in the Lehigh Valley

Pawl Good: I Restore Worn, Tattered, Broken-Down Properties to Their Former Glory—And Bring Relief to Families

Carol Landis-Pierce: In Real Estate, There’s a Solution to Everything—If You Get Creative

Joshua Gillow: Creating a New Category of Landscaping Business Meant a Change in Philosophy

Dave Lin: My Insurance Agency’s Niche in the Lehigh Valley Is the Underserved Multicultural Market

Samantha Ciotti Falcone, AIA, LEED AP: My Best Design: Building My Own Architecture Firm from the Ground Up

Rayne Reitnauer, CVT: Chasing the Doggie Dream: Taking Care of Dogs Is My Passion and My Business

Carol-Anne Minski, PhD, MBA: As a Career Coach, I’m Fascinated by What Motivates People

Kathy Purcell, MT-BC: As a Therapist, I Know the Power of Music and Art in Health

Mike Lichtenberger: It’s not about Hockey; It’s What Hockey Is about—and How That Guided Me in Business

Mary Evans, CFP, CDFA: My Approach to Financial Planning: We Are Investment Behavioral Coaches

Ronee Welch: Good Sleep Is a Lifelong Gift My Company Brings to Families

Jeffrey French, CTS-D: In a Socially Distanced World, Audiovisual Collaboration Helps Keep Us Connected

Victor A. Cimerol: I’m Always Prepared for Swings in the Title Industry

Pam Bartlett: Success Has a Deeper Meaning Now That I Bring Relief to Families in Crisis

Chris Schmidt: Our Customers Get One-of-a-Kind Expertise in the Lehigh Valley

Laurie A. Siebert, CPA, CFP®, AEP®: Success Comes from Helping Others Be Successful

Terree O’Neill Yeagle: A Brilliant, Burning Passion for Art and Photography Led Me to Where I Am Today

Robert Sayre: Real Estate Investing Boosts My Income During Retirement

Jennifer Bright: I Bring Books to Life

Rita Guthrie: You Have a Business Goal; I Have an Idea!

• ABOUT THE LOCAL LUMINARIES

• ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

• ABOUT THE CURATORS

Introduction

Success comes in surprising packages, some small, some big, some looking odd at first glance. And success is not a place that is arrived at in a linear chart, nor does it reveal itself quickly. This book is a parade of stories. And how this idea was hatched and borne is fascinating as well.

The greatest part of my job is the amazing people I meet. The day I met Rita Guthrie was one of the most fortunate days of my career. Rita, the Idea Lady, helped me to reimagine my own success, in ways I never thought possible. All my life I have struggled with shyness, sitting in meetings with my stomach in knots at the thought of having to introduce myself, worrying for weeks or months before I had to give a presentation. After spending time with Rita and attending her Marketing Academy, I surprised myself with my newfound courage. After applying my knowledge, I no longer dreaded public speaking. I wanted to talk! In fact, I had to restrain myself. Suddenly, I found my voice, my vision was clear. Who was this new me? As I spoke, my world expanded, and my newfound confidence attracted more and tremendous opportunities. As I reinvented myself, I no longer saw myself as a small publisher.

Another fortunate day was when Rita introduced me to Rob Sayre. Rob and I instantly connected through our shared experiences at Rodale, Inc., and our passion for serving others and developing our vision of success. Like Rita, Rob quickly became a mentor and a friend. I learned that success is not always linear, one step after another. Often success comes in leaps and bounds. I knew a leap was coming when Rob shared an idea; There are so many amazing, talented people here in the Lehigh Valley! Why don’t we bring their stories and advice together in a book? It was a flash of insight and inspiration. We invited Rita to join us to launch this book. We are so proud of the stories of business leaders in our area.

Success is to be measured not so much

by the position that one has reached in life

as by the obstacles he has overcome.

—Booker T. Washington

Over the next few months, our vision became a clear, actionable plan. Rob and Rita reached out to business leaders in the Lehigh Valley, inviting them to be part of our Local Luminaries program. These leaders shared their stories with our terrific and talented writer Marie Susznyski. They shared personal successes, business successes, business successes that led to personal successes, and personal successes that led to business success. They shared their stories, tips, advice, and fascinating journeys of success and how they reimagined their own lives.

We added Terree O’Neill Yeagle to our team, capturing images of our local business leaders. Pictures are indeed worth a thousand words and these photos show just what success looks like.

We are proud to present these Lehigh Valley Local Luminaries stories here. We’ve not ordered them alphabetically, nor by degree of success or business category, but rather in the way we think can be best savored. May this book inspire you to achieve your own success!

—Jennifer Bright

With Kenyan Roots and a Strong Work Ethic, I Brought a Well-Known Franchise to the Lehigh Valley

Jimmy Olang, franchise co-owner with wife, Jessica, of The Brothers That Just Do Gutters-Lehigh Valley

Growing up in Kenya, I was taught that success was going to college and becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. But I lived in a small village called Oyugis, where we farmed the land, raised goats and sheep, collected water from the river, and walked miles to go to school. I didn’t see success—in the traditional sense—in my future.

And it’s true that I didn’t become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, but I worked hard to achieve a level of success I never imagined. I’m co-owner with my wife of a multimillion-dollar company, The Brothers That Just Do Gutters-Lehigh Valley.

I lived with my grandmother in Oyugis until I was 12, while my father worked toward a business degree in the United States. When he came back to Kenya, I moved to Nairobi to live with him, my mother, and my siblings.

But eventually the economy experienced a downturn, and my dad’s consulting business collapsed, like many others. He decided to go back to the United States while I stayed behind. During that time, my local church hosted U.S. missionaries. Ken Parsons, the founder of The Brothers That Just Do Gutters, was one of them. I became friends with Ken, and when he left, he told me he wanted me to work for him if I ever moved to America.

I worked hard to achieve a level of success I never imagined.

In 2001, I did just that. I moved to the Hudson Valley region in New York. Very quickly, Ken sought me out at church and offered me a job on the spot. He had founded his business hanging gutters in 1999. His brother, Ryan, joined him in 2002.

I had a lot to learn. When Ken told me I’d be hanging gutters, I asked, What are gutters? I grew up in a hut with a thatched roof. I showed up for the first day of work wearing flip-flops and was told I needed to buy boots for the next day. I had never been involved in home remodeling, but I was used to climbing trees, so getting onto a roof wasn’t an issue.

I earned minimum wage as Ken’s apprentice, and I poured my heart and my soul into the work. Like many immigrants who come to the United States, I worked two or three jobs. I also earned an associate’s degree while working.

I met my wife, Jessica, in 2009. I was looking to settle down and hoping I’d find love in church or a library, like it happens in movies. Love came to me, though, through a Christian dating site. We got married, and Jessica moved from the Lehigh Valley to the Hudson Valley.

As time went on, Jessica and I realized working so much wasn’t going to be sustainable. At the same time, Ken was growing his business and was starting franchises. After 13 years of working for him, Jessica and I decided we wanted to branch out on our own. We moved to the Lehigh Valley and officially launched our Brothers Gutters franchise. We’re one of 15 franchises under the company.

Since then, we’ve grown from one truck, one apprentice, and a 10-by-10 foot office space to now having seven trucks and 20 employees. We’ve created a successful, balanced life between working hard and having time for our family of four children.

My Success Reimagined

I never thought I’d be a business owner. My dream was to work hard and earn American dollars. But the day I set foot in this country, I had incredible opportunity that, combined with hard work, helped me get to where I am today.

Being a husband-wife team was also key to our success: Many small businesses have trouble growing because they’re stuck in the day-to-day work of running the company. As general manager and