Trusted Mentor and Adviser

My heart is heavy today as I lost someone close to me, my mother-in-law, Diane. I know I would not have survived learning how to run my business if it wasn’t for her being a mentor and adviser.

My husband started helping out at the family-owned service station when he was 12. I started helping out with some of the bookwork for the station just after we were married. My in-laws also owned a RV business, and four years later they decided to close down the service station and concentrate on that business.

I had mixed emotions when my husband said he wanted to start his own service and towing business. While I had helped with some of the daily book work, I knew nothing about running a business from the start. While I knew we needed an accountant, lawyer, banker, etc., my biggest and most trusted adviser when we started out on our own was my mother-in-law.

My in-laws were great partners in running their business. Each brought their own strengths to become successful and how fortunate my husband and I were to have that wealth of knowledge and support; many people do not understand the sacrifices and other things it takes to run a small business.

One of the best perks of the relationship with my mother-in-law was she had the best listening ear, and she really understood where I was coming from when I asked questions or sought her advice.

I received many great tips from Diane over the years, and one of them was to always write it down. I can tell you that advice has saved me many times over the years. You think you’ll remember something, but often as not, that doesn’t happen – especially now that I’m getting a wee bit older.

Rest in peace Diane.