About Me

Who I’m Not

I’m not a marketing “guru” chasing trends, or a consultant who just finished an online course, guiding you to a get-rich scheme. I am a mentor who has spent decades living through every twist and turn that business and life can throw at you — and emerged with a deeper understanding of what truly matters.

I’m not defined by my success — nor by my failures, or even the catastrophes that could have broken me. I choose who I am, every day. Not life, not a lawsuit, not a fire — me.

Where It Began

The story begins in early 1993.
I was laid off with a six-month-old baby girl on my hip, in the middle of a crushing recession and at the doorstep of a brutal divorce. No job, no clear path forward. So I built my first business within a month because survival demanded it.

Eventually, I broke into the $1 Million club, joining the 4% of entrepreneurs who ever get there. I represented photographers and produced shoots for iconic clients — Levi’s, Wrangler, Mercedes-Benz, BMW. I drove those fancy cars to the shoots with a wide grin, thinking maybe — just maybe — I had made it.

When It All Fell Apart

But life’s curriculum had other plans.

The losses came, not in one clean blow, but relentlessly.
There were fires. Floods. Riots. An earthquake. A lawsuit.
Then came 9/11 — shaking not only the markets but the very foundations of how we all saw the world.

My father — my anchor, my guiding voice — died within six weeks of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Just when I thought I couldn’t bear more, I lost my dear friend and key photographer, Fernando Bengoechea, in the devastating tsunami.

Each loss carved deeper into the foundation I had fought so hard to build.

There was no one single moment that broke me.
It was the accumulation, the relentless test of how much a person can lose and still find the will to rebuild.

At some point, I stopped asking, “Why is this happening to me?” and started asking, “How can this serve a greater purpose?”

Choosing to Rebuild

I rebuilt. I pivoted.
I founded BeateWorks, a stock photography syndication company designed to thrive even without me at the center.

There were countless mistakes along the way. I dug myself into $135,000 of debt, just to keep the lights on. There were days when survival itself felt like a victory.

But by 2006, I turned it around.
I sold the company to Bill Gates for millions.
Our work was licensed in 79 countries.
We sold intimate home stories of icons like Madonna, Francis Ford Coppola, and Cindy Crawford.

None of this was handed to me.
There was no fairy godmother, no trust fund, no secret shortcut.
Just grit, heartbreak, hope — and the stubborn belief that it had to mean something if I kept going.

And it did.
It does.

Building a Life Worth Living

I used what I had learned to build a good life.
I bought a home.
I put my daughter through college, debt-free.
I drove a car I loved, traveled, built friendships rooted in depth and resilience.

I kept helping others build businesses. Not to the level of success I had hoped to repeat, but with a deep appreciation of paying it forward.

Most of all, I found a deeper meaning — beyond success — in 2023.
My family grew.
I became a grandmother — a badass grandma.

Holding my granddaughter Kayliana in my arms, feeling the rhythm of her breath against my chest, I realized:
This is what “there” feels like.
That we chase to get to this point where your kids talk to you and you get to hold your grandchildren in a home your husband built, with food on the table and money in the bank.
I realized it wasn’t a number in a bank account, but love.
Security.
The freedom to gather my family around a table and laugh without fear.

I thought that was the final chapter.
That I had weathered the storms life could bring.
Smooth sailing, I thought.

When the Storm Came Again

In January 2025, just four days after I married my husband — after a ten-year courtship, after finally saying yes — we got married on a spiritual retreat and left for our honeymoon, so in love, so happy.

While we were away, the Palisades fire struck.
In a single night, we lost it all.

Our home.
My office.
My podcast studio.
Our cars.
Decades of memories, work, identity — gone.

We saved nothing. We weren’t even there.

A crushing blow.

Death without dying.

And once again, I stood at the crossroads.
Would I let adversity define me?
Or would I define myself — again — by conscious choice?

What I Am Learning About Receiving

After decades of giving, mentoring, building, and guiding others, I was suddenly cast into the spotlight of receiving.
At a level I could never have imagined.

Strangers — people I didn’t even know — stepped forward to support us.
They offered help, encouragement, financial support — whatever they could.
A tidal wave of humanity that lifted us when we could not lift ourselves.

At the time I am writing this, I am still in it.
The rebuilding will take years.
This chapter is far from over.

But here is the deeper truth I have learned:
Giving is the easy part. For those of us who have built ourselves from nothing, we have a deep desire to help others.
Receiving, surrendering, asking for help — that is the real act of courage.

True to form, I stepped into action even as I was learning the lesson.
I chose to surrender.
I chose to trust.
To believe that resonance — not force — is what brings the right people into your life at exactly the right moment.

It has been the single most emotional, humbling, and challenging thing I have ever done.

Building the Future — Together

Out of this surrender, something extraordinary is taking shape — something that has been my dream all along.

To serve not just conscious entrepreneurs, but entire communities.
To guide those who are called to lead.
To support founders of the future — founders who lead with voice, purpose, resilience, and heart.

This time, it is not about doing it alone.
This time, it is about building it together.

You don’t have to wait for disaster to find your way.
You don’t have to lose everything to discover your power.

You can choose now — to create a life and business that resonates with what matters most.

And I am here — walking that same journey, right alongside you.