–michele fling
When did you found your company?
In 1990, so I’ve been in business for 20 years now.
What did you do prior to that?
I was in banking. I was a bank manager [for] two different banks. I worked for Detroit Bank and Trust, and then I had a long career with Wells Fargo Bank.
Why did you decide to start your own company?
I decided to start my own company because basically I had burned out on banking. I had been in the business about 14 years all together [and] had a really good career. … However, there was so much downsizing and so forth that I was doing the work of actually four people. … So I just decided to step back and re-evaluate, and then decide if there was something else that I wanted to do. In stepping back and re-evaluating my life, what I realized was that my finances were out of control. So that ultimately led me to get the help that I needed, and I learned so much I said, ‘I think I can teach this to other people,’ and that’s when I started my business.
What did you do to rein your finances in?
It initially started out with me working with a coach … who helped me understand what my issues were and why I was overspending. … Once I got ahold of that — because I had been in banking and had such a solid financial background anyway — I knew what I needed to do, I just needed to understand why I hadn’t been doing what I needed to do.
It’s been said that success is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. What’s your equation for success?
I don’t know that I would go [with] 99 percent perspiration; I’d probably make it … 50 percent faith, 25 percent planning and 25 percent perspiration.
What pitfalls should women look out for in the quest to be successful?
The main thing is understanding how important and how valuable they are. Someone said to me a long time ago, ‘Everything about you is an asset,’ and I thought that was a phenomenal statement, and I’ve just lived with that. … The fact that I’m black, that’s an asset. The fact that I’m a woman, that’s an asset.
