Today we’d like to introduce you to Vivian Palmer.
Vivian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a young woman growing up in the ’70s, I was quickly labeled as a “tom-boy.” I loved to play sports and there weren’t many girls in my community with that same desire. I always found myself in classes and competitions with male students in and out of school. Track and field exercises, math competitions, spelling bees, you name it, it was always me against the boys. I didn’t care about that label at the time because I just loved to play and win. It took many years later for me to notice this pattern–that I was always competing in non-traditional fields dominated by men. Lucky for me, my female counterparts were there to cheer me on. For years to come, not much changed. In college, I majored in mathematics and minored in computer science–fields dominated by men. Later in life, I realized that my confidence and ability to compete amongst men was developed by my father. He had always encouraged me to go after my dreams no matter what the challenge or who the challenger. My dad was my biggest cheerleader. His confidence and encouragement gave me the drive to and desire to be the fastest runner, jumper, the best speller, reader, and math student. Not much has changed in my eagerness to excel as a woman. In every position I’ve held, I elevated to the top, found myself in male-dominated boardrooms, and it was sometimes a lonely endeavor. I needed change.
I began this journey to bring my sisters with me. As an athlete, you learned to give “pep talks” to your teammates, encouraging them to go hard and strong. On this journey, I’ve found that so many women in this world have never been told to “be bold and go after your dreams.”
When I began consulting, as a side hustle, I always needed support, so I looked for women who were smart and needed that extra push to exercise their talents. I was always looking for a fresh perspective and new possibilities. Contracting with women, opened me up to expanding my horizons and creating space for entrepreneurial collaborations. Over the years as an entrepreneur, I have partnered, contracted, and collaborated with hundreds of women–many have gone on to start their own businesses, obtain advanced degrees, and follow their dreams.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I began my career observing expert teachers. As a stay at home mom, I was deeply involved in all aspects of my daughter’s education in and out of school. It was important for me to know that every person that stood before her had the same goals, objectives, and values and would be an extension or supplement to what I was offering at home. Over time, I have come to understand that the universe has been preparing me for this position I hold as a Consultant and Educator, long before I ever knew it.
As I embarked on the first job that validated the start of my career, I was sharing knowledge with customers as a customer service representative for a local financial institution. I loved math, so anything dealing with numbers, data, and systems was attractive. I quickly moved up and held various positions that provided additional responsibilities given my drive and desire for learning.
It was very hard to establish as grounding or solidify a specific interest prior to my banking opportunity, given we were a military family and relocated every 9 to 24 months. Soon after, I went back to school to complete a degree in business administration at the local community college. This was a huge shift and return to goals I had, before becoming someone’s wife and mother, respectfully. Prior to getting married, I was determined to major in Mathematics and Computer Science at Western Michigan University. Fast forward, a few years and I realized that my hustle and drive to entrepreneurship was at my core. My very first business endeavor was a salon, and to my surprise and many others, it was a total success! A few years after opening, our family decided to relocate back to Detroit. I decided to sell the business to my lead barber and stylist. While I did continue to provide nail services in a pseudo-salon at my home in Detroit to test the opportunity, that concept faded quickly with the presence of my newborn and rambunctious 9-year old.
After a few years, I decided the best decision I could make was becoming an educator. It afforded me the opportunity to end my day early and enjoy the summers off with my children. However, my career as an educator ended shortly after I experienced the many layoffs and boycotts in education leading me to feel defeated. It was only fitting that my next business was a technology consulting service, training teachers and administrators. This was how I decided I’d found my calling, helping others learn and strategize on the best practices and methods to receive the outcomes they desired.
Which brings me to today, at The GoodLife Agency. This is my last and current business, that I have been continuously developing with my two beautiful daughters, whom I love and work with every day. They have kept me on this blazing path to empower women to break barriers.
The GoodLife Agency – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As a leader in this industry, nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment when we get to see the people and organizations that we invested our time with, grow and value the services that helped them improve professionally. I have always had an outcome-driven mindset. Maybe it’s the mathematical wiring of my brain, but for problem-solving and helping people and organizations, you must have technical skills. If you don’t, people will not immediately find the value of your input.
For example, many people think of a brand as just the look of a product. But for those of us in the service industry, brand messaging is an important factor for us as small business owners. As the owner of a company that has provided professional consulting services for over 20 years with multiple repeat customers, I can confidently say we have built a profitable brand. The key to success for our business is the customer. Let me repeat that statement with more context, our 20 plus years of success is due to our belief that “the customer experience queen.” If you provide good service, you will be rewarded with continued business. Over the years, it has been highly competitive for us as small business owners, but we continue to follow this customer-driven strategy with sustained performance. I must say it has allowed us to consistently grow our customer base and our business.
Leadership goes beyond technical skills. Our business model focuses on contracting services with other small businesses preferably those that are woman-owned. Women have the ability to invent, design, create amazing opportunities, build organizations, and profitable small businesses because we are innately humble and have a genuine desire to help others. Humility is the key, our hustle has kept us relevant
Another factor was finding the right people. Who are the right people? People who put the team and business first and egos aside, people who care about customers, people who care about the services we deliver, and people who have a driving passion for being successful and remember to be hard on the problems, not the people.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Jackie, my eldest daughter and business partner, is a brand master. My proudest moment occurred in 2017, when we decided to merge our companies together. This partnership helped drive my desire to develop a sustainable and profitable business that would result in generational wealth and success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 553 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, MI 48206
- Website: vivian@thegoodlifeagency.com
- Email: vivian@thegoodlifeagency.com
- Instagram: @goodlife_agency
- Facebook: @goodlife_agency
- Twitter: @goodlife_agency
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