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Education Funding AKA "The Resolution"

I have an education funding business plan that will be know this year as... 'The Resolution.' Those around me may be tired of hearing about it, a lot of time and energy has been pumped ito it. I've had everyone from Utah Angels to the Mayor of Salt Lake review the business plan. They gave me great feedback, input and told me to keep going. I brought it to three school districts and they did the same. I found all of the resources and people necessary and put them on standby while I rounded up the means to develop the software for the residual education funding program I'd developed in an Ah Ha! moment.

Here's the story. I'd been an entrepreneur since I could remember. My parents worked hard, then bought and ran their own businesses. I was included in in a lot of discussions, meetings and creative sessions while also cleaning employee bathrooms, sending invoices and labeling thousands of envelopes in my early years. I had many enterprises and by 22, I was dealing in residential telecommunications design, paying for and building infrastructure that would one day become iCheetah - the fastest animal in the broadband jungle (A Utah WISP). Years later, this experience would evolve into large scale affiliate sales of while labeled technologies in VoIP, Internet services and more. I started a business with my then husband and we grew to a level I hadn't anticipated. Though moderately successful in business, we were unhappy and soon went to spend healing time in La Costa, California. To say that the little cottage surrounded with flowers and care free people was a help to me would be a drastic understatement. I started being more me while I was there. Free to sing outside, sleep in my own room and provide a home to a lizard who was my Imp of Creativity. I didn't know it at the time, but I was on my road to happiness - and to discovering My School and I.

My School and I came to me while I wrote ideas feverishly for days in a row jsut after my 30th birthday. It's when birds were talking to me, when I found my reptile friend in the garage, staring at me while I leaned down and just picked him up. In my small room with wooden walls and sweet, fresh air is where I realized how I could fund education - plus any charitable cause - using no additional monies from schools, tax payers, parents or private organizations. In fact, I knew how I could make them all money as well. For the first time in a long time, I was really excited. I wrote it out, discussed it with a few people, some of whom were jealous of the sheer scope of opportunity, let alone potential social impact.

I went to work.

And got derailed.

I think. I also think everything happens for a reason, so maybe it's just a perceptual thing. When I told my then husband about my idea, he promptly took me back to our Scottsdale home and bought me a Mexican food restaurant.

Nope, I'm not kidding. I didn't know when he saw the space, spit out the idea of Berto's to Go and eventually signed a lease that I was who he had in mind to run it. Our housekeeper and nanny's had run a food truck before so his idea was to have me own and operate while they managed and cooked. I didn't mind the idea so much, but I really wanted to fund schools. I saw a huge need and was antsy to work on working to fulfill those needs. So, we worked on the Mexican food concept for a while while still arguing and paying just over 5k a month to the beautiful Tatum Avenue location that never was to become Berto's.

Years later, I now live back in my home state of Utah. I've taken the education funding idea and business plan to anyone that has the potential to help me with it. Joy Howes, a Utah educator, helped in the early stages to make it kid friendly. Bank of the West said "I don't know how anyone hasn't thought of this before. It's so... simple." The Mayor helped to point out data that would be a helpful addition and the Utah Angels let me know that I didn't need enough just yet for them to fund, but keep going. And so, I have kept going.

This New Year will be it. I have built up my marketing and consultancy business and currently work with companies that both will compliment or work with the school funding business while also providing enough growth opportunity for me to pay for the last stretch of software necessary to complete the program. (Whew!) Once fully funded, it will take no more than 90 days to finish the foundation, begin implementing and use to fund schools long term and for free. Parents, educators and districts will recoup badly needed funds and we will be able to focus on the quality of Education in our Country once again.

My New Year's Resolution?

To finish what I started three years, nine months ago. To finish a program I have fought long and hard for in just about every area of my life. To my girls and their future and to the future of the generations to come.

Happy New Year's Eve.

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