Ladies Who Lunch Together Frequently

March 9--FRESH SIDE, Amherst:  I met my friends and housing colleagues Donna Crabtree, Executive Director of the Amherst Housing Authority, and Rita Farrell, Senior Advisor, Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP).  Our lives continue to intersect and we have been lunching, sharing stories, and talking shop for over 25 years.  I consider myself lucky to have these frequent lunchers in my life.

Learn From Those Who Have Gone Before You

So I went to lunch recently with Lisa Thompson.  Lisa is someone that knows me very well since we met 31 years ago (when I was 7).  Lisa has had her own business as a family therapist in Western, MA for many years.  Her business is called Share Vision and the website is http://www.sharevision.net/.

We met at Judie's in Amherst, MA. (http://www.judiesrestaurant.com/)  The main thing to know about Judie's is that it has legendary popovers.  If you check out their website - you can see a picture of one - and that is about the extent of the website.  I got one and enjoyed every morsel.

Lisa and I talked about my new business and what kind of work I wanted to do.  We also discussed running this consulting business out of my house.  Lisa has run her business both out of her house and now has an office separate from her house.  Not really sure which way to go - there are certainly advantages to both.

Lisa also mentioned that there are a couple of people she wants to introduce me to.  Both of these people are currently in a similar business to my new business.  One is an accountant (focusing on taxes - which I don't do) and another owns a business services company.  Perhaps we can provide referals to each other.  I asked her to set up lunches with them and so more blogs to follow.

It was great to see Lisa and to talk to her about some of my ideas. Talking to someone who is already running her own small businesses helps me learn from the experience that she shares.  And we had fun!