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Name: Katy Goshtasbi
Business: Puris Personal Brand Solutions (KG Consulting Group, Inc) a personal branding consulting group
Industry: Marketing & PR
Location: San Diego, California, U.S.
Reason for starting: We came to this country with two suitcases thinking we’d stay for two weeks while the unrest in Iran died down. We stayed a lifetime. As an immigrant, I practiced securities law for many years because I wanted to make a difference as a lawyer. I put myself through law school.
After 13 years of practice, I started to realize that the financial services industry, which I regulated, had lost much integrity. It was the day I had spent 13 hours drafting parts of a mutual fund prospectus. I went home and checked my mail. It just so happened that my own prospectus was in the mailbox. Reflexively and without thinking, I threw it away. That was my “aha” moment. I then quit my legal career before the recession. Some colleagues and friends thought I was nuts. Maybe I was, but I couldn’t keep practicing law.
During the first two years of my “retirement” as a lawyer, I saw an ad in a community college catalog that read, “What do Oprah, Bill Gates & Warren Buffet Have in Common?” The answer was; they were all practicing their natural talents. So I went to the workshop and learned excitedly and incredulously that my natural talent is in personal brand management for others.
Related: Read about another lawyer turned entrepreneur here.
How do you define success? Success is making a difference by fulfilling my commitment to stand for a cause greater than myself. Each time one of my clientele finds joy in all facets of their life, I am successful because I was a contribution and of service to the greater good.
My company mission that leads to my success: While appreciating the oneness of humanity, my goal is to highlight for others their specific talents and abilities in order to bring greater joy and success to all areas of their lives. This is how I do my part to cultivate a world of love and kindness where I promise through my example that no one is forgotten and everyone is appreciated.
Biggest success: Using my spirituality to discover I have a purpose greater than myself: to help others daily find their joy by being the best container for the teachings I am to bring others.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? Scaling my company growth: I address it by trusting that each new person I bring on will deliver on shared values and my overall goal to humanity. If I don’t trust in my intuition daily- I fail.
I started this business right before the recession. Initially, I had no idea where I was going with it. I only knew that it felt right and that I was happy utilizing my natural talents. I weathered the recession because: 1) I had faith and 2) my services were needed even if clientele didn’t really know it yet. Since my launch date, I have clarified the channels we service and why. I have focused to broaden, yet key in, our overall mission. I don’t look at anything as unforeseen- it is all there to teach lessons and open doors, even if some close first.
Related: A Dose of Inspiration from Indra Nooyi
Who is your most important role model? Richard Branson- he is flexible, ebbs and flows, maintains his spirituality and divinity and does it all with a smile.
[box_light]Website www.purispersonalbranding.com
Twitter @purisbranding
Facebook www.facebook.com/purispersonalbranding[/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange