No Money, No Backup, No Choice: How Branding Helped Me Rebuild Everything

Ten years ago, life was messy.

Not just the “figuring things out” kind of messy—but court dates, debt collectors, and hard conversations kind of messy.

Paul was stuck in a never-ending, contentious divorce that drained his energy and his bank account.I was still recovering—physically and financially—from the aftermath of a brutal cancer diagnosis.

We were in love, but we were also in survival mode.

And yet, with everything working against us, we made one powerful decision:

We were going to build something that couldn’t be taken away.

We didn’t start with funding or followers.

We didn’t have a team or a playbook.

But we had two things that mattered more:

A story worth sharing—and a brand worth building.

So we got scrappy.

My husband picked up a camera, just like he used to do when I worked in media. I sat in front of it—not as a polished expert, but as a woman who had been through the fire and was finally ready to use her voice again.

We created one brand. Then another. First came Speaker Life, to help other experts get visible and finally own their message.

Then came Legacy Jets, a luxury private jet charter company built on trust, relationships, and integrity.

We didn’t buy our way to success—we branded our way to it.

We showed up with heart, told our story with courage, and made offers that solved real problems.

We led with authenticity. We built with intention. And slowly but surely, we rose.

That’s the power of branding.

Not just pretty fonts or clever taglines.

Real branding—the kind that connects, converts, and creates

legacy—starts with truth.

And here’s what I’ve learned:

You don’t need to wait until life is perfect to build your million dollar

brand.

You don’t need permission to start.

You just need the guts to show up—and the clarity to turn your pain into purpose.

Because your brand isn’t just about business. It’s about who you become while you build it.