Women Who Went for It! Podcast

  In this episode, Sara talks with Sondra Firestein about her journey from real estate agent to personal concierge. Sondra shares how she stumbled across her business idea, how she overcomes the critical voice in her head that could otherwise derail her, and how she grew her business, slowly and organically. Today, Sondra owns Pursuit Concierge, an on-demand personal assistance membership service that helps Seattle business owners, parents, and corporate climbers identify what they can delegate, and connects them with the resources necessary to make their personal and professional goals their reality.   Want to make your own career change?
Download Sara's Seven Cs of Successful Career Change Chart.   Sara and Sondra discuss:

• How they got connected
• Sara's interview with Erin Merrihew in Episode 012
• The messages Sondra got about "career" when she was growing up
• Her original dream of becoming an astronaut to solve the climate crisis
• Realizing she wasn't a scientist
• Getting a degree in architecture
• Considering becoming a sustainable interior designer
• Moving to Lake Tahoe
• Working in quality assurance at an appraisal management company
• Moving to Seattle
• Starting a career in real estate
• Side hustling in event design
• Seeing that her clients were too busy to meet with her
• Realizing that she didn't want to be in real estate or event design
• Feedback she received at a speed networking event that tipped her off to her future career
• What a personal concierge is
• The ways that we all already delegate in our lives
• How better delegation can improve relationships
• How her company's support helped change one person's life
• Figuring out how to start a concierge business through trial and error
• The evolution of her business vision
• How she made it work, financially
• Her slow, organic business growth
• How Sondra deals with that critical voice in her head
• Resource: Seattle-based mindfulness coaches, Tay and Val of M Meditation
• Sondra's networking resources and tips:
• • Gather Seattle
  • Business Networking International
  • FBomb Community
  • YPIN
• Sondra's advice for people starting their own businesses
• Where to connect with Sondra and Pursuit Concierge online
• ...and more!

Sondra's Full Bio: Over the last 5 years, Sondra Firestein has helped more than 100 Seattle professionals create room in their lives for what brings them joy with mindful delegation™. She founded Pursuit Concierge in 2014, after working as a real estate agent and for an elaborate event designer. Noticing her clients, like young newlyweds and first-time homebuyers, were stretched thin, she wanted to offer a solution that would empower them to overcome the overwhelm. Pursuit Concierge was created to be a work-life balance solution for entrepreneurs, corporate ladder climbers, and families.   Sondra works closely with her clients to help them identify what they can delegate, and connects them with the resources necessary to make their personal and professional goals their reality. Believing strongly that people are better contributors to society when they're well-supported, she devotes her time to nurturing her team, her clients, and her personal relationships, including the one with herself.   Connect with Sondra and Pursuit Concierge: Pursuit Concierge's website: pursuitofseattle.com Pursuit Concierge's Instagram: instagram.com/pursuitconcierge Sondra's Instagram: instagram.com/pursuitofsondra
Pursuit Concierge's "Thoughts" blog: pursuitofseattle.com/thoughts   Connect with Sara McArdle and Women Who Went for It: Facebook: www.facebook.com/womenwhowentforit  Website: www.womenwhowentforit.com  Nominate a Podcast Guest: www.saramcardle.com/podcast-guest  Email: womenwhowentforit@gmail.com  Phone: 503.893.2043   Want to make your own career change? Download Sara's Seven Cs of Successful Career Change Chart.