MaryPat has been the owner of several businesses, but she originally fell into entrepreneurship. “I didn’t want to start my own business,” said MaryPat. “I also didn’t want to settle for a job that didn’t fit my lifestyle, budget and needs. So I started my own business to have an income until I could find the right job. I realized early on that I wasn’t cut out for a corporate job and that I was passionate about helping others in business.”

One of the greatest rewards that MaryPat has experienced as a business owner has been to watch how her own entrepreneurial spirit has affected her daughter. “I realized how I empowered my daughter to be a leader and an independent thinker,” said MaryPat. “When she was interviewing for college, I overheard a conversation with an admissions counselor and realized that SHE was doing the interview – asking all the questions about the college to make sure it was a good fit for her. I was so proud!”

After taking the free Which Jane Are You? assessment at www.JaneOutoftheBox.com , MaryPat has discovered that she is a Jane Dough. “Jane Dough fits me because that type is usually visionary and has big dreams. I have also held a big vision for myself and I have learned that my business vision is instrumental in accomplishing the lifestyle I want, and it is important in affecting the people in this world who need me and my services. I have owned a handful of businesses – some successful and some not so successful. It took me a while to mold this business into one that served both me and my clients together.”

MaryPat puts her Queen of Connections expertise to work when she gives advice to other Jane Doughs. “Calling Jane Doughs – connect with other Jane Doughs!” said MaryPat. “Sometimes it gets lonely when we have such a large vision that our friends and family don’t ‘get it!’ It is so refreshing to connect with other women who are big thinkers and motivated as I am. Often, we get so caught up in running our business that we feel like we ‘fit in’ better in our business than we do in real life. Look for great women who are visionaries just like us!”

MaryPat can attest to the fact that your Jane Type changes over time. “I definitely started out as an Accidental Jane,” said MaryPat. “I quickly became Tenacity Jane, but when I realized that I could have a business that I ran and it didn’t run me – that I really was allowed to sleep at night and take a day off to spend with my kids or to just watch a movie – THAT’s when I shifted into Jane Dough.”

MaryPat is the Director of Relationships, Joint Ventures & Social Media for Jane Out of the Box. “I am passionate about Jane Out of the Box because I met Michele when she first ‘birthed’ Jane and the vision. I love helping women entrepreneurs in their business and lifestyle and I want to share knowledge so that other women can avoid some of the entrepreneurial pitfalls I have experienced. My Jane Job is to connect Jane to other experts who can share THEIR knowledge and experiences with the Jane community as a valuable resource for the Jane community and the world. The more women who we can connect with and get valuable insights and information, the more changes Michele can make with large companies who provide services for us but have never asked us the right questions to discover what we want and need.”

In my interview with Mary Pat, she answers the question, “Where do you start with social media?” Listen to our six minute discussion, and let us know your thoughts!

As President and Chief Marketing Strategist, MaryPat has helped numerous entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses. Her particular talent lies in facilitating profitable and long-lasting strategic partnerships and joint ventures for her clients.

MaryPat originally became an entrepreneur by default when she found she couldn’t earn the kind of money she wanted doing what she wanted to do by working for someone else. When she did land the “dream job,” she then learned how frustrating it can be to work for someone else!

So, MaryPat happily returned to entrepreneurism because she loves having the freedom to choose her clients, her job description, her workload, and her schedule.

The greatest rewards MaryPat has experienced are being able to control how she uses her time and loving the work that she does with her clients. As she said, “The ability to spend more time working on particular projects that I LOVE and to spend more quality time with my family WHEN I want. I feel very fortunate to spend my ‘working’ time on my passion instead of something that would qualify as ‘the daily grind.”