I graduated high school and started college when I was 16. I opened my first business when I was 20. I started young, and my passion for small businesses has never decreased. In fact, I've even had people call me "too passionate" about small business success. Between you and me, I don't think there is such a thing. I believe small businesses help shape our communities, and our communities help shape our world. We need a foundation of flourishing small businesses in order to build a thriving world. Period. The work that you are doing matters.
My first business was launched with my husband at the time. We offered painting and maintenance services in all of Washington. Most of our business was in Bellingham, where we had contracts with all of the dorms at WWU, and local apartment complexes. Additionally, we painted custom homes from Blaine to the Cowlitz River and all over the San Jan Islands. We ran several crews, and I managed all of the bids, customer service, scheduling, HR, and back-end work, including bookkeeping & payroll. My second business was a saxophone mouthpiece company. Together, with my partners, we took the business from an at-home garage business to a million-dollar manufacturing business in just about a year. I adored the unique problem-solving this business offered me (How do you get ligatures made in China? What is injection molding, and could it work for our mouthpiece covers? What is the best way to ship internationally? How can we shape our new mouthpiece to create the sound that musicians have been asking for?) |
I also loved working with musicians (like the great Jeff Coffin and amazing Tim Izo Orindgreff) and helping them find the tools they needed to achieve the sounds they were looking for. I also had the opportunity to work closely with our machine shop, learn lean manufacturing techniques, engage in constructive teamwork, and embrace conflict as a positive tool for optimal growth.
In 2010 I graduated from iPEC, one of the most highly acclaimed coaching schools in the world, and I launched my own Life Coaching business. I served clients all over the world (before telehealth was mainstream), and was highly successful both locally and internationally. In my second year of coaching, I was featured in the New York Times as a successful coach under 40. Locally, in Port Angeles, Wa (where I was located at the time), I co-wrote a grant that court mandated at-risk teens and their parents to attend a workshop that I designed to increase developmental assets. I wrote and developed 100% of the curriculum for this (and many other) educational courses. I was a keynote speaker for a variety of groups from the Soroptimists to Unity Church, I offered a series of classes and workshops across the Olympic Peninsula, hosted community enrichment & advocacy events in my community, and coached individuals and couples both locally and remotely.
My husband and I relocated to Bend in 2015, I moved my coaching business and I also began volunteering for Deschutes Circuit Court as a mediator, and the Downtown Bend Business Association (DBBA) as a business liaison. In 2018, the DBBA Executive Director had to resign suddenly, and the board of directors asked me to take over the position. Being excited to challenge myself with something new, I put my coaching business on hold and dedicated myself to the growth and development of Downtown Bend. Originally, I thought this would be a short-term gig until the board was able to find new leadership. It turned out, however, that I really loved the work - and furthermore, I was good at it. I was able to double the organization's income in 2 years, optimize programs to save money, and expand the scope of work so that the organization was serving local businesses in more ways. I successfully navigated the organization through the global pandemic that hit in 2020, and thanks to my previous work efforts, the organization had enough in reserves to operate even in the midst of a global pandemic canceling all fundraising events for two years.
In 2022, it was time to move on, and I resigned from my position as Executive Director of the DBBA. After taking some time off to recover from burnout, I discovered that I wanted to combine all of my strengths and skills - so, I met with family and friends, business owners and past coaching clients, and with their input, I created Two Sisters Business Solutions & Mindy Aisling Coaching.
I am profoundly grateful for the two businesses that have become the heartbeat of my professional journey. Two Sisters Business Solutions is not just a venture; it's a collaboration with my favorite person in the world – my sister. Working alongside her, I find immense joy in contributing to the success of small business owners, a passion that fuels my professional purpose.
Simultaneously, Mindy Aisling Coaching allows me to dive deep into the human experience, fostering transformative journeys and aiding in the evolution of lives. The balance of these two enterprises caters to my neurodivergent brain, craving variety and purpose. I am living a life that I love, engaged in work that resonates with my soul, and fulfilling what I believe to be my innate calling. Each day, I am reminded that I am doing precisely what I was born to do.
In 2010 I graduated from iPEC, one of the most highly acclaimed coaching schools in the world, and I launched my own Life Coaching business. I served clients all over the world (before telehealth was mainstream), and was highly successful both locally and internationally. In my second year of coaching, I was featured in the New York Times as a successful coach under 40. Locally, in Port Angeles, Wa (where I was located at the time), I co-wrote a grant that court mandated at-risk teens and their parents to attend a workshop that I designed to increase developmental assets. I wrote and developed 100% of the curriculum for this (and many other) educational courses. I was a keynote speaker for a variety of groups from the Soroptimists to Unity Church, I offered a series of classes and workshops across the Olympic Peninsula, hosted community enrichment & advocacy events in my community, and coached individuals and couples both locally and remotely.
My husband and I relocated to Bend in 2015, I moved my coaching business and I also began volunteering for Deschutes Circuit Court as a mediator, and the Downtown Bend Business Association (DBBA) as a business liaison. In 2018, the DBBA Executive Director had to resign suddenly, and the board of directors asked me to take over the position. Being excited to challenge myself with something new, I put my coaching business on hold and dedicated myself to the growth and development of Downtown Bend. Originally, I thought this would be a short-term gig until the board was able to find new leadership. It turned out, however, that I really loved the work - and furthermore, I was good at it. I was able to double the organization's income in 2 years, optimize programs to save money, and expand the scope of work so that the organization was serving local businesses in more ways. I successfully navigated the organization through the global pandemic that hit in 2020, and thanks to my previous work efforts, the organization had enough in reserves to operate even in the midst of a global pandemic canceling all fundraising events for two years.
In 2022, it was time to move on, and I resigned from my position as Executive Director of the DBBA. After taking some time off to recover from burnout, I discovered that I wanted to combine all of my strengths and skills - so, I met with family and friends, business owners and past coaching clients, and with their input, I created Two Sisters Business Solutions & Mindy Aisling Coaching.
I am profoundly grateful for the two businesses that have become the heartbeat of my professional journey. Two Sisters Business Solutions is not just a venture; it's a collaboration with my favorite person in the world – my sister. Working alongside her, I find immense joy in contributing to the success of small business owners, a passion that fuels my professional purpose.
Simultaneously, Mindy Aisling Coaching allows me to dive deep into the human experience, fostering transformative journeys and aiding in the evolution of lives. The balance of these two enterprises caters to my neurodivergent brain, craving variety and purpose. I am living a life that I love, engaged in work that resonates with my soul, and fulfilling what I believe to be my innate calling. Each day, I am reminded that I am doing precisely what I was born to do.