Not every bride wants to wear their mom’s outdated wedding gown with puffy sleeves and sequins from the 1980s. But many wives-to-be do want to preserve the memories associated with that garment. That’s where Grace Lightner comes in.   

In 2017, Lightner founded Unbox the Dress with her mother, Lorraine Stewart. The company helps women redesign wedding dresses, whether that be their own or a family member’s, into heirloom gifts that last a lifetime. Customers can select from dozens of product options, turning sentimental fabric into baby booties or holiday ornaments. 

The business concept has been so wildly successful that Lightner expanded to a 4,500-square-foot production studio and design facility during the pandemic. We spoke with Lightner to hear more about what it took to wade into the waters of entrepreneurship as a woman in her 20s. 

What’s the origin story of Unbox the Dress?

I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family — my grandparents ran a local brick and tile manufacturing plant and my mom started her own consulting practice. I’ve always had that itch to start something of my own, but I was just waiting for the right idea to give me the confidence to take that jump. 

I was helping my mom clean out my grandmother’s house and we found a few boxed wedding dresses. Of course, when you’re cleaning out a house you’re in a very get it done, donate or trash kind of mindset. But when we came to these wedding dresses, we just stopped dead in our tracks. 

Since the dresses belonged to my aunts, we called them to see what they wanted us to do with them. The emotional reaction they had in response to these dresses that they hadn’t even seen for 20 years fostered a lightbulb moment. We realized these dresses are more than garments — they have all this sentiment tied up in them and yet they’re not serving any purpose. We asked ourselves, “What else could we do with this beautiful fabric and lace?” That was the impetus for Unbox the Dress. I started the business with my mom and it’s just grown like crazy.

Many people warn that you shouldn’t work with family. What has the experience of launching a business with your mom been like? 

I’m very fortunate that I have a positive relationship with Lorraine. We had a good foundation and knew that we could work together well. I think a lot of that comes from our complementary strengths. While I’m a little bit more creative and action-oriented, she’s more planning-oriented and data-minded. We’re able to listen to each other and then push each other in a good way.

Before founding Unbox the Dress, you worked in corporate marketing. What was it like learning how to launch your own endeavor?

That’s a fair question because I’ve learned so much. You have to like the learning process. I’m a person who likes change. If you’re someone who takes comfort in doing the same thing every day and going really deep and perfecting your skills in one area, starting a company isn’t the right choice for you. What I was doing six months ago is completely different from what I’m doing today and what I was doing six months before that was completely different too. It’s always changing, so you have to love learning and love changing your role.  

For example, our team is growing so lately I’ve taken on more HR responsibilities. I’m figuring out how to engage a larger group of people and orient new people to the team. I didn’t do much of that at all in our first couple of years.  

I definitely built on my background in marketing and advertising. The kind of business we decided to build is so tied into storytelling and we always knew we were going to be a digitally savvy company. So, of course, that foundation was very helpful but I think it’s more the propensity to want to learn and grow and create something from scratch that makes you a good candidate to found a company. 

What motivated you to take that leap and leave your corporate job? 

I’m really thankful for the period of time after college when I had a steady corporate marketing job because I was able to learn a lot and develop my skills. I know some people start a company right out of school, but I’m happy that I had the chance to learn from different mentors. 

At the same time, I had been experiencing a lot of migraine pain. I’m a chronic migraine patient and my lifestyle of working 60 hours a week and living in downtown Chicago wasn’t allowing me to really care for myself. I re-evaluated what was important to me, and ended up moving from Chicago back home to make that change. It was definitely a scary leap. I didn’t take a salary for a long time as we grew the business. You have to believe in your idea and get personal fulfillment from the process of building a business from scratch. 

What’s something you can do now as an entrepreneur that you couldn’t do working a 9-to-5?

I’m a night owl but corporate America requires a set schedule. There were many times when I would have a migraine in the morning and not be able to work, but then I was able to pull myself out of it and have a substantial chunk of work time in the evening. I’m a firm believer that it’s more about what you accomplish, not how many hours you put in each week. 

You opened your first production facility during the pandemic, correct? 

Right. Previous to that we were working with a network of subcontracted seamstresses, but we always knew we wanted to have everybody under one roof because it’s more efficient and more fun. That’s what brought us to North Carolina in the middle of a pandemic. 

Wow. That must’ve been difficult. What skills or tactics have you used during these challenging times to stay focused and motivated?

Whether you’re leading a company or managing a department, it’s really easy to get caught up in the tactical stuff that can fill up your plate. So I think it’s important to make time for the high level, big impact, energizing kind of work. It’s important to give yourself permission to take a half-day and just dream big because that’s what gives you the gas in your tank to go the distance in the long run.

Have you encountered any barriers as a female business owner that you didn’t expect?

We decided to grow the business through venture capital and it’s no secret that the percentage of venture capital funds that go to women-owned businesses is pretty abysmal. I think it’s like three percent. There are some emerging funds in the community to try to catalyze investing in minority owners and women owners, which is wonderful, but it has been a challenge to communicate our value to people who aren’t necessarily in our target market.

We primarily serve women customers and they understand the powerful connection between sentimental gifting and connecting generations of women. I’ve definitely pitched to audiences of just men. Are they really going to believe in the idea and see the potential in the same way that a group of women would? Maybe, maybe not. 

This is something to be aware of and it’s something I hope to improve in my career because I think women make fantastic owners and leaders. We bring a whole different set of experiences to the table.

Earlier you mentioned that your mom owned a consulting firm. Can you talk more about that? Is it fair to say that she inspired you to branch out on your own?

Absolutely. My mother had four children and started a consulting practice that basically helped major companies find the right advertising agency suppliers. I don’t know how but Lorraine did it all. She was so involved with her children but then we were able to see her put on her suit and go do amazingly well in her own career working with incredible companies from all over the country. 

She was just like superwoman to me. I’m so thankful to have her. From the very beginning, she was someone who said, “Yes, you know you can do this.” She helped point out the indicators that we were onto something that was striking a nerve. It’s so important to have someone who believes in your dreams the way that you do so that in those moments when you have doubt, you have someone else to say, “Stay the course.”

What else did your mom teach you growing up that made you into the leader you are today?

I’m very free-spirited and very action-oriented. I think that my mom helped me find ways to methodically move toward the goals that I set, even from a really early age. We poke fun at her but even in middle school, she helped us have goal-setting sessions. She would ask, “What do you want to achieve by the end of the year? How do you think we can do it?” It could’ve been anything — creative or academic. 

How has your leadership style evolved as Unbox the Dress has evolved?

In the very early days, I did all aspects of the business. I was very, very involved. But now as we’ve grown, I’ve had to take different aspects of what I once did and hire people on as the experts. If you’re doing a good job at recruiting your team, you’re hiring people who have more experience and better skills for that specific piece of the business than you do. For example, my production manager comes from a background in theatrical costume design. She managed a student theatrical costume department at a university and is much more technically skilled than I am. She’s so great at coaching our sewing team. As the business grows, I have to rely on my team and make a safe space for them to tell me what they need. 

I try to create a safe space and say, “If there’s a piece of equipment you need or a person that you need on your team or if you have an idea for how to improve a process, please come tell me.” I no longer have the capacity to be as deeply involved in all areas of the business. Establishing those trusting and open relationships with key team members is something that I’ve been working on and enjoying because it’s rewarding to see people embrace your mission just as much as you do.

Creating a safe space sounds very important to you. Is that something you experienced in your previous workplaces? Or is that something that you lacked but now want to foster for your own employees? 

It’s a mix of both. One reason why I love the startup world is the fact that a good idea can be implemented very quickly. In my personal experience in corporate America, a good idea is often heard and recognized but almost always put on the back burner because of resources or just other burdens. But at a startup, you can apply a good idea as soon as you come up with it. I love that about where we’ve come from and I hope to make that a part of our culture even as we grow bigger. 

In 1994, brothers Bert and John Jacobs started the Life Is Good company, an American apparel retailer founded on a relentless belief in the power of positivity. Ten years later, freelance graphic designer Jenny Moates did something similar. 

Hoping to provide more value to clients, Moates and her husband, Brian, established Moving Ideas in 2004. Just one year later and with opportunities in front of them, Jenny invited Yvette Salerno, her lifelong friend and a marketing executive with Bank of America, to join forces as her business partner. At face value, Moving Ideas is a strategic marketing and graphic design agency focused on providing astute brand communications. But like the Life Is Good company, Moving Ideas also spreads the word of optimism. 

“Positivity is a core philosophy personally, but it also drives business results,” says Moates. “When you have a positive attitude, you’re going to have better ideas.”

We chatted with Moates, whose official title is Chief Possibilities Officer, to learn more about the role of positivity in graphic design. 

What motivated you to open Moving Ideas?

I wanted to grow beyond a freelance business and, in 2004, it felt like the right time to do that. I was already working with other partners — folks who are contractors who we still work with today. The whole thing was starting to feel much bigger than me. It evolved to require a team effort. 

Opening an agency also gives your clients access to a larger talent pool. As a freelancer, you’re just one person. But as a business, you can do so much more with a group of people. As with any business, the success of what you offer is 100 percent about the people involved. That’s why I don’t like titles because, at the end of the day, it’s about who produced the best ideas and the best results, no matter their title.

Speaking of titles, you’re the Chief Possibilities Officer at Moving Ideas. What does that mean?

Technically on legal documents, I am the president but that doesn’t say a whole lot. We prefer to have more creative titles around here, so I’m the Chief Possibilities Officer which fits my role as essentially the creative director. 

My business partner, Yvette Salerno, is the Chief Reality Officer. We have a lot of fun with that because it fits our dynamic. She and I have an amazing balance. The things that she’s good at aren’t necessarily the things I’m good at and vice versa. Our clients benefit from a very well-rounded approach. 

What lessons have you learned as a business owner?

One piece of advice that was given to me — and it’s been rock solid since the very beginning — is that you should always be a cash business. Don’t go into debt. Borrowing money was something I could’ve easily done over the years, but being strategic about the money we spent allowed us to hold on during the very lean times. It’s good to embrace challenges like the recession and the pandemic, pull the team together, and say, “Okay, how are we going to keep moving forward?” 

I also believe in this principle: give more in value than you take in payment. If you always do that, the work will come. Our group has always been that way. We have retainer clients that go above in terms of monthly hours but we’re okay with that because we want to give more in value than we take in payment. Many creative agencies aren’t necessarily invested in the business results of their clients. But to me, good design is just a baseline — it’s expected. Driving business results is what separates us from other agencies. More importantly, it’s what gives value to our clients.

Your website describes you as someone who leads with an “optimistic approach.” Can you unpack that? 

I just have an overarching philosophy in life that optimism leads to more success. I believe that having a positive, can-do attitude will get you through difficult times. If you look at kids who are in the hospital suffering, for instance, it’s positivity that pushes them past those hard things.

Optimism is also a key cornerstone of any good business. One of the books that I’m reading right now is called “Life Is Good.” It’s by the two brothers who started the Life Is Good brand. Their whole brand is built on optimism, and they’ve been so successful because the world craves positivity. We need positivity.  

What’s your secret to staying positive even when times are tough?

I’ve had people ask me, “How are you happy all the time?” And I say, “Well, it’s better than the alternative, right?” But here’s the thing you must understand: Optimism is not necessarily happiness. Optimism is just a positive outlook. As I said, a child in a cancer ward isn’t necessarily happy but they can still be optimistic and hope for a positive outcome. It’s not false happiness — it’s just a way of looking at the world. 

One of the things I love in “Life Is Good” is that the authors suggest saying “I get to go to work” instead of “I have to go to work.” It just completely changes your mindset. I get to go to work. I get to go to this amazing place and work with my best friend. I get to have fun. I get to be creative. I get to do this and get paid for it. That’s so crazy, right? 

I will say that my hope is fueled by my faith. I’m a very faithful Christian, and I believe that God is with me and in me. He’s the one in control. I’ve seen him move mountains in my life personally and professionally. That gives me tons of optimism.

Continuing to learn and grow as a leader is essential to providing those outcomes. With that being said, what’s a new skill you’re developing right now? 

I’m always learning how to better use technology. I’m a big believer that technology can make you more efficient, it can make your life easier, and it can create better results for your clients. So that’s an ongoing learning process for me. When I was a kid, my grandmother would say, “If you stop learning, you’re dead.” I think she’s right. You should always be reading and talking to others. 

Listening to other people’s perspectives is a great way to learn too. In 2017, I published a book called “50 Coffees.” It was a social experiment to meet 50 people a year over coffee as a way of building community. In doing so, I learned a lot about the importance of relationships. I wrote a book so I could help other people who are like me — people who are good at what they do but not so good at building community. 

Over the years, how have you balanced being a business owner and a mother?

I don’t feel like my family has to take a backseat. I’ve never felt that way. I think you can be a good example for your children while doing good things in the business world. I have three kids — one is a junior in high school, one is in seventh grade, and one is in sixth grade — and I don’t feel like I’ve had to sacrifice anything. That’s mainly because I have flexibility here. We’re a culture that embraces family values. 

You’re never going to look back on your life and wish you worked more. So while I want to do good work and serve our clients, family comes first. We even have an employee’s kid who is homeschooled and goes to school in our office. She’s grown up with this business since the very beginning. She knows what clients are and will even look at logos and say, “I like this one, but what if you changed this?” Family is just a huge priority here.    

Very few people hope there comes a day when their job is obsolete. Then there’s Neville Poole. 

As the North America Enterprise Agility Partner for IBM, Poole collaborates with C-suite executives of Fortune 500 companies to develop new technology strategies that modernize their ability to deliver value. Simply put, her job toggles between business and technology consulting. But when she envisions the future, she sees something entirely different.

“The future of business is not business and IT,” says Poole. “The future of business is an organization that is laser-focused on delivering business outcomes. Consulting then becomes about solving organizational problems, not selling widgets.”

We spoke with Poole to hear more about how a marketing major from a small historically black college climbed the ranks to work for one of the largest technology and consulting companies in the world.  

This is a two-part question: Would you say the business and technology industries are male-dominated? If so, why?

Yes, these industries are very much dominated by men. 

There are a couple of different reasons why. A lot of women never found a connection with technology as young girls. If you look at the STEM programs, there’s not a lot of girls because we do a poor job explaining the available opportunities. Technology is just presented as someone writing a bunch of code, but that might not be the right entrance for everybody — girls and boys — into the field. 

Today, there’s a lot of effort to expose young girls and boys to STEM. I have a daughter in middle school and I get emails all the time for classes like Girls Who Code. Now, there are all these initiatives to expose women to the field. But before, the industry just wasn’t geared toward girls. 

Also, technology roles can be super demanding and a lot of women exit the field because they can’t balance their family and a job in IT. Technology jobs are demanding and, until recently, it was frowned upon to balance your job and home life. It was like, “Oh, you can’t work 60-hour weeks? What’s wrong with you?” Over the last couple of years and especially this last year with COVID, organizations have become more aware of the imbalance. 

What are some barriers that existed at the start of your career that have since evolved?

When I first started in IT, the biggest barrier was mentorship. I didn’t come from a traditional technology background. Since I was a marketing and economics major, I had created a network that was very different from the field I was going into. I didn’t have men or women who could be my voice to help me get opportunities.

That was a big barrier because my counterparts had mentors in the technology industry that they’d known for a long time. But now, because of the emphasis on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, many organizations are being very intentional about ensuring everyone has a sponsor to help them maneuver through the organization or their career at large. Organizations are being super intentional about setting people up for success and giving them the tools that they need.

Throughout your career, you have continuously climbed the ranks and accepted bigger and better opportunities. What’s the secret to your success?

It’s important for me to feel like I’m adding value and being challenged. If at any point in my journey both of those pieces aren’t true, then it’s time to be vulnerable and do something that stretches me. 

When I’m asked to do something uncomfortable, I have to ask myself, “Have I created a succession plan? If I were to leave this role, who would be my successor?” I have this natural knack for coaching. I always want to be providing knowledge to enable someone else to step in and be ready for their next challenge. 

It’s interesting that you always consider who will be your successor. Why is that?

I actually think about it when I start a new role — I don’t wait until the end. For example, within my first month at IBM, I identified some people on my team who, if I were to move on, would be the next leaders of this group. So I started coaching them without them even knowing it. 

I’m always thinking about how I can add more value. That way, when I get tapped on the shoulder or identify an area I want to explore, I can leave the area better than when I found it. I can feel great about leaving it in the hands of people who care and want to see the company grow. 

Did you have mentors who, as you do with select employees now, started coaching you without you realizing it?

Yes. I can look back and identify two people who did that. I didn’t realize it at the time but they took a liking to me and gave me some of their pet projects. Later on, I realized they were testing me, trying to see if I could handle it.

More people need to acknowledge they have a responsibility to help. There’s somebody in your network, in your neighborhood, or in your company who has the potential to do something they didn’t even think was possible. They just need a leader to give them a little nudge and give them a place to learn. If I were to retire tomorrow and I hadn’t shared any of my knowledge or experiences except to make money for my company, that’s just not cool. 

It doesn’t matter what level of leadership you’re in, there’s always somebody who needs support. It’s not always convenient to set aside time to do it, but it’s a failure if you, as a leader, walk away and haven’t equipped anyone else.

Of course, self-growth never stops. What new skills are you developing today?

A big focus for me right now is leadership development. Working with the C-suite of Fortune 500 companies, especially right now in a pandemic, I have to stay several steps ahead in my research and my strategies to help them. That’s something I’m working on — anticipating what’s next for my clients.

I’m also advancing on how to communicate with CEOs who risk their entire livelihoods if their companies don’t turn around post-pandemic. I have a lot of empathy and I need to tether that. I want my clients to feel comfortable and know that I feel for them but I also have to quickly turn that empathy into something productive. I don’t always have a day or two to think about it. Many times, I have to come up with a plan while I’m on the phone with the client. That skill is ever-evolving.

Another thing is feeling comfortable with my skills and taking them to an industry I’m passionate about. When you’re coming up in your career, you don’t get to pick and choose. You take what you can get, make the best of it, learn, and move on. But I’m at the point now where I can pick what industry I want to work in, what type of work I want to do, and where — whether it’s for IBM or if I decide to do something on my own. I can now step out and make that call.

Why’s it important that you impart lasting value?

It’s a personal thing. I grew up in a very poor area and went to an HBCU. I always felt like I needed to take five steps to match another person’s single step. So I’m always trying to demonstrate that I can bring something valuable to the table.

Growing up the way I grew up, I always wanted to prove that I could accomplish something. That has carried forth with me my entire career. I’m always going into situations thinking, “How are they going to perceive me when I walk away?” I want to walk away feeling like I did good and provided the value they expected so they won’t hesitate to do business with another black woman in the future. There aren’t many black people in IT, so I want to bring my A-game all the time so that someone else has the opportunity to show up. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Just believe in what you know and be transparent about what you don’t. There are lots of leaders who tell people, “Fake it ‘til you make it.” I just can’t do that. When you’re transparent about what you don’t know, it opens up so many opportunities for you to learn, grow, and create trusted relationships. 

I would also tell my younger self to be vocal. Don’t suppress it because you think you’re being bodacious. Speaking up is huge because I never did. I would wait until somebody called my name and, if they didn’t, I didn’t offer input. I tell my daughters all the time, “Don’t hesitate to say it.”

Charlotte is an entrepreneurial haven — a thriving metropolis where growth-oriented companies can put down roots and flourish. But the Queen City wasn’t always so hospitable towards business owners. 

In 2003, when Terry Cox moved from San Francisco to Charlotte, she noticed a dearth of entrepreneurial culture. “There was no ecosystem or connectivity,” says Cox. “Entrepreneurs were out there swimming upstream alone.”

Two years later, Cox founded Business Innovation & Growth (BIG), a membership organization that fosters a peer-to-peer network of like-minded companies. Through offering mentoring for early-stage entrepreneurs, access to resources and capital, and best practices for high-growth enterprises, BIG has emerged as a daily staple in Charlotte’s business scene. Cox also serves as the Executive Director at TechWorks Gaston, a learning center design to create economic opportunity for businesses and residents in Gaston County.

We spoke with Cox — the unofficial matriarch of the city’s entrepreneurial movement — to learn more about what it takes to be a woman in business. 

You’ve accomplished a lot in your career: You worked as a CPA. You ran a wholesale and retail ice cream business in Georgia. You took over the helm at the Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council. With all of that experience under your belt, what motivated you to found BIG?

When I moved to Charlotte from San Francisco, I was searching for high growth entrepreneurs and when I talked to each person, I realized no one knew one another. I was like, “This is crazy.” I came from San Francisco where there’s such an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the Silicon Valley. In Charlotte, there was a huge void that needed to be filled.   

What were the challenges of founding a peer-to-peer network in the Queen City?

Most venture capital firms have never seen enough deal flow come out of Charlotte to warrant having an office here, much less even spending a day in Charlotte. They just fly right through Charlotte and on to Raleigh. They don’t even stop to see what companies are here. 

That’s slowly changing. We are now on the radar of investors because we got very intentional about building out the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In 2006, I realized we needed to build a critical mass of entrepreneurs and then seek capital. But you’ve got to find entrepreneurs who are willing to take that bet with you. You have to have a compelling value proposition for them to do something they haven’t seen before.

Were there any other personal or professional challenges rooted in moving to the East Coast?

The biggest challenge for me was the culture. Charlotte has a very conservative culture whereas San Francisco does not. San Francisco is very much about taking risks. It’s a different mindset but you’ve got to listen, observe, alter your behavior and strategy accordingly. 

For example, when I moved from San Francisco to Charlotte, I appeared pretty aggressive for the first year. I was aggressive in terms of my thinking. I was just like, “Let’s go. Let’s just get on with it.” I had to learn how to slow down and meet others where they are. 

Funny enough, in the early nineties, I moved from Savannah, Georgia, to San Francisco and that was a huge culture shock for me. Holy cow. I spent so much time trying to get rid of my southern accent. I would replay a voicemail message over and over and over before I hit “send.” They thought southern bells were dumb gals. 

You make an interesting point about cultural differences. In your experience, how do San Francisco and Charlotte compare in terms of attitudes towards women in business? 

When I went out to California in 1993, the firms I worked with were much more open-minded about promoting and encouraging women. They were also definitely more accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals and other minorities. It was just a melting pot out there.  

We’re probably ten years behind that in Charlotte. It’s just shocking to me that women still have a tougher road here. It’s unconscious bias. A lot of men don’t even realize how they think of women, perceive women, and treat women. It’s just ingrained in them. It’ll take a long time to reverse this but I think we’ve made some headway. 

For instance, I’m thrilled by how many more female startups I’m seeing. Female and minority-owned startups are finally getting capital, even though historically that’s been hard for them. We’re finally getting somewhere. There’s truly a strong women’s movement happening and I hope it continues. 

What is your professional personality style?

I am who I am. I’ve never tried to be anything different. For instance, I can’t be political. I just can’t play politics, especially corporate politics. I’m just not a politically-minded person. 

I always take the high road. I believe very much in integrity and honesty and transparency. I’m always considering my reputation and brand because, at the end of the day, that’s all I have. When I put my head on my pillow at night, I have to own what I did that day. I’ve got to feel good about it. If I was being told to do something that wasn’t ethical, I would walk out the door before I’d stay for the paycheck. 

All that being said, I don’t work for the money. I work to drive impact and change.

You work to drive impact and change. Can you provide an example of when you did just that?

I worked with county commissioners in Gaston County to push this model we have — this model that promotes entrepreneurship, technology, co-working, tech education, and more. At the time, Gaston County didn’t have an entrepreneurial center. It didn’t have an ecosystem for scalable entrepreneurs because the people who live there hadn’t been exposed to that culture. 

Though they had never seen this concept before, it hit home when I told one of the county commissioners, “Your grandkids are not coming back to this county. We need to start to create an ecosystem that creates and supports jobs for the future of Gaston County.” 

Earlier you noted that you never work for the money. Has that always been your philosophy?

Years ago, I ran my own business in Savannah, Georgia, and was one of maybe three female business owners in the whole city. I struggled. It was hard. So when I left that behind, it was nice to just be making good money. That’s when, like many other people, I became a victim of money. I started staying at jobs, not because I was happy, but because of the money.

I got stuck on that career track. I was working all the time, making decent money, and enjoying that money. But when my mother came to visit me one time, she said, “You’ve become a person I no longer know.” I was like, “Wow.” It hit me right between the eyes. 

I had become very aggressive. I was in a highly competitive culture — a firm of Type A people — and to survive I had to be like that. But when my mother made her comment, I left the whole game and chose to travel the world for a few years. Now, I’ve come back to the business world with a different approach. I’m driven by purpose, not money. 

I won’t lie — sometimes I still get frustrated because I don’t make the money I used to make. But I’ve developed a huge, meaningful network and great relationships. And that’s what makes me happy day in and day out — relationships.