By Rose Ficco with Rose’s Fiscotti Gifts

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If someone had told me in 2014 that I was going to run two businesses or that I would be baking cookies, I would have laughed until my ribs hurt. While I spent over 25 years working for several organizations, my world came to a halt at my last job because I was let go for ‘no cause’. This should have devastated me, but I just turned fifty and was motivated to reinvent myself.

You see, when I was fired, I felt liberated. I spent many years working for others but deep down I knew I wanted to run my own business. Being let go was just the opportunity I needed. But, when it happened, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Well, I did know, but it was too many things that didn’t make sense. Maybe because when I had to sit down and write out all my skills, I was all over the map as I’ve had a colorful career.  

So, how did it all start? Well, with me thinking that I wanted to be a Professional Organizer. I took the course, got the certificate, registered Rose to the Rescue as the company name and went out looking for clients. Without getting into the nitty gritty of it all, it didn’t work out mainly because in 2014, the concept of being an organizer wasn’t as popular as it is today. As a result, I was back at the drawing board. While I didn’t want to give up my company name, I wanted to figure out how to use it but for something different. That’s when I came up with being a Virtual Administrator. Now, this worked out as I had developed quite a few skills in my past career, and this allowed me to accumulate clients on short- and long-term projects for the last eight years.

While I was getting into the groove of running my first business, I stumbled upon another idea while working with my administrative clients. You see, working on your own means you need to validate the time you spend trying to earn a living. You’re not getting paid weekly or bi-weekly anymore. You’re getting paid when you invoice a client for the work you completed. And while I did work, I wasn’t bringing in as much as I would if I was in the ‘corporate world’.

When I came up with this new business idea, at no point was I thinking about being a baker. If my mom was alive, she would tell you I don’t bake. But I do love food, and I love a particular cookie my mom used to make. Mom wasn’t around to make it anymore, so I called my aunt for the recipe. This is how Fiscotti Cookies came to life.

It’s a longer story, but to answer the question – Now that your business has been operating a few years, are you doing today what you thought you would be doing when you came up with your business idea?

No, it isn’t. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Contact Rose Ficco at fiscotticrew@gmail.com or on Social Media: Facebook or Instagram

The post October 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Rose Ficco with Rose’s Fiscotti Gifts

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Music is a form of therapy for me. Each song represents a moment in time, whether it was my first dance, first kiss, first breakup, or a big Italian wedding, of which I’ve attended too many to count. Just listening to a playlist of old songs brings me back to so many good memories. I am that girl who gets goose bumps and shivers when the song makes me feel the music… there’s no better feeling as you get lost in the moment.

My favorite playlist depends on what I’m doing. If I am going on a road trip, the music can range from Otis Redding, Steve Miller Band, CCR to Cat Stevens. If I’m doing household chores, we (hubby and I) are pumping up the dance tunes, listening to Michael or Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, Pitbull or a Latin dance remix. If I am in working mode, it’s usually instrumental music, whether it’s a violin (Vanessa Mae), saxophone (Kenny G), or an orchestra (Yanni or Enigma), it’s what inspires my creativity. If I’m feeling nostalgic, it’s old Italian tunes.

I have my dad to thank for this as he introduced me to music. He taught me how to dance when I was five years old and boy, I have never been able to find another dance partner who had his moves (no offense to hubby as he’s not big on dancing). Dad used to dance like Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly (please tell me you know who they are!!). It’s been over thirty years since dad’s be gone, so trust me, when I press one of the many songs on my playlist, you can find me waltzing around the room with a broom pretending to dance with dad. God forbid ‘one of our songs’ comes on when I am grocery shopping as I will groove up and down the aisle while hubby runs the other way pretending not to know me.

You laugh and while you’re at it, dance like nobody’s watching and enjoy the song!

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Contact Rose Ficco at fiscotticrew@gmail.com or on Social Media: Facebook or Instagram

The post August 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.

By Rose Ficco with Rose’s Fiscotti Gifts

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I was never one to fear away from anything, especially if it involved running a business, as this has always been a dream of mine. But, when someone suggested I create an online shop for my Fiscotti business, the fear of failure scared the heebie-jeebies out of me.

How was I going to handle all the orders and how was I going to figure out how I wanted to sell my products? This was just the start of all the questions I had scattered in my head, but something inside of me said, ‘Rose, just go for it’. And after much deliberation, I went for it, with more help than I expected.

You see, I accidently found a program that was helping businesses set up their digital presence with Shopify, which included a shopping cart. It’s as if the universe was speaking to me because the minute I saw the ad, I applied and BING, BANG, BOOM, three weeks of backend work and my online shop was up and running.

To be honest, the minute we went live, I got stomach pains, but that didn’t last too long. Because the first time I signed into my account, I had 10 orders waiting to be processed. Being over the moon excited is an understatement because after I completed the orders, the fear was nowhere to be seen. I knew in my heart that I was so ready to take on orders of all sizes.

Some people have said that fear stands for ‘false evidence appearing real’, but for me, I think it stands for ‘feeling excited and ready’ because this is more how I feel fear these days.

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Contact Rose Ficco at fiscotticrew@gmail.com or on Social Media: Facebook or Instagram

The post July 2022 appeared first on Led Me to This.