Today we’d like to introduce you to Susanna Dussling
Hi Susanna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I confess that I am a serial solopreneur. It all began many years ago, when I could not find a job after I earned a Master’s degree in Human Resources Development from the University of Houston in 2014.
I began to paint furniture as a stress buster while looking for a job. This was a hobby that I thought would be a great side hustle. However, it turned into much more, when I sold my first refinished piece of furniture and the customer had me do some additional pieces for her. I said “yes” and my “accidental furniture refinishing business” became my full time business.
I expanded into having several mini shops in antique malls, taught lots of furniture painting classes, and had completed many custom refinishing jobs. It was a fun, crazy, busy time with this business; however, several years later, I realized I missed being in the corporate world. Since, I am a deaf bilateral cochlear implant wearer. I enjoy inspiring others to live a purposeful and meaningful life, in spite of our challenges.
It was a great experience as I had the opportunity to travel all over the United States as a Leadership and Resiliency Speaker. When the pandemic occurred, it changed the trajectory of my speaking endeavor. Airline travel became extremely challenging, stressful, and difficult. I was also teaching horseback riding lessons during this time, as riding lessons exploded due to individuals with a desire to learn a new activity.
Fast forward several years later, due to the economic downturn, my furniture refinishing business slowed down tremendously. As a result, I closed my shops and stopped teaching furniture painting classes. Fortunately, I had completed many commissioned jobs over the years. I was blessed that I still had a steady stream of income with custom furniture refinishing jobs.
Meanwhile, inflation is skyrocketing, expenses rising, and the cost of living is steadily increasing. I needed an additional income revenue stream, as the furniture refinishing business could not sustain itself. I had desired to be a sales representative many years ago when I graduated from college because I enjoyed interacting with others whether it was sales or designing creative solutions. However, there was no technology in those days and I would have had to rely on the telephone, that was not feasible for a hard of hearing person who had extreme difficulty with the telephone. Face to Face interaction was much easier as I was able to read body language and lip read. Thus, I began a career in retail management working for several leading retailers. It was a challenging and exciting career. I had no desire to return to retail management. I thought now was the perfect time to pursue my dream career as a Sales Representative. After all, technology helps tremendously and I hear pretty well with the cochlear implants.
There was one caveat, I prefer working independently, I am self motivated, and had no desire to work in a traditional corporate job, as I now had been in business for myself the last ten years. It was no easy feat, as I searched for an opportunity. I soon found a position that I could sink my teeth into. It was as a Designer at ShelfGenie. I loved the quality of the product, the superior service, and the lifetime warranty. It is a product that many people need, as it helps make their life much easier, by improving functionality, accessibility, and organization in their kitchen. It is so much fun to design custom glideout solutions for clients. It is extremely satisfying when clients tell me they love their ShelfGenie solutions.
Today, I am fortunate to do work that I love with the ability to be creative as a serial solopreneur which includes ShelfGenie, furniture refinishing, and presenting on resiliency to corporations and associations.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road, in reality it was like a roller coaster with all the dips and hair-raising turns.
Some of the biggest struggles was finding career employment, in spite of having an outstanding G.P.A., relevant work experience and skills.
Other challenges include being hard of hearing all my life, as I was born with progressive, profound sensorineural hearing loss. I began to wear hearing aids at age 3. There were many communication challenges along the way. Fortunately, I am a resilient person with a positive attitude to push on when “the going gets tough.”
I encountered “Sudden Deafness Syndrome” in 2005, which led to extreme difficulty in the workforce. I was fortunate when I receive my cochlear implants 6 months later.
Lastly, I had been “let go” from a job which had blindsided me,
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I absolutely love being creative! I am blessed to be creative in all my ventures. I love visualizing and creating a wonderful result from a “blank slate.”
I am a Creative Furniture Artisan who loves creating speciality and faux finishes on furniture. It is also amazing to collaborate with clients to bring their vision to life. It is very rewarding when clients love their “new” updated artisan furniture.
As a ShelfGenie Designer, I have the opportunity to create functional, accessible, and organized solutions in the kitchen,
I am creative too when I am training horses and presenting a program on resiliency.
What does success mean to you?
The ability to have patience, be persistent, and persevere when you encounter failure or difficulty,
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannadusslingequestrian
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569892234856&sk=about
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdussling
- Other: https://www.dusslingfinefinishes.com
Image Credits
Those were all my own images.
