Today we’d like to introduce you to Eileen Mendel.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eileen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. My parents were 1st and 2nd generation immigrants from Europe. Our family ran a farming/livestock business in upstate NY. I attended school in a small town called Brewster and graduated salutatorian of my high school. After earning a BA from Wesleyan University in Biology, I went on to study pharmacology for two years in a Ph.D. program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.
I left NY in 1983 to pursue a career in San Diego as a researcher for a biotechnology firm. My research on the immune system and allergies led to the publication of a scientific paper. I went on to pursue additional research in Oncology at The Stanford University School of Medicine and published two more papers. My work was at the forefront of what later became The National Genome Project.
I became a research manager at a subsidiary of Genentech at a company working on commercialization of enzymes that were used in detergents made by Proctor & Gamble, contact lens solutions, and products made by Chlorox. My experience interfacing with business development and marketing led me to apply to business schools to pursue an MBA.
I went on to attend The Sloan School of Management at MIT, majoring in Marketing and International Management. After graduating, I was recruited to become a Senior Market Research Manager at Bristol Myers-Squibb. I left that position and moved back to Silicon Valley to form my own consulting firm dedicated to supporting marketing and business development in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. I ran the firm for seven years and sold my share to my partner.
In 2001, I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I committed myself to self-development during my nine years there. This included taking up Kundalini yoga, meditation, energy healing, and attending many seminars and workshops from various gurus–including Tony Robbins, Harv Ecker, Robert Allen, and others. Meanwhile, I worked for the State Senate of New Mexico during sessions, meeting two Governors and other politicians and lobbyists. I also held senior marketing positions at two high tech start-ups and later worked for Morgan Stanley as a Wealth Advisor.
I became interested in consulting through my active participation in Toastmasters, meeting many coaches with very impressive backgrounds in psychology, education, and medicine. This intrigued me as a career and led me to start coaching informally. That is when I hired a coach and continue to hire coaches to uplevel my own skills. When I moved to San Diego in 2010, the same year my dad passed away, I knew that I wanted to help individuals grow and reach higher plateaus of success. I did not have that mentorship when I was younger, someone to champion me and keep me accountable on my upward path. Therefore, I signed up to become certified as a Life Mastery Consultant so that I can add these tools to my business consulting toolset. I have witnessed myself grow and seen my clients flourish under my mentorship. My clients are small to mid-sized businesses that see the value in investing in themselves. There is no better reward than knowing that I have had a hand in changing someone’s life and livelihood. This is what keeps me going.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I am still fairly new to the business community here in San Diego. As a small start-up business, my challenges have been to become more connected and visible to both my peers and my tribe. Also, I have had to get on the learning curve on how to use social media to effectively reach my target market. I have been in several Mastermind groups both locally and internationally and that has introduced me to lifelong friendships and peers.
This takes time and commitment. I just started my podcast “The Balanced Millionaire” one and a half years ago and it is now beginning to take off. Patience and consistency are very critical to growing a business. You cannot let the disappointments stop you from achieving your vision.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I work with entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives to advance their leadership skills, layout a plan for their long term goals/visions, and work with them step by step to advance progressively to those goals. I specialize in business strategy, marketing planning, and business development. Most of the companies I work with are privately owned and operated.
There is a growing number of small businesses and a keen desire for more control and independence over one’s destiny. The economy can only thrive when business innovation becomes a primary prerogative. The most creative forces are coming from visionary entrepreneurs. My volunteer work with incubators has also been a great inspiration as a participant in the future inventions that will change lives. I have dedicated over 30 years of my life to working with and in businesses. Now, as a Life Coach, I am able to bring new skills of mindset training and expanded awareness to my clients.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Over the past few years, I have been dedicated to building a community both locally and on social media. This enables me to have a sizeable audience to deliver my messages to and differentiate myself. My long term goals are to work with teams inside businesses as they grow. I plan to develop videos and publish books. I want to reach a global audience.
