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This article is part of the America's Favorite Mom & Pop Shops series. Read more stories
Key Takeaways Choose yourself by building a business rooted in values, trust and authentic purpose.
Excellence and consistency — not perfection — create the rare, memorable leader others want to follow.
Your “purple squirrel” moment comes when faith, integrity and hard work align.
In September 2025, I flew to California for meetings and found myself walking into Upwork’s headquarters in Palo Alto… the very place where my business story began.
Years ago, I was just one person with a laptop, trying to win my first project on that platform, and slowly growing a team. I had no investors, no social proof and no roadmap, only a belief that if I worked with integrity and cared deeply about every client, the rest would follow.
Fast forward five years, and I was walking into the building of the company that enabled me to grow that successful business, invited to join an AI Executive Roundtable hosted by Upwork’s CEO, Hayden Brown. Around that table sat executives, founders and technologists from across Silicon Valley, all focused on shaping the future of work and artificial intelligence.
Out of 18 million+ people on the platform, I was the one asked to represent the voice of AI talent in that room. It was surreal.
The moment wasn’t about prestige or validation. It was a quiet confirmation that the long nights, the risks and the faith were worth it. It reminded me that small beginnings, when fueled by conviction, have a way of turning into extraordinary moments.
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