In 1994, I celebrated my 30th birthday. In those 30 years, I managed to produce three babies, one ex-husband, one AA in English, and zero employment prospects. Circling the drain of destitution, the reality of suddenly single parenthood inspired me to find new meaning in the word ambition. With few options available to me based on my measly AA, I took a job as a telemarketer setting appointments for a Life Insurance company. I hoped to get a position as an agent once I passed the state exam. It was the only job with a flexible schedule, so I resigned my shy self to becoming the best Life Insurance Telemarketer ever. It seemed like a good plan.

But, Fate had another program in mind. My marketing career was inadvertently launched when my boss caught me tinkering around on his computer with a program called Paint Shop Pro. I was supposed to be cold calling customers, but I thought my time would be better spent making a new company logo.