Tiffany Weber @tiffanyannweber I JUST QUIT MY JOB! A lot of it because of @stevejagler. ow.ly/hKJxu.
The above Tweet greeted me when I opened up my TweetDeck in the office the other day. Without a doubt, it was the most startling Tweet I have read since the first day I was on Twitter when CNN was reporting that a Colorado boy was racing across the sky in a runaway weather balloon.
The balloon story, of course, was a hoax. But the Tweet by my Twitter friend Tiffany Weber was 100-percent legit.
Allow me to explain. A few months ago, a little puppy joined our family. Through Twitter, I was remotely connected to Tiffany, although we had never met in person. She had Tweeted that she is an accomplished dog trainer and sitter. So, I sought her advice about how to discipline our little Frankie.
Tiffany was kind enough to give me some very helpful insights.
Curious about my newfound Twitter friend, I checked out her web site, www.tiffanyannweber.com, where I learned that she had 14 years of experience in advertising and marketing, including production and development programs on the side, in addition to her “While You Were Out Pet Sitting Services” in the Bay View neighborhood.
Much to my amazement, Tiffany also told me she held down a day job at a real estate management company.
At least, until the day she wrote the aforementioned Tweet.
I’ll let Tiffany tell the rest of the story from her blog.
“Last year I was talking with Steve Jagler of BizTimes and he said something that stuck like a burr on a warm day in a field… ‘Let me get this straight, basically – you’re in the business of being yourself?’
“I paused. ‘No. I give all my pet sitting money away and I do all my marketing consulting for free for small businesses. I work a real job as well.’
“Well. Not as of today. Today, I am in the business of being myself.”
Tiffany said the grind of all her multi-tasking had begun to take a physical toll on her.
“People took notice, I was exhausted from the exchange to the point where Steve sat me down and talked to me. You need a break. You need to remember you. And I thought about what Steve Jagler had said. Could I really be in the business of being me? So we talked and talked and talked. And today I’m announcing my decision to go full-time with pet sitting and consulting. I’m nervous. I’m scared. I’m excited. I’m 950 emotions of ‘What the heck am I doing?’ But I’m ready for the jump. I’m ready to remember what it’s like to live and breathe everything you think is right. We safely can give three months of falling flat on my face, so I have three months to prove that I’m ready, willing and good enough. So cheers to new beginnings!”
So fare thee well, my friend. And when the time comes that our little Frankie needs a sitter, you’ll be the first person I call!
Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes.
