We were lucky to catch up with Dortha Hise recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dortha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

Pageant Confessions from an Unlikely Contestant: The Duct Tape Dilemma

At 18, I found myself in the Miss Illinois pageant, surrounded by women who seemed to have their lives together while I struggled to buckle my shoe in the dressing room. The real kicker? I looked up to see a lady getting her boobs taped with duct tape for the swimsuit round! Talk about a “sticky” situation! 🤪

Fast forward to today, and I have realized just like that duct tape moment, I help my clients discover what they did not know they did not know! I consider it my superpower: uncovering hidden gems in their businesses. 💎

Oh, and by the way, while I might not fit the “traditional” beauty queen mold (no, I am not fishing for compliments), I did win “Miss Congeniality” at that pageant… so there’s that. 🤷‍♀️

Dortha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My first client hired me as a research assistant, which fit into my former corporate role as a litigation paralegal. I grew and expanded in that role with that client to take on various technical tasks and discovered I the techie tasks really lit me up.

I help entrepreneurs and executives reclaim time with strategic automation & delegation. Not your typical woman in tech (I wear tank tops regularly, for example). I thrive on using tech as a tool to simplify not overwhelm.

I offer 1:1 coaching in a 90-day program and have a team that is available for implementation if needed.

I’m proud of being a lifelong learner and the growth my business has experienced over the years. I constantly strive to stay ahead of trends so that I can offer those skills to my clients.

After enduring multiple devastating personal losses, I also lost my voice, literally. I thought it was a simple case of laryngitis or bronchitis…as it turns out, it was not simple… I was diagnosed with a neurological condition called Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia (“AB SD”). AB SD prevented me from using the phone or speaking normally or being easily heard in a room with a lot of ambient noise. While this presented challenges, I am grateful for this experience as it has heightened my sense of hearing and, most importantly, my ability to listen deeply.

Always the positive thought leader, I remained a high achiever through circumstances that would have knocked many down without feeling overwhelmed. I understand the mindset of high achievers fully and how to optimize their businesses for maximum performance; however, I have observed over the years that the overwhelm did not always go away.

After going on a 3-day backpacking trip in 2015, I fully experienced the healing power that nature brought to me; I had done it naturally with techniques developed both strategically and intuitively… I set an intention to be open to whatever I was meant to receive on that trip. When we returned home, I understood that to be what expanded my resilience and that the final act of letting go brought the ultimate antidote to overwhelm.

Now as a certified coach, I teach others to do the same, bringing about entire mind shifts and personal transformation of those who lead, helping them serve the world at their best.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Being fully authentic and transparent. Telling the bad and the good. Being honest. Answering every single comment.

Asking people for support when it’s needed.

Sharing valuable content with my audience and tell them why I think they might like it.

Connect on a human level. Just because it’s from behind a computer screen doe not make it any less human.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was working my current business as a side hustle to a direct sales business that I had grown to over 500 people in my organization and when tax time came, my husband and I sat down and looked at the numbers… my ‘part-time business’ was crushing the full-time income my direct sales business was bringing in. So we made the decision to switch the efforts – direct sales business became the side hustle and the business became the primary source of income.

The business started with one client and one small area of support for them with technical things like reading and writing HTML code, project management, etc. A few years ago, I decided to take up a certificate program in graphic design because I was tired of using Photoshop in such a limited capacity as color picking and cropping photos.

I now value and appreciate the flexibility that my business offers me and that I am able to travel with my husband when he travels for work, as I only need a wifi connection to run my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://summittoyoursuccess.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dorthahise/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorthahise
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorthahise/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dorthahise
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DorthaHise

Image Credits

All were taken by me or my husband.