Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janice Nissen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Janice, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

After retiring from a long career in the life science industry, I had more time to invest in my hobby of playing golf. I admit that I am a high handicap golfer, translation, I take a lot of strokes and lose a lot of golf balls while playing! During a round I did lose my golf ball in a stream, while looking I did not find my ball, but found another one, and it caused to think about where this lost golf ball had been, what adventures did they have? As a new grandparent that was reading a lot of children’s books, I thought it could be an idea for a children’s book. I had no idea what was involved in writing a book, but was lucky enough to connect on Linked in with Kathy Sparrow, a literary midwife. She and I worked together over the past 18 months going through a detailed process of character development, drawing upon my own experiences on the golf course, and peppering in ways to create characters that would appeal to children. I did some research on children’s books and golf and found there was a gap in books that actually entertained children but also taught them about the game. As time went on, I needed to commit to seeing this idea through and investing in its success by selecting a professional illustrator knowing that the illustrations are so critical to children’s books. With over 45 millions golfers in the US alone, I felt there was a market for the book. Finally it fufilled a passion that I have about sharing the sport of golf with young people.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an innovative biopharmaceutical executive with a proven track record in sales, marketing, operations, corporate strategy, patient engagement, and global public health. Throughout my career, I’ve developed new business models, guided teams through complex organizational changes at multinational companies, and mentored and developed high-performing professionals.

My philosophy is simple: health is wealth. I believe healthcare is a fundamental right for every individual, community, and society. As the architect of a center of excellence for patient engagement, I championed the principle that patients are people first—deserving of respect, transparency, and a central role in decisions about their care.

Since retiring from full-time work in 2022, I’ve continued to make an impact through patient engagement consulting, board service, and volunteer leadership. I am also the author of Lizbeth the Little Lost Golf Ball, a children’s book inspired by my love of golf, designed to teach kids resilience, patience, and the joy of trying new things.

In summary, I have 3 careers in my life thus far! First, as a nurse, then transitioning to be a leader in the life science industry, and finally to a children’s book author. You never know what your future will evolve into!

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

One of the things that I learned once I retired from a full time career in the life science industry is the importance of networking particularly on Linked In. I found Linked In to be a wonderful source for connecting with people, providing coaching and mentoring to others, and joining communities. In fact, Linked In is the way that I connected with Kathy Sparrow, known as the literary midwife, who is the editor of my book-Lizbeth the Little Lost Golf Ball. Kathy read one of my Linked In posts, and saw that I had recently retired and reached out to me to see if I ever considered writing a book. At that point I had never considered it, but 9 months later when I had the epiphany on the golf course about writing a story about a lost golf ball, I remembered Kathy and contacted her. At the time I did not know that she herself had written a children’s book of her own, so it proved to be very fortuitous that she was exactly the kind of person who could guide me through writing my first children’s book. Not only was she able to guide me on what appeals to children, how to develop character personas, but also the logistics of publishing and marketing your book once it is complete. Kathy was critical in my journey as a first time children’s book author and I am very grateful to her.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

While I was working at Merck I was part of a downsizing effort and lost my position. I was offered another role at a lower level and I needed to carefully consider my options. First, I recognized that I was fortunate to be offered another position, as so many individuals experience a downsizing and do not have that option. Second, I enjoyed working at the company and wanted to stay. However, it was a huge blow to my self esteem and confidence. It became a prime opportunity for me to look critically at what skills and experiences that I lacked that my peers had. So I embarked on a path of reinvention. In addition to doing the job that was offered, I sought out ways to take new responsibilities and demonstrate new skills. I invested in an additional educational degree, which was interesting since I had been out of school for several decades! I took on assignments that were more innovative albeit more risky. The reinvention was successsful as I did return to my previous level and in the subsequent years to yet another level with more responsibilities. Importantly, this gave me the personal experience to have the right level of empathy and sensitivity to others who found themselves in a downsizing situation. The quality of empathy is one that is so important in leadership, whether personal or professional. It may be a quality that comes from being a nurse, but one that is important in any endeavor. People want to be heard and valued.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lizbeththelittlelostgolfball.com
• Instagram: nissen_janice
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janice.nissen.5/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janice-nissen/
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHjgoSMb0Uw

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL5DJts5oiw