We were lucky to catch up with Pamela Bussey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Pamela, thanks for joining us today. 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.

The unexpected and untimely death of my significant other, Christian Tetteh Tagoe, Ph.D in 2014, led to the creation of my business. It was my way of mourning and honoring his memory.

My personal and business interactions are based upon the South African philosophy of “Ubuntu”.

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his book “No Future Without Forgiveness” which chronicles his work on the Truth and Reconciliation
Committee after apartheid ended in South Africa says, “Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human. When you want to give high praise to someone we say “Yu, nobuntu”. Hey, he or she has Ubuntu. This means they are generous, hospitable, friendly, caring and compassionate. They share what they have. It also means my humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in theirs.
We belong in a bundle of life. We say, a person is a person through other people. It is not I think, therefore I am. It says rather I am human because I belong. I participate. I share. A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good; for he or she has proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed, or treated as if they were less than who they are”.

Pamela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have worn many hats! I worked for more than 30 years as an Insurance Adjuster, I still maintain my Florida All Lines Adjuster license which allows me to handle Homeowners claims, review and create estimates for property damage and of course demystify language found in Insurance policies! In my last job with a major insurance carrier I handled catastrophic claims involving damage to homes where I created and reviewed estimates to get homeowner’s backing their property.. this is of course stressful so Art was a way for me to manage stress, I create Art quilts and also enjoy photography . I call myself a citizen of the world as work and my personal life have allowed me to travel throughout the world. I have been to the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, India, and Indonesia to name a few places as well I have been to almost every state in the United States.
In 2017, I was chosen to be on the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Advisory Opinion Board where I got to write articles on topics that were in the mainstream news. If you google my name and Orlando Sentinel some articles should come up! I am also involved in the community in which I live/ Lake Mary. I am the current chairperson of the Lake Mary Elder Commission.
I created a podcast, Ancestral Muses, where I interact with people I know and share their stories as I believe we all have stories to share that can perhaps act as inspiration to others .
I am by nature a curious, compassionate and empathetic person. These qualities and my ability to connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds aid me in my business- Bussey Arbitration and Mediation Services, LLC

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

As I traveled throughout the world, I would meet people, Typically, I stay in Airbnb’’s and stay in contact through social media with those individuals. My podcast is yet another way to connect as my podcast audience is worldwide. Writing for the Orlando Sentinel, being active in my community are also ways I connect. On my business facebook page and Instagram I try to come up with ways to engage with people which hopefully will grow my presence and of course people know me and about my skill set and background.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Yes, I was working full time as an Adjuster when I took the 40 Hour Civil Circuit training to become a certified mediator, No one at my job knew what I was doing but I think I intuitively knew that one day I would be a sole proprietor. Also, after the 3 hurricanes that impacted Central Florida in ,2004, the state of Florida set up Hurricane Mediation centers throughout the state. I was able to represent an Insurance carrier as an Adjuster. I thought this was a good fit for someone with my skills! I then took the Arbitration training course. It was the untimely death and being fired from my job that led to the creation of my business. I did the incorporation, created my website and set up the social media presence during Labor day weekend 2014 which is when I learned of the death of Christian . I taught myself how to set up my website. I most recently went from using a windows based operating system to learning and I am still learning how to use a Macboook Pro! We can all learn something new everyday and there are days in which I am indeed challenged, but I persevere and use patience to get through it! But, the benefits outweigh the cons-! Freedom to do what I want when I want ! Being in service and of Service! Being an Elder and sharing wisdom based upon my life experiences are some of the rewards..

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.busseyarbitrationandmediationservicesllc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busseyarbitration/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100051284683291&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/ms-pamela-p-bussey-88567952
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@pamelabussey3224
• Other: Threads-https://www.threads.net/@busseyarbitration Ancestral Muses Podcast-,available on Spotify, Apple and numerous platforms