We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patricia Maltz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Patricia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My life has been a series of taking risks, although I’m not sure it was a conscious decision at the time of the incident, it was just what I was supposed to do. Here’s the backstory – grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota milking cows and breaking horses. Attended a one room country schoolhouse and at 7th grade went to town school. I had a brief stint in nurse’s training but that wasn’t my destiny.

Married and had two children. I felt the only job option I had was to become a family daycare provider which I did and I cared for seven children – two of my own, two school-age children and three preschoolers – all boys except for my daughter. This began my life journey for the next 15 years. I became active in organizing a local association, then a state association and then was connected on a national level.

Congress had decided to examine the exclusive use requirements for use of your home related to IRS forms. Of course, family daycare uses the whole house in providing care. Somehow, I think through the Children’s Defense Fund, a group of family daycare providers, including myself, were given the opportunity to present to the Congressional House Ways and Means Committee testimony on the impact of the potential changes on our ability to care for children. Of course, being a country girl with no college education. I went to Washington, DC expecting to just be a part of the group that was going to talk. However, when I got there the group decided I was the presenter and nobody else was willing to speak. On behalf of the group, I made the presentation to the committee. The chair directed the IRS representatives and our group to come up with a reasonable solution and that language is still in effect today providing an exemption for family daycare providers to claim all of their house as a business expense proportionate to the amount of time they spend providing care.

While I had learned through being elected to lead the local and state organizations, this experience confirmed by ability to make a presentation from a place of congruence and confidence.

This is just one example of the many risks I’ve taken in my life. Taking these risks have provided me the opportunity to discover new capabilities, strengths, confidence, etc. through my life journey.

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.

Part fearless visionary, part soulful storyteller, I am a creative powerhouse who helps women 40+ rediscover themselves with purpose and passion. I am a seasoned guide supporting women through the emotional landscapes of reinvention, blending mindfulness, music, and meaning into every project — from songwriting and social media to personal growth programs and inspirational memberships. I am proof that your next chapter can be your best one.
I don’t just talk about transformation — I live it and invite you to join me.

Here is the backstory:

Grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota milking cows and breaking horses.

Attended a one room country schoolhouse

Married and have two children.
Become a family daycare provider
Organized a local association, then a state association and then connected on a national level.

Led the group of family day care providers responsible for the exemption of the exclusive use requirement on IRS Tax forms for providers.

Recognized as a Family Day Care Leader nationally, testifying several times before Congressional committees on the subject.

Founded a nonprofit that provided the child nutrition program to children in family day care. In six years, it grew to eight states, serving 65,000 children daily with a $22M budget. Had a disagreement with the federal government, sued the government and seven states, gained a restraining order three times and resolved the disagreement by filing bankruptcy after the children and the family day care providers were moved to other organizations.

I leveraged my knowledge and experience to become a business consultant. I added expertise in behavioral styles to my platform and served a variety of clients from Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietors. Given my interest in personal growth, I also studied several programs that could be incorporated into my consulting work. This included my vision holding work where I held the vision someone wanted to create while they developed their own capacity to do so.

One of my client relationships generated an introduction to Sheila Raye Charles, the daughter of Ray Charles. This resulting in an extensive career as her manager, traveling throughout the US and Canada, plus Japan, Europe, Russia and The Caribbean. She was committed to recovery programs, prison ministry and performing her father’s music.

My consulting work combined with my music work has generated several other long-term relationships. First, I am part of a luxury real estate team where I actively support the lead agent in marketing and project development. Second is a member of the management team of an inspirational speaker and country artist in re-designing his professional career.
I am currently in the development mode on a course addressing the mindset for people in the music industry with the outcome of creating the vision of what they want to create.

The acquisition of Rediscovering U also emerged through my consulting services. Focused on women 40 years and older, our mission is to provide inspiration, education, tools, and unwavering support to guide women on this transformative journey. We do this through in-person and virtual gatherings, building community and having fun. Today, we are launching an Empowered Woman Collective Membership Program with a variety of exclusive activities such as acoustic concerts, week-long retreats, and speakers.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

It was done. The past 7 months had been very trying. I had gained three restraining orders on the federal government and seven states. During this time, we were able to move the family daycare providers and the children they cared for to other non-profits. I knew we were not going to get another restraining order and opted to file bankruptcy for the non-profit.

I found myself painting the kitchen – very tangible results – wondering what do I do next? I was exhausted and had no real ideas. The next day I went to the post office to pick up the mail. I encountered an old friend of mine. He asked what I had been doing and I said “I think I’m supposed to be looking for a job.” He suggested he had one and we should have coffee the next day.

Thus began my journey into the world of personality assessments and business consulting. Upon being introduced to the assessment tool for the disc profile, I immediately knew how to use it. In the non-profit, I had had 240 employees in eight states. This tool would have been so useful in communicating, team building and overall relationships.

In the next 18 months, I attracted several business clients from real estate to telecommunications to accounting firms to sole proprietors, manufacturer reps, lumber yards, It didn’t matter, they all had people. Some were in the twin cities. others were around the nation. I discovered I had a talent for talking about ways one could understand, accept and appreciate one’s behavior and the behavior of others. Of course, I also quickly recognized I could easily apply the many components of early childhood development into boardrooms and how companies could play better together.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.

Buying Rediscovering U was not an intentional purchase. The previous owner had been a consulting client of mine and called to schedule some time because she had a new issue. When we met she explained she no longer wanted to do the business and asked for help in shutting down the business.
The business had sponsors, members and a mailing list. It had several assets in the form of books and podcasts. We went through the entire process of how to deal with each of the items as well as the legal steps necessary.

At the end of the conversation, she said “I just wish I knew someone who wanted to buy it for a dollar?” Without hesitating or thinking it through, I said I would.
I sent her the dollar. We did a buy-sell agreement, and I now own the business. We wrote announcements to the sponsors and the members regarding the ownership change and I continued providing services as she had done in the past. I arranged for her to continue to work with me for a percentage of revenue from the established sponsors on an ongoing basis so that I would have access to her wisdom and experience on the business.

While this acquisition process was fairly simple and straightforward, today, I realize I could have done some things differently and perhaps more intentionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rediscoveringu.com/