The Bag Lady is an inspirational story of how on person made a big difference and made an impact, on the world’s so troubled environment.
Passion can drive small or even large miracles, as Lisa Foster discovered when she had one of those life changing moment at a supermarket in Melbourne, almost twenty years ago.
She stood in line at a supermarket, jetlagged, not really happy to be in Australia and was asked a simple question by the checkout operator, “Would you like a bag?”
That simple question was to change her life irrevocably, setting the pathway into a career as an entrepreneur who became known throughout America as the Bag Lady. Lisa Foster has written the Bag Lady in the hope that it will encourage anyone who has a deep and real passion to make change happen, to simply go for it.
As an English teacher with a Ph.D., she had no idea about business at all, but had a driving passion to introduce reusable bags into the American market. She was told many times she would not succeed as ‘American’s don’t do that’. But Americans, as it turned out, were beginning to understand the destructive force of plastic on the environment and in a few short years, were definitely doing reusable bags. She had come into the marketplace at the right time.
Hard work, many mistakes, and a fatal attraction to what is known as Mission Drift and Hubris almost saw her lose everything she had worked so hard for, but once again, she faced up to the hard work of rescuing what she had created, spoke her truth, contacted her clients and slowly, little by little, worked her way out of the financial black hole she had inadvertently created.
The Bag Lady is her journey. She tells of the inspiration and drive she had which led to creating a company that delivered a top-quality product into a market that was ripe for change. Her journey shows the real work that has to happen to succeed and the requirement to always honor your commitments.
She stresses the massive importance of creating a business plan, seeking expert help and guidance when required and never, shirking the hard stuff. She also learned the hard way the difference between being a Boss or a Leader, a vital, but essential component to good business structure.
Eventually, realising it was time to move on she wondered what next until a friend said why not use what you have gained to be a Business Coach. Once she understood what a Business Coach did, she understood that if there had been such a person for her to talk with over the past years, she may not have made so many mistakes.
The Bag Lady is a real, honest, entertaining, enjoyable and very personal look at what it takes to set up in business and succeed, often against serious difficulties and makes you believe, as well as understand, that if you have a passion, the drive and are happy to work hard, you can succeed; that you too can help change the world, maybe not one bag at a time, but in a way that will have an impact, large or small, on the world’ so trouble environment.
Author            Lisa D Foster.
Publisher                  John Hunt Publication
ISBNÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 978-1-80341-166-8
Website                    www.johnhuntpublishing.com/changemakers-books/our-books
Distributor               Changemaker Books.
Released                  April 2022
REVIEW BY Janet MawdesleyÂ
