On a show like the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast interview, its true to say that I have so many guest entrepreneurs who have interesting back stories, but not many that start with “Before I was seven years old I had lived in a house truck, on a commune, in France, in New Zealand, in Ireland, and several homes in England. I had been bathed in a sink, had a pet goose called Lucy, and I think it would be fair to say that my parents gifted me with a curiosity for the world.” So upon hearing this I knew that I had to invite this lady onto the show, but wow what part of her career history do I tell you about in the introduction because without a doubt as she says “Life has been a bit of rollercoaster!” Starting her career after gaining a BA in Theatre Practice and Scenic Art from the Central School of Speech and Drama, she went on to have a successful and (eventually) well paid career as a Freelance TV & Film Production Buyer, Stylist, and Project / Event Manager. She worked hard and played harder. She had motivation by the bucket load. However her energies could only last so long and she would suffer from burn out at the end of every job. She had money, and so she would take herself off to Thailand and engulf herself in fasting and raw food, or go off to Egypt for a yoga retreat. Recharge the batteries to blaze even brighter in the entrepreneurial world. And this was certainly the case, as upon returning she started one of the forerunners in the VA sphere and early adapters to Location Independent Business. As she says “It was a wonderfully brave and stupid thing to do. I was homeless and sofa surfing, massively in debt and knew nothing about running a business. Which meant I had nothing to lose and gave it everything I had. Bootstrapping a business when you are desperate and resourceful can be a wonderful thing, and I was given opportunities to learn from many wildly inspirational Entrepreneurs, Businesses, and Private Clients.” But of course this was just the beginning of everything that would lead her through some seriously dark moments, even contemplating suicide. Her life was a roller coaster of working till she collapsed and then ‘retreating’ around the world. And so the time came when she had her first pangs of “Is this it?!” She wasn’t satisfied, there was a huge void in her life, she felt empty and in the midst of the impending recession she set up My Girl Friday Ltd, providing Freelance Personal and Virtual Assistance to Creative Businesses & Private Individuals in the UK and across the globe. And that is where we will start today’s episode as now life is very different, but how has she made it the life that she wanted? How did she take the entrepreneurial venture, and willingness to put the effort into a new business, but structure it that it didn’t bring her to her knees too? Well let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start in the words of Steve Jobs, joining up dots, with the one and only misfit entrepreneur herself Ebonie Allard.