Eileen took on many roles early in her life — prosecutor, wife, mother, sister, friend — but she never expected she would add the role of entrepreneur to this list as well.
Eileen met Peter, her future husband, in 2007 and began her career as a prosecutor in 2008. Peter and Eileen were married one year later. This new life took a major turn in October of 2011 when Eileen received a phone call telling her that her mother had had a heart attack.
Eileen immediately made the 45 minute drive to the hospital. Eileen was caught in a red light only five minutes away from the hospital. While she sat through the light, she noticed a gardener’s rake lying on the ground in the middle of two lanes. Thinking little of it, she continued on to the hospital. Soon after Eileen arrived at the emergency room entrance, her mother, her best friend, was pronounced dead. From that very moment, Eileen’s life took a turn she had not expected.
Despite having a tough time dealing with the absence of her mom, Eileen went on to give birth to her son, Vaughn, in June 2013. Finally, when she felt happiness once again, Eileen’s dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her son, Vaughn, was only 5 months old. Her father lost his battle 10 short months later. At that moment, she realized that the random rake in the road that she had seen in 2011 was actually a symbolic “fork in the road.” It became quite obvious that her life took a different path that morning in October 2011.
Throughout all of these major life changes — including both birth and death — Eileen continued to be a full-time attorney and full-time mother. She soon realized that her life was no longer her own. She couldn’t go to the gym like she used to. She couldn’t just call up mom and dad to babysit. She resisted change and spread herself too thin trying to accomplish everything she had been able to do before.
One day at the office, she was attempting to juggle work while also planning her son’s 3rd birthday. She knew exactly all that needed to happen, but she simply didn’t have the time. She told her sister, “I know exactly what I want for his birthday. I just need a personal assistant to go out and do it.” This is when the idea of a concierge business was born.
The thought of leaving her career was daunting, but something had to give. She had to make a choice or she was going to have a nervous breakdown. A friend once told her, “It’s ok…. You can’t get to everything.” For some people that would have been just fine, but Eileen wondered why she should settle. Why shouldn’t she be able to get to everything? With her husband now busier than ever, Eileen wanted and needed to be more present in Vaughn’s life. She made the decision to leave her job and be the one to take Vaughn to school every day.
Eileen understands the feeling of being overwhelmed because you care about your job and your family. She knows firsthand the stress of trying to do it all while maintaining some quality of life. Life is too short, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your job for your personal life or your personal life for your job. Eileen created Ask Eileen…Concierge Services to help you accomplish everything you want in your personal and professional life.
