My friends, on National Entrepreneurs Day, please give a round of applause for my “BFF”, my best friend, and the most inspirational entrepreneur I know: My grandma!

You might not know it from this photo, but my gramma is TOUGH. She’s like, “Take no prisoners” tough. She’s a fighter. She’s feisty. And she’s my biggest inspiration.

From her, I gained my zest and my playful, sometimes irreverent, outlook on life. From her I gained my quiet confidence and my empathetic way of caring for and giving selflessly to others.

But, amongst all these great things, she also passed something onto me that I’ll forever be thankful for: my undying entrepreneurial spirit.

What does THAT mean?

Well, growing up, my grandma and I were inseparable. We’d spend weeknights after school (while my parents were at their ‘normal’ jobs) in her little Tobacco shop that she and my grandfather owned and ran.

I don’t know how she did it, but she made ‘work’ FUN!

I got to see how she interacted with her customers. She would light up when they came in. She seemed to get so much joy from her regulars. And you could tell: They LOVED being around her too. And it was then that I began to realize, this was more than just a business exchange. It was a friendship. In fact, it was even more than that. It was family. And it’s a family that has stuck around to this day. They still come to hang out with her, or write her, or somehow keep in touch. And wow… that had a huge affect on me.

Even though I was only 10 years old or so at the time, I was immensely inspired and impressed by one simple fact: Unlike most adults I knew, she seemed to live life on her OWN terms and ran a business that not only provide a good life for her and her family, but also was about much more than just money. It was a huge difference that, even as a naive adolescent, was not lost on me.

And I think it was then that I decided:

‘When I grow up, I want to own my own business too!’

Along the way, I put in my time as a Baskin Robbins ice cream ‘Artist’, a ‘Hostess with the Mostest’ at PF Chengs, and a fierce ‘Data-inputer’ at my mom’s dental office.

But all along, I knew my path. It was to own my own business, and have clients that were more than just clients. I knew they’d become friends. And then, more than that, I hoped they’d eventually become family.

I can only hope that, one day, my ‘clients’ will still be in touch with me when I’m old and grey. (Still rocking my pink hair, of course!) And we can reminisce about our shared adventures, exploring our new photo-destinations, and about how we stomped through those ‘No Trespassing’ signs, and how incredibly romantic their wedding day was. Our current style will NEVER go out of style, right!?

3 major things I learned from my grandma:

• Treat your clients like family – They’ll support you for a long, long time.
• Fiercely OWN your own thing. You got this!
• ALWAYS have fun doing the hard work. Cos, Why not!?

Here’s to Grammas that ROCK and to entrepreneurship! Happy Entrepreneur Day friends!