Take 5 with me – West Georgia Living feature

I was honored to be profiled in the May/June issue of West Georgia Living magazine’s “Take 5” spotlight, a feature that takes a personal look at one community member in each issue. Take 5’s current focus is on entrepreneurial women in the three counties it serves.

While we’re on the topic of entrepreneurial women, author, educator, historian and the simpler web client Lisa Land Cooper has a great spread in the magazine covering the legend – as well as the shenanigans – behind the naming of Douglas County, Georgia.

Teresa Rosche Ott - Photo by Ricky Stilley for Times-Georgian
Teresa Rosche Ott
Photo by Ricky Stilley for Times-Georgian

“Take 5” is meant to be a pretty lighthearted thing, but a couple of the questions they asked were tough ones for me. I decided to just “bleed,” as James Altucher would put it. Here’s the article text:

  1. I never dreamed I’d do half the things I’ve done — and I’m just getting started. If you told me a few years ago when I was driving into Atlanta every day that I’d be running my own business out of an über-cool co-working spot in downtown Douglasville, I wouldn’t have believed it.
  2. My best friend is my husband, Brian. He can’t replace my girlfriends because he’ll never tell me when an outfit makes me look bad, but he’s my rock and the one who comes to mind first when I think and write about small business.
  3. If stranded on a desert island, I’d want this book with me: ‘Tis, by Frank McCourt – a funny but sometimes heartbreaking tale about McCourt’s journey from poverty to teacher and writer. I love any well-written story about people overcoming obstacles through persistence and hard work, but this one holds a special place in my heart.
  4. I’d love to share a cup of coffee with almost any independent entrepreneur who’s turned a skill or passion into a successful business.
  5. My hero is Representative Justin Amash. He uses social media to share and explain his votes, and he’s not afraid to go against the flow if he thinks it’s the right thing to do.
  6. People probably don’t know that I was at one time a high school dropout. I did eventually finish and have since graduated with honors from a four-year university. But when I was 17 all of that seemed impossible.
  7. When I have 10 minutes alone I like to crank up the music and dance!
  8. My parents taught me a lot that I’ve had to unlearn, to be honest. But while I’d never volunteer for the kinds of experiences they provided, they gave me strengths I couldn’t have developed any other way.
  9. My personal motto is: Think bigger. Start simpler. Or, have grander possibilities in mind while appreciating the power of that single step that gets you inside a challenge.
  10. My favorite childhood memory is running wild through Disneyland with my girlfriend Kelly, after her parents told us where to meet them at closing time, then cut us loose. Surprisingly we were never thrown out of the park.
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