Patch Blog: The Joie de Vivre of Meeting a Local Mompreneur

I’m a stalker. When it comes to my friend Joie LaMonte, that is, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

She’s the mother of my son’s school friend. I have chased after her anytime I saw her at school for nearly a year before we sat down at for a sandwich and conversation.

I’m not such a tenacious person by nature. I tend to think, “well, if it’s meant to be, it will just happen,” rather than trying to force things. Still, I kept after Joie to the point that she might have called the cops. I don’t know what drove me to it, except perhaps I recognized that just-gotta-get-through-another-day look in her eyes, which I often saw mirrored in my own.

I am honored to say that, nearly a year ago today, JoAnne “Joie” LaMonte became my business partner (in the legal services field). Since then, our business has never been more fun. Hidden under that cool demeanor of hers lies an energetic, comedic, and creative force. I love having a business partner whom I can call on moment’s notice and say, “meet me for hooping” or “let’s make paper houses,” and who’s always up for it without asking “why on earth?”

That’s Joie. Whereas I might ask for details about timing, what to wear and what to bring, Joie just shows up with her impish grin, open mind, and imaginative ways of bringing unformed ideas to life. 

It’s not as if she has nothing else to do. She has an active child, a busy home, a blooming garden. She cares for her aging parents, taking them to their doctor appointments, making their meals, and doing all of their shopping. How she fits in the time for building a business, I do not know.

So I asked her how she does it. She told me: “It’s because it’s not like having to work a job or a business at all. The LegalShield service has helped me in countless ways, and I’d tell people about it anyway. There’s so much craziness these days, and so many ways people get scammed. Identity theft is running rampant. I want people to know that they can protect themselves, their families and their small businesses for very little money every month. I'm telling people all the time how much my family and my parents have been helped by the service. The fact that they pay me for it is just a bonus." 

Just this past week, LegalShield attorneys helped Joie’s parents get a $1,000 “good faith payment” from a non-performing contractor who installed a new solar system at their home last October—and which still isn’t operational. The contractor didn’t honor a promise to pay a rebate to her parents. Upon receiving a letter from the LegalShield law firm, however, the contractor immediately responded with the 1,000 settlement offer. It saved both Joie and her mother countless hours of additional phone calls and letters, leaving Joie more time to run around town helping all the people she serves.

"It’s really easy to do this business,” Joie told me. “I can drop off a LegalShield magazine while I’m at the doctor’s office with my parents, tell a parent about how to protect against identity theft when I pick my son up from school, and then return phone calls while I’m cooking dinner. I totally invite other mompreneurs to join the team. I know how it is to do business working around the family schedule.”

Joie also credits her success to a weekly "Work@Homers" networking lunch, which helps keep her on track with her goals. To read more about this community get-together, view my previous Patch blog, titled “Getting Local With People Who Work From Home.”

Want to meet this amazing Joie? Come to the Work@Homer networking events every Thursday. See www.meetup.com/Work@Homers for further details.

And if you see Joie darting around town, I suggest you get out of the way because she’s always movin’! Or fall in line with her and join the fun. You just might discover what it’s like to experience Joie de Vivre.

Click here for more details about Legal Shield—or visit www.legalshield.com/info/jlamonte.