Christine Holland, Founder and President

My resume will give you my history and my credentials, but it doesn't necessarily give you any insight into the person behind the job -- the person who makes things happen.

Like many, I draw inspiration from everything I see. I especially love movies and theatre, not only for their entertainment value, but for their inherent messages.

One of my favorite movies is a 1988 flick called Working Girl. The tagline says it all -- "For anyone who's ever won. For anyone who's ever lost. And for everyone who's still in there trying."

For those who haven't seen it, Melanie Griffiths plays a secretary at a Wall Street investment firm who one day decides she's ready to step up and make a change. Tess McGill (Griffiths) believes things are finally going her way when she starts working for Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver), who insists she likes "to see hard work rewarded."

When the woman she views as a mentor steals her business idea, Tess doesn't just get angry, she runs with her idea and gets the job done -- on her terms. She's gutsy; she's inventive; she helps others rediscover what they love about their work. We're a lot alike that way.

At the end of the movie, the client she'd been working for compliments Tess' "gumption" and drive. "You've got a real fire in your belly," he said, offering her her dream job with a simple question, "Are you willing to go out on that limb every day working for me?"

She is. That's something else we have in common. We live out on that limb, offering our clients everything we have, whatever it takes. We don't work according to a formula, because the formula doesn't apply to every situation. We make things happen, and we get results.

At it's core, Working Girl is not all that different from my favorite Broadway show -- the one that inspired the name of my company.

One of the signature numbers in Wicked -- "Defying Gravity" -- comes at the end of the first act.

When I decided to jump off the cliff and branch out on my own, putting my background to work doing what I love, I couldn't get the lyrics out of my head.

"It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap. It's time to try defying gravity." I knew I was inspired and exhilarated (in addition to singing along at the top of lungs in the car -- for anyone who sees me on the L.A. freeways). But I also thought that it really is a great metaphor for business success, whether you're launching a small business or a new brand, or making changes to accelerate growth -- you have to take that leap and do what you love.

And that's exactly what I'm doing. Want to Defy Gravity with me?