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Believe in yourself and go for your dreamsBy MaryHelen Swanson Whether you go for the gold, go for a goal, or work to make your dream come true, it takes a lot of drive, persistence, sweat, tears, planning and hard work. But, as Stacy resident Pat Flor said in an interview last week, ìIf you have a dream and you believe in God and yourself, you can achieve anything in this world.î ìNothing can stop you, she said, ìdoors will shut, others will open, tears will fall, laughter will come soon after.î It took a road of determination and faith, and not always smooth traveling, but now she believes sheís at her destination. ìThe journey is still so unbelievable,î Flor said, ìI get up in the morning and wonder how it could have been possible.î Today, Flor, with the financial backing of some very special people, is the proud owner of her own dry cleaners, a dream come true. She thinks the dream started at age 14 when she used to babysit for Mrs. Bensonís son. Mrs. Benson ran a dry cleaners. She learned the business from the ground up starting to work for Mrs. Benson part-time as a counter girl, earning something around $.75 an hour. She watched Mrs. Benson closely, learning the trade one aspect at a time through hands-on application. ìShe was a fantastic teacher,î Flor said. But it came easy. Flor believes that in any field, some people have it and some donít. She knew she had it, she had the ìfeelî for the clothes and the job. She just thought owning a dry cleaner was out of reach for too many years. For 31 years Flor worked in someone elseís dry cleaning shop, and then one day she decided to get into a completely different business. She applied for and got a job with Carlson Wagonlit Travel as a receptionist. But something continued to nag at her, a feeling that there was something more she wanted to do. Not meaning to be cruel, she noted that she was raised in a Catholic school where she felt she never got to believe in herself. And yet, she said, she knew that some day she was going to be no. 1 in something. After two years behind the travel agent desk, she announced to her husband one day that she was going to start her own dry cleaners. You have to do what you do best, she said. She did a lot of praying about it, knowing that God would not steer her in the wrong direction. And she quit her job. ìI freaked out my husband,î she said. And then the work began. She learned that there was essentially no dry cleaners in the northern communities and went to the Wyoming city council to find out how to get started. She spent eight weeks with the Small Business Administration at Pine Technical College, learning all the steps to start up a business. Most amazing was the fact that she was going for her dream and she literally had no money. She began to wonder if there were other women with dreams and money who might go into partnership with her. She asked all the woman she knew if they wanted to invest in her. And to her surprise, someone did. In fact, two ìfabulousî women, and their husbands believed in her and her dream. And when they put their heads together there was no going back. The road went up and down. But each time a door shut, another one open, ìevery single time.î And now, the business is doing very well, and more new doors are opening every day. Flor could be a motivational speaker, for she is very convincing and encouraging. The idea for a business of her own came last May. When Sept. 11 happened she said she was scared. ìI could have fallen apart,î she said. With the impending recession she had to carefully consider this move, but she was confident in her knowledge of dry cleaning and she continued to go for it. Women have great gifts to offer and by pooling resources, they can achieve their dreams, she said. And it doesnít matter your age. If you go for your dream and get there, at the end of the day there is gratification. ìYou did it!î With God at her side (ìand Iím not a religious personî) she feels she finally has made it.
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