When you decide to really do what you love for a living, sometimes you have to invent a whole new kind of job.
"It’s a brainchild of my own," says Michelle Phillipich, 35, of her new
Old Town business,
Avail Solutions. "I do know other people who will direct races for a living, but what I’m doing is more like giving smaller, non-profit races the ability to hire a race director."
Phillipich, who lives in Haslett, has a very specific set of passions: running, organizing and promoting races, and supporting non-profit organizations. So those are the things around which she built her business.
"The list of services will vary depending on the race," she says. "In some cases I’m helping to find sponsorships, or they may need help setting their course. If they don’t have enough participation, I can help with their marketing. It’s a menu of services."
Though Avail Solutions has been in the works for about a year, the new business made its debut as a full-time operation on December 1, 2010.
Phillipich has set up shop at 107 1/2 East Grand River in Old Town, and believes that the only direction Avail Solutions is moving is forward.
"I hope eventually to have employees," she says. "At the moment it’s so much work getting it off the ground, but the whole premise of the business is fundraising. Eventually I could offer hire staff with expertise in other areas and offer these services for other event types, like golf outings."
Until then, Phillipich is more than satisfied with the success of Avail Solutions so far.
"I’m doing something that I love," she says. "And I love Old town. On my lunch break I’ll throw on my running shoes and jump on the
River Trail. It’s great being here."
Source: Michelle Phillipich, Avail Solutions
Writer: Natalie Burg, Interim News Editor
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