Webster defines a successful person as one who has attained wealth, fame, or prosperity.  Forest Gump would probably have said, “Successful is as successful does.”  And after decades of observing the human condition, I’ve made my own assessment . . . I agree with Forest.  

Success can’t be measured by your banker, your peers, or anyone else’s perception of your lifestyle.  It’s is a very personal thing – multi-faceted and measurable only by your own inner needs and perceptions.  Nothing made a case for that theory more with me, than actually speaking with several online business women who would be considered successful by most of us.  And not one of them speaks of wealth, fame or prosperity.

Margaret Thomson, a Michigan businesswoman, defines her success as “the feeling of accomplishment I have about building my business at an age when many people are winding down and settling into rocking chairs.”  Margaret, who designed L’escarfe,™ a scarf “that never needs to be tied,” and had it copyrighted and patented at the age of 63, is definitely not ready for the rocking chair.   She enjoys being able to share her financial successes by supporting favorite causes, and a portion of her company’s proceeds go to the Metro Detroit Gilda’s Club -- “a great organization that provides much needed support for cancer patients.” Soon to be 70 years old, with a business that has expanded to include an Internet presence (www.scarvesbymargaret.com), Margaret has only just begun.  “My life is more exciting now than it has ever been, meeting new people and learning something new every day. What more can anyone ask?”  For Margaret, success is defined by sharing – resources, friendships, and good fortune.

On the other end of the age spectrum, work-at-home Moms find success in being able to “have it all.”  Two members of a new generation of self-motivated women -- Dawn Lloyd and Michelle Donahue-Arpas  -- are among those who’ve managed to enjoy both the pleasures of days spent with young children, as well as professional growth in a business setting where they make the rules and set the hours. Creating an informational site for new and expectant parents gave Dawn, owner of BabyUniversity.com www.babyuniversity.com, tremendous satisfaction. “Expectant parents have so many questions and fears . . . so many things that come up during the course of a day . . . things they just don’t know how to address.   Creating a good reliable source of information . . . a place where parents can find what they need all in one place . . . that was my challenge. I wasn’t interested in making money at the time.  Now, I want to explore the possibilities of doing that without ruining the integrity of my original concept.”  

It was through her web site, that Dawn first “met” Michelle.   Michelle’s business, Genius Babies.com located on the Yahoo! mall, is definitely a commercial success, with its baby gift packages of developmental toys and books being well publicized in magazines and newspapers alike.  “We were so busy during the last Christmas shopping season that I didn’t know how I was going to get through it!”  says this successful entrepreneur.   But she persevered, and business continues to grow. “Things just keep getting better and better,” says Michelle.  So when you put one hard-working retailer with one hard-working researcher/writer what do you get?  You get plans for a 3rd site – a site that will incorporate all the two know about the business of parents and babies – www.mybabyshops.com .  MyBabyShops just launched in June – a new mall of shops for Moms and babies, as well as a new opportunity for other work-at-home Moms to sell their baby products.  “We’re big believers in networking – it’s how we met, and how we continue to work online every day.  The new mall will allow us both to continue doing what we enjoy and do best, and have the freedom to be with our growing children at the same time.”  For this pair, the “free to be me” feeling is the big success story. 

For Celia Thomas of MAC Paper and Packaging Supplies www.macpaper.com, “there is great personal satisfaction simply knowing that we've done a good job that someone appreciates!”  The small central Kansas company, which Celia happily runs with husband Alan, is obviously doing something right.  They take great pride in a customer base that includes such well-known companies as Microsoft Corporation, the University of Notre Dame, Cessna Aircraft, First USA and Capital One credit card companies, Syracuse University, Sotheby’s and 3M Corporation.  “We're often able to get a product for them, or meet a deadline for them, that no one else is able to do. That's where our success begins,” says Celia.  Additionally, there’s another more personal success story for Celia.   “I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis for the past 25 years.  While I don’t talk about it very much, or give in to it any more than I have to, it’s still an every day fact of life for me, and I do have to work around it and the growing limitations that it imposes on me.  Being able to be the Internet leg of our company, while my husband does the physical work and sales trips, has been a real blessing.  Due to my past work experience and the technology now available, I’ve been able to carve out meaningful work for myself, and increase our business reach and income as well.  Just knowing that what I do, even with my physical limitations, makes a difference . . . for our business . . . for the people we serve . . . that’s success in my book.”

Kathy Lindberg, owner of the Gift Basket Gallery www.giftbasketgallery.com has enjoyed success of every kind since starting her home-based business.  “I always had a dream to own my own business, to create something from scratch – to build it, watch it grow, and shape it into a business that’s all mine and reflects my personality.  Being able to build something where there once was nothing . . .”  Added joys for Kathy were being able to be flexible for the benefit of her children, and to enjoy the pure personal pleasure of not having to deal with the morning rush hour.   “I’m not the type to rush out of bed in the morning to hit the corporate pavement.  To be able to start the day on my own terms has an amazing effect on my productivity.”   Personal growth and learning experiences are also among the assets that Kathy attributes to her entrepreneurial venture.  “I’ve met so many wonderful business people as a result of taking an active role in the community with my business. And it has allowed me, or shown me, how I can become active in my community though volunteerism and shaping myself as a community leader.  This has been great for me.  I feel good about myself and what I do . . . and what makes you feel more successful than that?”

When you consider all the kinds of success that people “feel,” you simply can’t discount the feeling of success that comes from helping others get started in earning a little extra income.  Helen Mullins and Cathy Bostrom know that feeling well.  Their Crafty Grannies site www.craftygrannies.com has provided such an opportunity for 50 crocheting “grannies” (and one “grandpa” too!).   When Helen first began her online crochet shoppe, she knew she couldn’t hope to build up a substantial inventory on her own; so she placed classified ads looking for people who might be interested in working with her.  Responses came from all over the United States and Canada, including one from Cathy.  “I love to crochet, and this seemed like the perfect way for me to keep busy and productive,” says Cathy.  “I have MS, and it had progressed to the point where I really couldn’t go out to work anymore.  So this is perfect – and it was made even more perfect when Helen asked me to take care of the daily operation for her, since she was still working.  Now we’re in this great situation where we’ve become close friends . . . we’ve developed wonderful working relationships with all the “grannies” . . . we’re helping them to make money doing what they love best . . . it just doesn’t get any better than this!”

And so it seems that success is relative to where you are, what you value, what you do, and how you do it.  Forest would be right . . . successful is, as successful does.

Carol Auclair Daly is the owner of the Creative Enterprises Community, and a writer and publicist for the online business community.