I remember the aggravation as I tried to adjust my little girl’s grip on her golf club.

“No, you have to move your right hand a little higher on the club, like this.”

She would tell me it wasn’t right. She knew, of course, because she was 8 and I was her dad.

A golf pro walked over, looked at her grip, and told her, “You have to move your right hand a little higher on the club, like this.”

She moved her hand.

I’m sure many of you remember such parental moments, or are experiencing them now. It’s not so much your child feels he or she knows everything. It’s is more they think you don’t know anything.

In looking through upcoming events in Lakewood Ranch, I noticed Four Pillars at San Marco Plaza is hosting a workshop June 15 called “Shine from Within.” It is designed to “help girls ages 12 to 17 to realize and develop their own unique confidence, self-love and purpose.”

I figured Cheri Christiansen, the owner of Four Pillars who will be teaching the workshop, must be putting herself in the golf pro’s role, hoping that since she isn’t “Mom” to those attending, her nuggets of wisdom will be digested correctly. After all, it must be like teaching a golf shot, telling teenage girls to get a grip on things such as self-confidence, self-image and purpose.

“We’re going to be talking about self-love, self-care, confidence and purpose,” Christiansen said. “But we also are going to make this a fun experience. It will be all about helping them find themselves as a person.”

Christiansen, a certified life coach, has a lot of experience when it comes to talking with teen girls, but she has hedged her bet as well. She signed up 12-year-old Bryce Bennett of Sarasota as the main guest speaker.

She has a soft spot in her heart for Bennett, who already has started her own business, SarasotaSugar, which produces skin products. Like Bennett, Christiansen was entrenched in the business world when she was just 12, doing financial projections and handling inventory and shipping for her mom, Cheri Dougherty, who owned a skin care and cosmetics business in Kansas City.

“My mom would take me to seminars and I learned how to do accounting and sales, and I learned how to be confident with grown-ups,” Christiansen said. “I learned how not to be intimidated.”

Christiansen and Bennett were joined in the room by Bennett’s mom, Alisa Bennett, and I couldn’t help notice the recurring theme. Alisa and her husband, Jason, own Bennett Contracting of Bradenton. I was surrounded by entrepreneurs.

The secret to easy teen living? Start a business.

Although that isn’t a viable option in many cases, it certainly did help Bryce Bennett.

“When I was in third grade, mom and I wanted to give my teacher something special,” said Bryce, who attended Bay Haven School of Basics Plus in Sarasota. “We made a citrus-scented sugar scrub.”

Alisa Bennett wanted to make sure people know that it wasn’t like dad carving out the Pinewood Derby car and the son etching him name into it. “I don’t make anything crafty,” Alisa said. “It was her idea to add the fresh fruit.”

Her third-grade teacher was so thrilled, Bryce continued making skin scrubs. She has now sold hundreds of jars of her product.

The morale of the story isn’t that girls can solve their problems by starting a business. Instead, Bryce wants to tell them they can be successful at anything they embrace.

“Being in business taught me how to be independent,” said Bryce, who has gone through the Sarasota Young Entrepreneurs Academy. “It taught me how to cope with things.”

Christiansen added, “The more success you have, the more confidence you gain.”

It still doesn’t cure all teen woes, as Bryce confirms. She clashes with her mom about clothing choices and she worries about her math classes and how people would perceive her when she lost her two maxillary canine teeth.

“I worry about whether this person likes me,” Bryce said. “And the way people see me.”

The workshop isn’t a cure-all either, but Christiansen said it can point the teen girls in the right direction. “We want them to ask, ‘What could I do?’ They can volunteer in things, they can get involved. They can make a difference.”

Bryce adds, “If you stay dedicated, great things will come out, no matter if you fail.”

Those interested in the workshop, which costs $20, can call 373-3955.

If I had such a workshop years ago, I could have been a perfect parent.

Now I am the one who needs to get a grip.

Read original article from the East County Observer here.

John Krotec didn’t buy the property he was seeking, but he sure felt better.

Expecting to find a real estate office at a place called Four Pillars at San Marco Plaza, the former volunteer coordinator at Nathan Benderson Park walked through the doors and started to look around for the listings.

Then he saw the massage tables and essential oils.

He was greeted by Four Pillars owner Cheri Christiansen, who doesn’t sell homes, but instead is an agent of wellness. Krotec, who was somewhat embarrassed, and Christiansen began to chat, and the benefits of networking were on display in all their glory.

Krotec set up an appointment for Christiansen’s wellness services that, in her words, seek to improve mind, body, spirit and social connection. A brain injury suffered in an auto accident four years before still plagues Krotec, who was having little luck with medicines.

When he returned for his therapy, the wheels really started turning. Krotec, a U.S. Army veteran, told Christiansen about his efforts to raise money and support for veterans. He ran some business ideas past her.

Christiansen suggested he change his idea to a certification company, a place that could identify safe havens, or a green zone, for veterans.

Krotec started thinking about a business plan before he got out the door, and two days later he had it complete working from his Sarasota home. GreenZone Hero was about to launch. The business went live on Feb. 29 and in three weeks had 27 companies signed up at $275 a year to be recognized.

For those of you unfamiliar with GreenZone Hero, Krotec wanted to provide tangible recognition by identifying businesses that give veterans their support. He began to place GreenZone Hero emblems on the doors and windows of those businesses, so shoppers could show their support by patronizing them. He created a networking list for all those who signed up.

Meanwhile, Christiansen made some business strides as well. Through her new association with Krotec, she started to think of ways to better serve the many veterans who live in the Manatee-Sarasota counties area. The two business owners collaborated on various projects to honor veterans.

Eventually, Christiansen decided to participate in a “gratitude campaign” that includes Four Pillars hosting a PTSD workshop on Sept. 11 and a wellness event for Veterans Day.

Last week, Krotec and Christiansen got together to continue planning their “Kundalini Yoga: PTSD Recovery Workshop,” which will be led by New York’s Karisa Judith and will be held on Sept. 11 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Four Pillars in remembrance of one of the country’s most traumatic events.

In the world of Kundalini Yoga, described by the Huffington Post as a “meditative workout that puts emphasis on consciousness that activates energy centers throughout the body,” Judith is a big cheese on a world-wide scale.

When it comes to Kundalini Yoga, I don’t know a mantra from a chakra, but I do understand both Christiansen and Krotec have experienced one of Judith’s sessions at Four Pillars in May and they now worship at the Kundalini alter.

The workshop, which costs $25, is open to everyone, but Krotec and GreenZone Hero became involved to see if he could get veterans to participate. Christiansen emphasized the workshop is more focused on breathing, so anyone can do it.

In addition, Four Pillars and GreenZone Hero also are working with Chinese Medical Solutions of Sarasota to host a wellness day on Veterans Day called “Helping Heroes Heal.” The event will be held Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information on the events, go to fourpillarsflorida.com or greenzonehero.com.

A chance meeting in Lakewood Ranch, like so many others that take place every day in our community, seems to be paying dividends.

Perhaps Krotec didn’t go through the wrong door.