A Sioux Falls woman will succeed in her new business if other women pay her  listen to them.









That's the model for You Talk. I Listen., a concept developed by Deb Beukelman.
Beukelman co-owned Qualified Presort Service for 17 years before selling it in 2006. A life-long accountant, she found herself semi-retired and looking for something new, different and flexible.
When she realized she was spending a lot of time listening to women about things happening in their lives, she thought there might be a market for the service.
Then, "I thought, 'That's weird,'" she said.
She kept mulling it over and then floated the idea by other women, who encouraged her.
"I had a few people say, 'I'm sending my teenage daughter to you,' " she said. ""What I've found is with all the social network stuff so many people are on the Internet or phones that they really don't communicate."
Her services include helping clients brainstorm, vent or problem solve. She will be based out of her house but will meet clients for appointments too.
"You maybe have a lot of friends or family, but sometimes that's not who you want to share things with even though you're close to them," Beukelman said. "I'm here to listen to their issues. I don't want to or pretend to be a counselor."
She plans to draw on her own life experiences running a farm, raising twins and starting a business.
Her last business, Qualified Presort, started at six employees and grew to 150.
"We didn't know what we were doing. It was something totally new," Beukelman said. "So if I never try, I'll never know if it's going to go or not. I'd rather try and fail than not try at all."
To learn more about her business, click here.




originally posted by:Jodi Schwan, jschwan@sfbusinessjournal.