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Spotlight on Debbie Lowndes — President / Owner, NicTa Services Inc.

Me“I did it for me.”

Debbie Lowndes was a mother of two working exhaustively as a Senior Purchasing agent for one of the world’s most well-known, all-inclusive, Caribbean resort chains. Maintaining a full-time job that included extensive travel, Debbie always felt pressed for time; she also had an ambition to do something more with her career… “something that felt more rewarding and that also gave me the freedom to be there for my kids when they needed me,” she explains. In 2004, while feeling an overwhelming desire for greater work-life balance, Debbie thought back to a conversation she had with a close friend about starting a mini call center and working from home, using the Arise Virtual Solutions platform. “My girlfriend introduced it to me in 1996 when my son was about 6 months old but I didn’t actually make the move at that point; I wasn’t really ready.  When I was finally ready to become a business owner, I reconsidered the call center business and the structure made sense to me.” Her wheels started spinning. I can do this, she thought! The idea of being her own boss, creating her own work schedule and working from her own home office excited her. She did her homework and decided the opportunity and timing was right.

Today Debbie is President of NicTa Services Inc. (named after her children Nick and Taryn), providing customer support solutions using the Arise platform. She says, “It literally transformed my life.”

“Being a business owner gives me my independence. I don’t answer to anybody but myself… and I can be pretty demanding. It’s made me grow—as a woman and as small business owner. But ultimately, being my own boss and working for myself makes me feel empowered. It makes me feel that I can do anything,” explains Debbie.  

Like thousands of customer service representatives, technical support specialists and inbound sales representatives who started their own business and use the Arise platform to succeed, Debbie is thrilled with her new work/life balance.

“In fact,” she says, “It has exceeded my expectations.  Being my own boss has given me the capability to set my own hours and come and go as I please.  It has given me the time that I need to raise my children.”

Debbie says she is deeply gratified that she’s been able to work her schedule around her children’s sporting events, teacher meetings, doctor appointments, and school plays. “It has given them ALL of me. I tell other parents considering their own call center business that if you do it right you’ll have the opportunity to raise your children. And what’s better than that?”

Servicing Fortune 500 companies has also proven to be incredibly gratifying for Debbie. With years of career experience in the travel industry, Debbie has been most pleased to leverage her skills to deliver best-in-class, white glove customer service to cruise line, airline, and resort destination customers. More recently, Debbie decided to take on roadside assistance services.

“It’s exciting and it’s also great to provide customer service assistance to people who really need help. Providing that white glove service is incredibly satisfying to me. It doesn’t feel like work, it really feels like I’m helping people. I truly pride myself on providing that white glove service, which is what those Fortune 500 companies demand. I feel like I’m really making a difference.”

Running your own call center business isn’t for everyone however. Debbie says you must be committed, focused and responsible. “I’ve been able to meet my financial goals because it’s all up to me,” she explains. “Working for myself now, I get as much out of it as I put into it. If you’re willing to be a business owner and to develop yourself and be all that you can be, Arise has the technology and support that makes it possible to run your own call center company.”

What would she say to others considering starting a home-based mini-call center?

Debbie laughs. “If I can do it, anyone who is dedicated can do it too! You just have to take that first step. Know what you want, set your goals and go for it!”

In the final analysis Debbie says that she’s proud that she raised her children well and that she built her company. “And I did it for ME!” she exclaims.

Provided by Arise Virtual Solutions Inc.

About Arise

Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. provides a virtual platform to connect primarily work-at-home service professionals, running small call center businesses, to Fortune 500 and other large companies.  For over two decades, Arise’s platform has created thousands of work opportunities for small businesses run by stay-at-home moms, veterans, students, retirees and other entrepreneurial-minded individuals.