Today we continue our spring 2013 membership drive (which I described earlier this week), with a letter from Chelsea Bottinelli, our superstar behind the scenes. Chelsea started as my admin assistant in 2002, and is our business manager and the person who answers your phone calls. We love you Chelsea! — efc)
Dear Friend and Reader,
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been working for Planet Waves for over a decade now. Back in 2002, our office (which was also Eric’s apartment) was the ground floor of a house on the south end of Vashon Island in Washington State.
Most days it was just Eric and me (and a lot of fish tanks) in that physical space, but even then we were supported virtually by an astounding network of writers, editors and artists from around the world. Our web guy was a teenage kid named Jordan Laughlin. I used to tease him that he needed to change his name to Laughlini to fit in with his Italian-American coworkers. (Jordan also invented the astrological sign Sagittaurus.)
I was hired as administrative help, and my knowledge of astrology was very basic. I occasionally read my horoscope in the newspaper, and I knew my Sun sign.
The first time I read one of Eric’s horoscopes, I was floored by his accuracy. It was as if he summed up the core of my soul in a few sentences. I felt like a key part of me, of who I am, was understood and acknowledged. Eric’s words made me want to learn more about how the language of astrology worked, and how he was able to translate it into something so personal. You can still read that horoscope here.
At the time we didn’t have many members, and our revenue stream had me holding my breath at the end of each month when I sat down to pay our bills. Through trial and error, hard work and a good bit of serendipity, we have grown into the company that we are today.
Our website now includes weekly podcasts, an amazing team of columnists, stunning photography, and a true community of participants. We provide the blog to readers free of charge, and it has become a touchstone for thousands of people each day — but it’s only the beginning of what we offer. Eric has branched out to offer a number of Sun sign readings in audio format including annual, seasonal and birthday readings.
And the service we offer to our members provides so much more. Astrology is the tool we use, and our job is to show you that you are full of potential, and to help you channel that potential into a way of living that benefits you and your community. We work to show you the ways that we are all connected. We want you to feel empowered to participate in changing our world for the better.