ARE YOU A MOVER?

ALM No.67, August 2024

ESSAYS

JENNIFER ALFANO

7/28/20242 min read

We hear about it all the time from social media blog posts to podcasts; the world of entrepreneurs.

Some people make it look effortless while for others it is a struggle. But entrepreneurs have one thing in common whether innate or not; motivation.

Without it, you can’t move. Donna Russo is one new entrepreneur who definitely is a mover.

Enjoying a successful career as a hospital OB ultrasound technician of 25 years and loving her craft, Donna Russo of Staten Island seized the opportunity to start her own ultrasound business during the height of the covid pandemic.

Coupled with a nonconformist spirit and seeing how first time expectant couples were frustrated without being able to both attend ultrasound appointments due to covid restrictions, Donna, unmasking an inner business savvy drive, turned the tables. Wonderful Reveals, as she cleverly calls it, created a shift for many soon to be dads by introducing a traveling ultrasound service, free of any provisions.

Needless to say, this proved to be a very exciting concept to expectant parents and therefore her services were in high demand in no time.

This was quite an accomplishment for Donna as she didn’t excel in her school years and in fact struggled all of her life with add and dyslexia. Her home life wasn’t an escape from her troubles in school. Indeed, it was quite tumultuous with a stern and insensitive father. However, Donna’s problematic upbringing strengthened her ambition that served her well as an adult. A fierce ambition to work hard for what she wanted in life combined with an inclination to immerse herself into projects was the driving force behind her now very successful mobile business. Having grown up spending summers at her parent’s shore house on the Jersey Shore, Donna shares that its her dream to be able to buy a shore house for her family one day too.

Having both the money to invest in an ultrasound machine and the optimism to start her business, Donna went all in.

Armed with a Facebook account and also word of mouth referrals as her main source of marketing, Donna’s business was off to a great start. She was so busy booking and seeing clients that despite her natural propensity of never tiring out, Donna admits it was even daunting for her to keep up with the high demand.

But that didn’t stop her from taking yet another step and venturing out once again. This time, Donna saw an opportunity to offer training to sonographers who wanted to create their own company but lacked the expertise. This plan too, proved to be successful and currently, she has helped establish several mobile ultrasound companies across the country.

Donna’s latest endeavor landed her in sunny Puerto Rico, partnering with one of her clients and establishing yet another ultrasound business.

Recently, I asked Donna, who is also a mother to three teenage boys, how she manages all that she does. Her secret, it seems, is not in being able to be still for very long. “ I don’t know how to sit and relax. I have to just keep moving.”

I think it’s fair to say that Donna has us all wondering what her next move will be.