There is a fascinating woman who I talk to every week when I take my kids to their tumbling class. She is funny and smart and has a super interesting job. One that fell into her lap.
But first...
The goal of this blog is to inspire you to do three things live simply and frugally, live debt free and create opportunities for yourself.
Since I talk a lot about working at home, that last inspirational aspiration has really been inspired by the thousands (that's NOT hyperbole) emails and comments on this blog and social media from women who want to be at home with their kids but still earn an income to help financially support their family.
I get that goal. I truly do. And it's really at the heart of this blog. I want to help you save your family money, I want to help you pair down your lifestyle so you can achieve these goals. I want to show you that there are endless opportunities for you out there if you're willing to work for them.
But as many emails and comments that I get from women desperate to be at home and earn money, I get the same number from women (and a few men) who feel they don't have the skill set and qualifications to work from home or start their own business.
That's just not true. You have more marketable skills than you probably realize. (And we will talk about that in another blog post. )
But if you're feeling like there is no opportunity for you because your education or past work experience might not be something you can transfer to a work-at-home situation I want you to really read this story.
Recently I struck up a conversation with a mom who happened to be a beekeeper. Yes, I said beekeeper. The entire thing fascinated me.
I asked her how she got started and she said she always wanted to be a bee keeper and, "well I was looking for a sign and I kept waiting till the time was right. But one day a colony of bees took up residence in my kitchen wall."
Isn't that a sign?? She said she decided to keep the bees and start harvesting her own honey. But first she had to find a bee removal service.
"Basically, what I found was that these services come in, charge you a bunch of money, leave a hole in your wall and take all your bees and keep them for themselves."
So she cut hive out herself and kept them. And now she does this for other people. This is her business. She goes to her clients homes, cuts colonies of bees out of their walls or wherever they have swarmed, and she sets up a hive for them.
Do you think she started out her adult life thinking she would go into business as a professional beekeeper and colony relocation specialist? Probably not. But she saw an opportunity and she went for it.
And that is the key. Find an opportunity and go for it. Do it scared. Do it by yourself. Do it even if everyone else thinks you sound like a crazy person. Just go for it.
This weekend I got the opportunity to attend Christy Wright's Business Boutique in Nashville. I will talk more about it later. But I walked into that venue of 3,000 women alone. I knew no one. I was there to learn and network and grow my business and I was alone in a see of women. Many who knew each other. It took a small slice of courage to walk in, smile and introduce myself to many of the women I met. And I'm so glad I did. I made so many AWESOME connections.
I know taking a risk is scary. But take just one step. Develop one new skill. Learn how to do one thing and do it well because you never know where it might lead you.
