All we can say is, "It's all Gladys' fault!"
She's the one who brought the three of us together. Having known and worked with Tina for quite some time, and having been Sheri's friend for several decades, she knew we were all interested in doing something new, different and 100% more satisfying than what we were presently doing.
But to do that we had to tap into what was really in our hearts, what it was that truly brought us joy and made us sizzle with excitement.
Where We Were
In our present circumstances (all three of us were in education in some capacity), our feelings ranged from feeling disconnected with what we were doing and not seeing a path to achieving our goals to going to work every day absolutely hating what we were doing.
Gladys had a desire to fulfill her vison of “whatsoever things are lovely” and Sheri felt lost transitioning from where she had been to not knowing exactly where she wanted to be.
We all knew we would know that thing, that direction when we came upon it.
Admittedly, it was a process. Letting go of where we'd been and allowing ourselves to dream big took some time.
Joy from Within
As we spent time together praying for God’s guidance and talking it through we found that the fire in our hearts turned to flames as we talked of the home and the garden.
When our conversation came to landscaping, we can still remember the big smile that came to Tina’s face and the sparkle in her eyes as she beamed with enthusiasm and joy.
We talked of reimagining spaces, including our own, and found great happiness in talking and thinking of lovely things for the home.
That’s what we were looking for – that joy coming from within.
Action Steps
We decided to start by focusing on home décor. We did our research and found there’s a booming market expected to grow exponentially. It was our open door and we boldly decided to walk through it.
Could we walk away from our jobs right then, we would have, but we had bills to pay and retirement requirements to meet.
Now we needed a niche. We searched our hearts some more and talked through our ideas and loves and narrowed it down to cottage style. We love cottage style!
We did our research again and found there is definitely a market for this timeless style.
But what about a name? It took weeks and weeks to come up with a name that felt just right. When we came up with The Cottage Porch we thought we came up with our winner.
Using the skills and experience we already had and the hours we could spare each week, we created a new website.
Finding the suppliers that provide quality products that fit our niche has been the most fun of all. We find so many products that we’d want to have in our own homes. We hope you love them, too.
Are we HGTV watchers? Yes! Seeing those transformations is inspirational. We have big dreams of making transformations in our own homes and lives, starting with The Cottage Porch.
Authentication and Inspiration - The Cottage Porch
We write our story first of all, so you know we’re real people with real dreams and aspirations who work hard and have faith that our God gives us the desires of our hearts as we delight ourselves in Him (Psalm 37:4).
Secondly, we tell our story as a means of inspiring you to not settle for discontentment, disconnect and absolutely hating the job you go to every day.
Look Within
Search your heart and find your individual “True North”. Spend time talking to friends and family. Search the web, watch YouTube videos.
Sheri’s hint: Look at your Pinterest boards to find clues of what you love. Hers are all about the home.
And pray, people! God is a loving God who wants to bless you in more ways than you could ever imagine. He’ll show you the way if you trust in Him.
When you hit on the thing that makes your heart sing, you’ll know it. Your heart will feel lighter and you’ll feel the joy rush in. Like Tina, your eyes will sparkle and your face will beam!
Knowing What It Takes
But know this: It takes time and determination, hard work and persistence, a willingness to learn new things, when roadblocks rear their ugly heads and threaten to keep you down, a willingness to push through and not give up, and the wisdom to know when to pivot.
And realistically, it takes money. If you don’t have much, save a little here and there. Find people who are willing to support you, take out a business loan. Fulfilling your dreams and finding your joy is worth it.
Find trusted partners to take the journey with you. It’s hard to climb a mountain on your own.
Lastly, live in reality. It takes time! It takes time to find what brings you joy, get a vision, make goals and accomplish them. It’s a sprint, not a marathon.
We highly recommend the book The Success Principles How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield.
If you find yourself wanting or needing a life change, contact us and tell us your story. Hopefully, we can personally inspire you!
Take a look at our About Us page for more details.
With love and joy,
Gladys, Tina, and Sheri
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