WHERE COULD YOU BE ONE DAY?

I am constantly inspired by women around me.  We can learn great lessons from those we associate with to improve our lives, help us to see something through different eyes, or to do something we only dreamed about.

I have a great friend, Karen Weaver, who inspired me today to write something about her.  She’s a great mom to three wonderful kids, a wonderful wife to a guy she adores, and has created a life for herself that she’s proud of – and should be!  After being in a party plan business for years, she was ready for a new challenge.  So, she took a sewing class and started sewing!  She had never sewn before – it just sounded fun.  She thought about what she would love to wear and couldn’t find in the marketplace, so she started sewing tunic tops and dresses.  She set up a website, took some pictures of her wearing the clothes, and her “store” was open!  That lead to numerous online orders, friends telling friends, and then taking her line to Etsy, the online shopping site, and more business came her way.

She started her business in Savannah, Georgia, and has since moved to Greenville, South Carolina. With the move behind her, she decided to take her business to the next level. She searched for new fabrics, traveled around to find a manufacturer that could take over the sewing, and created some new designs and pieces to expand her line. She still selects all of the fabrics, color combinations and designs each piece herself.  She has created a business plan and is off and running in a big way. She is now being featured at the Atlanta Apparel Mart next week as an Emerging Designer, and will have two of her pieces in the Emerging Designer fashion show!  Way to go, Karen!

In talking with Karen, I asked her if she ever thought she would be at this place of heading to the Atlanta Apparel Mart, and she said, “Absolutely not! If someone would have told me two years ago when this journey began that this was going to happen, I would have said no way!”

I am so proud of you, Karen! She is professional, has a caring heart, and can’t wait to see her designs coming down the street as one of her satisfied customers is wearing their favorite, fun and comfortable new One Fun Summer dress, designed by my good friend Karen Weaver! 

If you’ve ever considered starting a business, what’s stopping you? If you have an idea, explore it, pray about it, share it with others close to you, and then take action to make it happen. Karen’s story could be your own. You will never know until you try. Thanks, Karen, for inspiring me and I am sure others that they can do it too!