I grew up with both of my parents at home with me, my dad was a professional photographer and ran his own home-based business, my mom was a stay at home mom and housewife. I grew up knowing that running your own business would be the way to go, it was amazing having both of my parents at home with me when I was young.
When I was 9 years old my dad began feeling bad, he went to the doctor they ran tons of tests(although I do not remember much of this process). The diagnosis came back as leukemia(more specifically AML). That was a tough year but you have to always remember that God will not give you more than you can handle. It was a year of growth for my family. Just a year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days and God called my daddy home.
My mom had not worked outside the home but a traditional job would take her away from me and that was not an option, so she did a consultant type job at my church, taking care of the maintenance and cleaning. For ten years she worked there until I graduated from high school and we both got our very first out of the home job. Me, at Macys and her, at Walmart.
I absolutely loved my job but knew deep in my heart I wanted my own business, but what kind of business, how would I do it, when would I do it, and where would I do it?
In 2008 I opened my ETSY shop selling greeting cards and jewelry pieces, I loved being able to share my handcrafted items. I have been selling on ETSY on and off since 2008, When I went to college for my Associates, my undergrad, and most recently my Graduate degree I was more off ETSY than on ETSY. I most recently found my love of planning and helping others stay organized so I started selling my handmade stickers, planner accessories and hoping to get back to stationary like greeting cards, bookmarks and more!
I went to school to be a Medical coder and was asked upon graduating to be a coding teacher at my college, humbled and blessed I began my teaching career in June of 2010 and continued to love teaching until June of this year, that is when something absolutely amazing happened(It was the Lord working miraculously in my life). I got a job at a local large (250+providers) organization as the corporate Medical Coding/Billing compliance specialist and Corporate auditor…I still can not believe it, I think I am dreaming and will wake up and it will all be a really good dream:)
What is the most amazing part of my job is, my schedule is so flexible, with that being said I set my schedule and I try my very best to stick to that schedule but as long as I get my 40 hours in each week it doesn’t matter when I start or finish work each day. I am more of an early bird so I get up and get ready to be at work every day by 6/6:30 ish so I can get off at 2:30/3:00ish every day and even earlier on Friday.
In 2013 I was searching for a unique Christmas gift for my mom and found an ad for Ruby Ribbon, I had to figure out what Ruby Ribbon was, I was immediately attracted to the gorgeous banner and logo that was in front of me on my computer. I did some research and then requested information, had never in my life seen Ruby Ribbon, did not know what a trunk show was, knew nothing about the business or how to run it… But I took a leap of faith and signed up December 2013, I am so very thankful for the journey that Ruby Ribbon has taken me on and cannot wait to see where it is taking me!
Right now I have a lot on my plate but would not have it any other way, “you want something done ask a busy woman.”
- I am a full-time employee (My dream job)
- I am my church secretary in a way(that is a long story but I pretty much do secretarial duties of the church remotely)
- I am a Ruby Ribbon stylist
- I am a small business owner
- I am a grad student set to graduate next August(finishing up classes in March2018)
If you have ever thought about owning and running your own business, take a look at Ruby Ribbon as an option go here for more information on how you can begin your business for less than $500.00
Have a fashionable day!