Start of the Journey

Life offers us different opportunities at various times. Sometimes we are ready for them and sometimes we aren’t. If you had asked me 5 years ago, did I want to run my own business, my answer would have been a definitive “No”. The reason, I have had a business before, and it was not a rewarding experience.

Then in late 2024, I had seen a post on Facebook about someone selling a business due to a death in the family! Now maybe I had a moments’ lapse of good judgement, but I decided that I would buy ‘the business’. To make a long story short, there seemed to be too many obstacles to ignore, and  it didn’t go as originally planned. There were time delays, misunderstandings and ultimately financing did not get approved. I was okay with that because somewhere along the way, realizing that I had put in a significant amount of work in market research, business planning, etc. I shifted to wanting to start a business from scratch. One that reflected me and my interests and goals (sustainability, buying local, and building community).

As I had most of the business plan and market research done, I dove into searching for suppliers. There was a bit of a panic attack when I realized I was really in uncharted waters, but I just pulled up my big girl panties and got on with it. And as I thought about what items I wanted to include in my inventory, I was also thinking about various projects that could be made. Truthfully, I don’t think my creative juices had flowed so well in a number of years!

I have accomplished what I set out to do – start a business. And now I look forward to tending it and hopefully watch it grow. I learned so much from my survey respondents, that I will likely keep putting out polls and mini-surveys to help me better understand the wants and needs of the Makers Community. Browse the products and creative ideas and if you don’t see something that catches your eye (or inspires you) I hope that you will send me an email and provide feedback.