Last spring I left my full-time job to work on building Better Than Before into a full-time, sustainable business. It was an exciting, but stressful decision and I had a lot of sleepless nights leading up to it. I was in for a long ride and a lot of work. But I was thrilled to have the opportunity. And then the letter came. I’m not sure how they found me, or why they chose me, but as they say, things happen at the right time, for the right reasons, and when you’re ready to receive.
I received an envelope in the mail, addressed to me and the name of my former side business. I had closed down that business several years ago when I realized that working a full-time job and trying to stage homes with Realtors and homeowners wasn’t feasible. But now, things were different. Although I was no longer staging homes, decorating them was in the same ballpark, and I had all the time I needed, so I was willing to see what this was all about. It’s in my nature to be skeptical, so I read the invitation with a grain of salt. Then I did some research and realized that this was a thing! A legitimate thing! I was being invited to submit a proposal to design a room in a mansion! What the holy hell?!?!?! Then the thoughts started to swirl crazily in my head, as they typically do when I’m overwhelmed or introduced to a problem that needs to be solved. Ok, now what? How do I do this? What exactly do I submit? Do I need credentials? Are there professionals that I’ll be competing against? How long do I have to prepare? How the heck does this even work? Can I even do this?! Then I took a breath. There was a designer open house coming soon where I could see the house, ask questions, and meet the other prospective designers. And there was always Google. This is what I wanted! I didn’t know that I wanted it until it fell into my lap, but this is exactly what I needed to work on. I've never been involved in something like this before, but I’d figure it out, one way or another. Fake it until you make it. Dress for the job you want. And all of those other clichés. And then I started to get excited (to put it mildly). Aside from being the type of project that could possibly launch my decorating business beyond just family and friends, this was a fundraiser for a Hospice House. The cause is close to my heart because we relied on hospice services for my brother when he was terminally ill. There will be a little piece of him in this project, as there is in my business as a whole. He was the person who inspired me to give it a go. And I hope he’s looking down from wherever he is and realizes that. Follow me on my journey as I update my blog each week with the latest developments. *To check out the event, click here.
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