Hey friends! As many of you know, a few weeks ago I was asked to share details of our business journey to a group of professionals in Evansville, Indiana.
During the presentation, my hope was to inspire others to pursue their own passions. Many of you have been with us from the beginning, but I thought it would be fun to recap our journey here as well and perhaps inspire you to find or continue pursuing your own passion.
Like a lot of entrepreneurial stories one hears, my road to starting a small business was a long and winding one - inspired by both my professional background and love for travel. I grew up in a wonderful small town in Southern Illinois, and after studying accounting in college, competing on speech teams, and honing as broad an experience as I could, I began my professional career in public accounting. I enjoyed all aspects of accounting, but found my niche working with business owners and became a CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst).
I've always been passionate about traveling and learning about other cultures, but there is one special place that has inspired me the most - Provence (in Southern France). After spending time there for my wedding and honeymoon, I developed a deep and abiding passion for the area, and France generally. Subsequent trips to the country, have only grown that passion.
Sénanque Abbey, Gordes, 2013
When our first daughter was born, I was fortunate to leave my career in public accounting become a stay-at-home-mom. A short 14 months later, we welcomed our second daughter. Once we were out of the haze of having both a newborn and a toddler, I decided to go after my passions and pursue my dream of starting a small business in the spring of last year.
Looking back, my professional experiences helped me develop an entrepreneurial mindset and cultivate the skills necessary to create Maison de Mings.
Maison is French for house, so the name of our business is literally the "House of Mings" and that name is both a simple announcement of who we are, but most importantly, an announcement to friends new and old alike that our little shop is a warm welcome into our home and into our lives!
I'm so proud of how the business has evolved. We have many partnerships and our products can be found in several businesses throughout the region.
Along any journey though, the thief of joy - comparison - is bound to creep up. It’s hard not to in the realm of social media. I love this quote by John Maxwell.
I believe that continued professional and personal development is key for becoming better today than yesterday.
I recently went through a John Maxwell Mastermind Group and read his book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth.” Within the book he talked a lot about finding your passion and purpose which was my inspiration for the presentation in Evansville.
Special thanks to Tami Tenbarge - Mastermind Group Leader
Throughout of the rest of this post, I would like to share some of the truths that resonated with me the most in this book and helped me articulate my passion and consider my own potential.
“Potential is one of the most wonderful words in any language." It looks forward with optimism. It is filled with hope. It promises success. It implies fulfillment. It hints at greatness. Potential is a word based on possibilities. Do you have potential? Absolutely!
What about unfulfilled potential? That phrase is as negative as the word potential is positive. Not reaching your potential is like dying with music still inside of you.
How do you reach your potential? John Maxwell tells us, "You must grow. And to grow, you must be highly intentional about it." I loved how he shared "Don’t focus on GOALS - focus on GROWTH!!" As an accountant with a Type-A personality, I've always been into goal setting - this was a challenge for me to shift my way of thinking.
"The longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will never actually do it." - John Maxwell
Many people thought I was crazy starting a small business with two toddlers. But, the opportunity was there, and we decided to take a risk - I’m so glad we did. I am blessed to be home with my girls, but able to build something I am passionate about on the side. It allows me to create - which is life giving.
To become intentional about growing, I think you need to expect to make mistakes every day, and welcome them as a sign that you are moving in the right direction.
People who get ahead in the world are the ones who look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, they make them. That means taking initiative. It means doing something specific every day that will take you another step closer to your goal. It means continuing to do it every day. Nearly all successes are the fruit of initiative.
John Maxwell says, “If you want to make your life burn brightly for others and future generations, keep growing. Remember, sometimes the seeds you sow take a long time to grow. But, you always see a harvest."
Thank you for stopping by the blog today. I hope you've found some encouragement and are inspired to pursue you own passion!
Xx,
Amy