Thursday, March 15, 2007

Welcome Divapreneurs!

Whoah .... who woulda thunk it? If you had told me a mere YEAR ago that I would soon own & operate my own business, I would have laughed in your face. Ridiculously, heartily laughed, 'till tears streamed down my cheeks and I had to scream at you "stop!" for fear my sides would burst.

Well .... perhaps I exaggerate a little. But it would have been funny.

You see, I'd never thought of myself as a business gal before. First degree in psychology, six months in SouthEast Asia, two soul-less years in an accounting department, second degree in education. I had friends who got business degrees, but it never interested me. And an entrepreneur? Forget it! Waaaayy too risky. Better to work for someone else, collect my paycheck, and be on my way.

And then I got married. During the planning of my wedding I discovered a tiny, perfect, hidden gem of creativity that I had never before known I possessed. After much encouragement, persuasian, and lets face it, gentle shoving from my new husband (remember ... I wasn't "into" owning my own business. Too scary!), Epiphany Designs was born. Bam! As quickly as that.

Now I'm an entrepreneur. And I LOVE IT. I sit awake at night thinking up new designs and innovative strategies to increase my customer base. My mind regularily scrolls through off-the-wall ideas that are suddenly appearing from everywhere, inspired by anything. I get excited about new paper products, fabulous client meetings, beautiful designs. At last, I finally know what it means to feel passionate about your work. And because of all this, I want to help other "wannabe's" achieve their Divaprenurial dreams. I'm not an expert, merely a girl who's (just begun) living the dream. But I'm willing to share what I can.

Divapreneurs is about finding a business that you love and jumping in heart-first. Its about loving your work, loving your life, and learning to find a peaceful balance between both. Most importantly, its about encouraging you that it is possible. That tiny cafe, that homebased business, that boutique shop --- if you truly want it, it is going to happen. Its just a matter of when.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a rock star! So great to see this blog - and what a great title! Looking forward to reading your tips and all about your adventures.

Laura said...

Loving the idea Andra! Can't wait to read more. I would love to work for myself as well but like your 1-year-ago self, I'm too freaked to take the plunge. Hopefully I'll find some great ideas here.

Anonymous said...

Andra - you are such an inspiration! I found the Divapreneurs group on Facebook on my friend Morgan's page, and I have been hooked ever since. I regularly check to see what all the other driven women out there are doing or dreaming of doing. I commonly see hesitant comments because I think we (myself included) are so scared to put ourselves out there, but your comments are very motivational. I looked at your website and I love your invitation designs!

Andra said...

Wow .. Jennifer, Laura, and Lauren ... thank you all so much for your incredibly kind words! Sounds like the three of you are inspirational in your own rights, too! I'm so glad you enjoy what I've been writing -- now, if I can only keep living up to expectations!