My 25 Year Craft Journey Continued

In the six years of owning and operating my gift store I sold a variety of items. My core product lines were candles, bath & body care, giftware, aromatherapy, and gift baskets. the business was prosperous for three years, but then sales dropped off. I can attribute this to many factors.My last location, which was the most expensive lease I signed, should have generated the most profit, in that it was the most visible of all my locations. It did not generate the income I needed it to, so I limped along for approximately one year before talking with the Landlord and settling a way out of my lease.I started my store with personal savings,and at the end of the six years I had incurred a large amount of debt. I had signed leases on the retail space, my credit card processing,the business sign, a bank note, and business credit card. As a sole proprietiership these debts all had to be addressed.Needless to say, at this point in my life, my self esteem wasn't exactly at an all time high. But, I knew I needed to go immediately to work somewhere to pay off the bills. And that's exactly what I did. I closed my store in March, 2005. I went home and painted my spare bedroom,(which is my craft room to this day).The next week I went and bought a cell phone and plan and placed an ad in our local newspaper to clean private houses or paint their homes. All I can say about that is God hooked me up with so many wonderful people, some of whom I consider friends to this day. And it felt so good to be earning money again,that was not incurring any extra debt. I aquired a steady clientel of about sixteen homes, and some painting on the side. I did this kind of work for about twenty months.I finally decided to go to work for a retailer so I would not be self employed any longer.I am still employed with that retailer, but I feel a yearning to create again. I began this blog to encourage anyone with a creative spirit to never give up on what your heart is set on doing. I've seen some adversity on my journey, but I knew with God's help, I could overcome the huge mountain of debt I lugged home with me after my store closure.I still am paying on my store credit card, but all the other bills have been paid in full,( and the total for those amounts to several thousand dollars).Also, this whole experience has been rewarding for me personally because I've grown in ways I would not have had I not opened my store.If I could go back the ten years and start my store again, I would do it again, probably all the same way.Now I'm to a point where I have no regrets about any of it. I've gained a huge amount of satisfaction from the paying off of each store bill.The word that fits best is VICTORY! On my next post, I am going to talk about the crafts I love to make now. Talk to you soon!