What a Week!

Yes, I have been laid-off my regular job. As I mentioned in my previous post, I see it as a blessing in disguise! On Friday I called Monte Gibbs and told him that I am ready to "pull the trigger" on my design business and he said my timing couldn't have been better because he had a meeting scheduled with the rest of the Ames Construction Team on Tuesday afternoon! He asked if I would like to join them and introduce myself to the rest of the team. I had already met Brian of Thompson Electric and Oren of Geisinger Construction when I had them come out to talk about remodeling my kitchen, but I hadn't met David of The Flooring Gallery or Jack of Winkler Painting. The meeting lasted over 3 hours! I think it was very productive and I hope I made a good impression on everybody. After the meeting Oren told me he might already have a kitchen remodel for me! I hope to hear back from him this next week sometime. I also have a lead on an interiors remodel. I've met with the client once already, but have not heard back from them since. I hope they will call soon. This whole week has been a bit of a blur. I did some window shopping for my staging business to see if I could purchase a nice contemporary sofa, dining room set, end tables and accessories that would be useful in staging a vacant home. I found the perfect sofa, but it was still out of my price range. I am going to check back on Monday to see if it has been marked down or if they will take a lower price for it. The company is going out of business, so who knows if it will still be available. If I am meant to get it, God will provide it for me. I am still trying to figure out how I would store these furniture pieces, but may have a solution at my fingertips. After the meeting with The Ames Construction Team, Monte took those of us that were fairly new to the group on a tour of their facility. We had talked about setting it up so we (ACT) would offer kitchen cabinetry and, if so, we would need a show room. It so happens that they have a very large second story space that is empty right now, that just might be the perfect location. I got to thinking later this week that maybe Monte would allow me to store my furniture in that space. I haven't talked with him about it yet, but plan to do that next week.
I am still amazed at how this all started. I have always dreamed of owning my own home-based business designing kitchens, but never truly pursued it until this past year. It really started to click one day when I was at an interview with Life 107.1 as Mrs. Iowa. It so happened that as I was heading out of the recording booth I heard the receptionist welcoming a woman named Kendra. I asked Dave, the DJ, if that was Kendra Smiley (she does shows on their station) and he said no, but asked if I had her latest book. I did not, so he gave me a copy. You will never guess what the subject of the book is!?! How to organize your time & priorities to successfully run a home-based business for mothers! What are the odds?? I can not deny that this was a sign from God!! To me, the latest "nudging" is that I have been laid-off from my regular job! Not only does it give me time to organize myself, but I can collect unemployment to help cover our bills while I am actively pursuing my dream! And then to have the meeting with the ACT was too coincidental for me to see it as anything else but the work of God! I thank Him every day for this opportunity and I also pray that He will give me the courage I need to push on.