About Women's Source
A bit from our Founder:
Hi! I am Heather, a 30-something wahm to 5 beautiful children. I live in a small town, have a more than supportive husband and live every day to teach my children "old fashioned" values and morals. I am a devoted hockey and football mom, I love reading and have instilled a great love of books in my children and am a devoted Christian. I am passionate about my family, my role as a contributing part of this world and about Women's Source!
I started out in retail (clothing) - at the bottom. I eventually worked my way up to management. I worked for a few large name companies throughout the years and found that they weren't so kind to those of us trying to devote time to both a career and family. While pregnant with my second child I was told by my doctor to cut back hours due to some complications - the big chain company I was working for gave me a choice - my family or them - not a hard one! Although on a track to become more and more in my career, I could not face myself in the mirror knowing I did so at the expense of my children.
After being in retail for almost 10 years at the time, I was restless at home! I had a two year old and one on the way - enough to keep me busy but something was missing still. I had no clue at the time about the work at home community or even what a wahm was. I was not real computer savvy - to tell the truth, I was scared of pretty much all technology that was not found in a retail store! With the help of my husband, I learned the ins and outs of the computer world and soon discovered the great wahm communities out there - I was shocked!
I had always wanted my own business - I knew nothing about starting out but knew I wanted to find a way to work from home, put my talents to use and help with the finances. I researched many hours on the subject and set to work. I knew it was going to be much trial and error, I was prepared to give it a shot.
I started out with a gift basket business. All one of a kind made by me. I did work for real estate agents and had a list of clients who would come to me for birthdays, at Easter and other special occasions. This soon evolved into making centerpieces as well. I made pieces for weddings, Christmas and many other events.
I wanted to try out some of my other ideas so I tested out some of my home decor ideas - I made custom light switch/outlet covers, curtains, throw pillows, seat cushions and other room accessories. This went over well! Maybe too well - I sold on e bay and found I had to cut back on my selling because I couldn't keep up! All items were handmade and given the utmost attention - I didn't want to sacrifice quality so I cut back on quantity. I had a blast working on whole sets for rooms - nurseries, children's rooms, kitchens, cabins and more! I quit selling on e bay and relied on my website and word of mouth - more than enough to keep me busy!
During this time. my husband was laid off and we had to move - it was a tough time to get my business going in a new area. I put it aside for a while and moved on to learning a new skill - Web Design! I did some self teaching, took classes, absorbed all I could and went to work. I learned FrontPage and PSP. I set to work designing websites, logos and graphics. I enjoyed making websites for many people and companies. I still do a job here and there and still enjoy learning all I can about web design and working with PSP.
I have also sold Herbalife - I did this for 3 years and loved it - and I have been an AVON lady. Direct sales just weren't my thing on the selling end. The customer end is more my thing!
I sold clothing on e bay for many years - I would find deals at garage sales and thrift stores and resell for a profit - it was a great way to get my retail fix (honestly, I missed the retail world!) this eventually evolved into my own online consignment clothing store. After a year I realized it was not quite what I had envisioned. I was stuck.
I thought about the journey I had been on, all of the work and effort I put into all I had done. I thought about how clueless I was and how alone I felt while trying to find my niche. Then my A-HA moment and the start of Women's Source! I wanted to bring women together to network, mentor and grow together. I wanted to maybe take the pressure off of another woman in business and help her through her frustrations and time of feeling alone. I wanted to offer my experiences along with the experiences of others to women who may need some inspiration, motivation or word of advice. I have plenty of "what not to do's" that I have learned along the way and plenty of "what to do's" as well that I wanted to share. Women's Source took on a life of its own and grew into something I could have never imagined! We encompass The Minnesota Women's Small Business Expo & Sale - a great opportunity for women to network and showcase their businesses and the Kiss It GoodBye events - our way of paying back the community.
As with any business, we have had our ups and downs. We have taken down times as learning opportunities and up times as celebration.
Women's Source is here for all women who want to network, grow and learn. We are here to offer what we can and to soak in what we can from others. I am not a all knowing business person, I am not someone who can make you a star but I can help you find the path that will take you there! Together we can all find the path to our journey and lean on each other along the way. The path is not always smooth - together we can work around the bumps and detours!
I am author - I have a life long love of writing. My passion in writing lies in poetry but I have written e books, articles and work books with women in business as my subject. I have been honored to find my works published on other wahm websites, in newsletters, in the Medical Spouses Journal and other outlets.
I stay up to date with the wahm community and spend many hours researching, reading and networking. I try to keep up with all of the direct sales companies out there and up to date with new resources and outlets for women in business.
I am currently working on sharpening my photography skills, something I always had an interest in but never thought much about doing. I am also taking my Hockey Mom role and combining it with other talents - I have created Hockey Moms Rule, a place for Hockey Moms! I also have some of my art dabblings at Unique Designs by This Mom. Because I believe strongly in teaching young girls about business ownership, being a wife, mom and business owner all at once and realizing your dreams - I have started Britt's along with my daughter. It has been wonderful working with her and teaching her the ins and outs - as well as promoting the idea of girls staying girls and not growing up too fast! I hope that Women's Source can find a path to bring this opportunity to more young girls.
My husband and I also just launched Velvet Kisses - Silver Jewelry. I am always evolving and growing! It is truly amazing where your journey takes you - and it is a blessing when you realize all of the people you meet along the way!
To You and Your Business!
Heather
