There's a saying about finding where your passion and your purpose collide, and while it is slightly cliché, it has helped shape this dream of mine into a little reality.

My story brought passion and purpose out of tragedy.

Several years ago, I purchased equipment that I intended to use to make shirts and home decor for myself and my family. I'm a wife, stay at home Mom of three very active kids, and at the time I had returned to college, so I had to learn how to use this equipment in small moments when life allowed. It took some time, and lots of research, but I eventually felt comfortable offering my items to friends and family on a small-scale.

Everyone loved my items!

I felt like I might be on to something, and wanted to put more into this hobby, but still didn't feel confident enough to start a business. During this time, I taught three other women how to use this equipment and watched two of them go on to set up profitable businesses, yet I kept waiting for the illusive "right time".

Plot twist, it didn't come.

A dear friend of mine got sick, and when it was apparent it wasn't likely she'd survive, I frantically began plotting how to help. The one thing I knew I could do was create shirts, and my plan was to donate all profit back to my friend's family. I was still in the middle of a semester of business classes with no idea how I was going to pull it off, and distinctly remember speaking with my business professor who told me it was "dumb to work for free." While I respected him, I knew it was still something I needed to do.

Within days I created a shirt design, expecting a total of 20-50 shirts. By the end of the first day, I had over 20 orders. In less than a week, I had over 50 orders. Amazingly, within 2-3 weeks, over 200 shirt orders came through!

While the outcome from my friend was tragic, I can whole-heartedly say she is the reason I moved forward. She pushed me out of my comfort zone, out of waiting, and gave me confidence in myself, both with my skill and with my ability to run a business. She helped me realize that creating is something I love to do. It gives me a way to provide for my family, and through fundraising I can also support my community.