My Rising Star Award

I recently became the 2010 winner of the Cleveland State Community College Small Business Rising Star Award! Whoo-Hoo! I'm so Blessed and grateful.

The Rising Star award is given annually by the Small Business Development Center to a business that best exemplifies not only business success, but an outstanding working relationship with the local SBDC and the use of the services it provides. In giving the award, the local SBDC is also recognizing the entrepreneurial spirit of the business owners and their contribution to the local business and economic environment.

If you want to start, or grow your business, you should definitely look up your local SBA and other free resources. Starting a business is incredibly hard and takes intense focus, but there are tons of resources and people willing to help. Trust your journey!

Read the entire (wonderful) article, written by Holly Vincent

New Employees + New Beginnings = A Bright Future

Good news y'all.
I prayed for God to help me move and I made it to a great location.
I prayed for a talented new staff to find me and they did.

I prayed for my load to be lightened, and it is.

Most people don't want to walk in my shoes, and I don't blame them. Long days and nights in the office, slow economy, and a business that requires me to be in charge 7 days a week...yikes! If this is a Blessing, then what does a curse look like (I joke)! I really do love what I do and count it all to joy!

45 days ago I realized that I had to move my entire business, apartment and life because my uncle inherited the land my studio was on and requested I be gone in 30 days. Great huh? Well, yeah kind of if you have a faith perspective. I'd say I'm blessed with optimism and joy. Plus, as a child of God, I know my Father will provide in all areas and direct my path.

I now have a wonderful team and we're growing. Maura, Gaile, Luda, David, Jim, and Stephanie are helping me get organized, stocked up, marketed, branded, and all put together again. Wow! Can you believe my good fortune? I prayed for wonderful, talented people with hearts as precious as gold and I got them. Thank you for joining me on my journey.

What is going on in your life that feels like a curse or needs help? I encourage you flush out the negative complaints and give praise instead. Try thinking of ways your trials may be opportunities for growth, or how new doors may opening. Stay focused only on those positive thoughts. Pray, pray, pray and allow God to wash your troubles away!

DIY Soap Class Fundraising Event

Last weekend I threw a two 2-hour special event at Calvary Chapel Chattanooga to help raise money for my friend Janet's mission trip to Romania. We had a great turn out and we all had so much fun that I'm having another soap making event at my studio this weekend to raise money for me to go to Haiti in July.

We spent one hour making soap, and the other hour snacking on cupcakes and listening to Janet's story of quitting her job to become a missionary and traveling abroad to do the work God has called her to do. She is so encouraging!

Janet Brock (right), is headed to Beius, Romania on June 24 and will be gone for six whole weeks!  She will be working with the Romanian Evangelistic Medical Mission (REMM) (the same organization she’s been working with for the past three years).  While she’s there she will be doing many things to assist the leadership of REMM.  Her duties will include but are not limited to helping with a renovation project on their medical clinic, working with the orphans supported by REMM, and serving in Agape Run outreaches to Gypsy/Roma and other poverty-stricken people.  She will also be helping to facilitate other visiting short-term teams and helping in projects they will have going on.  She is also looking forward to how this time will prepare her for what God has ahead of her in the very near future. 

Jennifer Jack (me), I'm going to Port au Prince, Haiti with a group from Chattanooga (led by the Oak Project) to serve orphans and their caretakers. we will spend each of our days assisting the many workers in their job duties, cleaning, teaching, shooting basketball, buying and preparing meals to give to those in the community and taking care of the kids to give them a rest. We will also spend a lot of our time encouraging them, hearing their stories and building relationships. I'm hoping to use this opportunity to scout, seek, and pray for ways I can help women use soapmaking to enrich their lives. I'll be gone July 25-31st.

In our (do-it-yourself) soap class some people made healing soaps and others made rubber ducky soaps. We weighed and melted natural soap bases, smelled essential & fragrance oils, and got creative with herbal colors. Each person successfully handcrafted their own glycerin soap, and took it home to begin using immediately.

Thank you for helping spread Good Fortune around the world!

Good Fortune's newest soap studio in Cleveland, TN

Come see our newest location at the Cleveland Bradley Business Center Incubator. It has a crazy long name, but is a solid location to grow my business! The CBBI opened it's doors in July of 2000. Since then, over 100 start-up businesses have resided under their roof, and acquired the tools and knowledge to thrive. Good Fortune indeed!

It took over 14 hours of hard labor to move my apartment, business, and my mom's house. We worked night and day over the Memorial Day weekend, but we're all moved in. Here is a snap shot of how the movers left my boxes and table for me to unpack. Where to start?

 I'm very optimistic and excited about what the future holds for me and Good Fortune. I have a great support team and great employees. I look forward to growing and blessing others along the way...thanks for joining me on my journey!

We are on Cleveland State's Campus in the Small Business Development Center

3505 Adkisson Drive, Suite 102
Cleveland, TN 37312

423.715.2647 

Open by appointment only. Call me, so you can swing by and shop! 

(directions from the College)
1) Pass the college on your right.
2) Turn in to the last parking lot before leaving campus.
3) Look for the blue awnings in the chain link fenced area.
4) Park inside OR outside the fence.
5) Enter the main Business Center door OR look for Suite 102 printed on the outside of the building

 

Women Reinvented

Hi Folks.

We've got so much going on these days. We're moving, growing, hiring, and adding new products. I'm sorry I have not made enough time to keep you posted on everything, but will try to do a better job of blogging more regularly!

I am so excited today and wanted to share my good news with you all. Check it out: I was featured on the cover and on page 111 of Women Reinvented; True Stories of Empowerment and Change! I hope you'll buy a copy and read what good works the Lord has done in me and through me!

This book offers personal recollections from dozens of women with diverse backgrounds and offers advice and inspiration to women struggling to redefine their lives by revealing how others achieved inner peace and happiness.

My favorite quote from the book is "I began to ask God to show Himself, help me find my purpose in life, and to experience a love greater than I felt. It didn't take long for God to make good".

I hope you'll ask God for wisdom and to show Himself to you. Surrender, trust, and allow Him to make good for you too!

We Just Got Back From the Spa Show!

Yes it was fabulous, but more importantly, and I learned a lot! The IECSC show is one of the nation's largest spa trade shows. We were not prepared for the cash and carry demands, but on the sunny side, I met some wonderful people.

Good Fortune set up camp in one of the busiest isles across from M'lis and next to Trust Your Journey. I am very inspired by both company's natural philosophies! Please check them out for yourself, but here is my take on them.

Trust Your Journey was started by two women who've been through some trying times and know that it can be simple things that get us through our toughest moments. Beth (left) is a breast cancer survivor and Ruth (right) lost her husband to kidney disease. They survived to tell their stories, and to inspire women everywhere to honor their inner strength and celebrate their personal path through life.

TYJ sells AMAZING organic shirts (which I'm wearing right now), hats, and super cool jewelry. Did you ever wear the BFF heart necklaces when you were a kid? TYJ makes a way cooler (grown up version) with that concept. 

Their Share Bracelet (Give One, Keep One), is a set of two bracelets designed for sharing the journey with a friend, family member or anyone who needs a daily positive message of just knowing someone is there for them. It is my favorite $15 gift ever!

Next on my roster is M'lis. They are known for their holistic skin care products, programs, and education. Not only do they have amazing products, but their story is amazing as well. I met the founder Linda Nelson and her son Wallace at the show. Both of their lives have had sets backs with illnesses, and both have overcome. Linda, a Doctor of Naturopathy, was sick with fibromyalgia. She learned how to become symptom free through holistic methods, and now helps other sufferers. She developed a natural lifestyle change program and wrote a book that has helped hundreds of women overcome the debilitating effects of fibromyalgia.

Don't you just love a good story of triumph?  Sometimes we ask God to spare us pain, but suffering draws us apart from worldly cares and brings us closer to Him. I am thankful for my trials, because now I can bless others and share my journey!

Here are some more photos from my trip!

You might be surprized by what you can do with $10 a month

Can $10 buy freedom? Maybe if 10,000 people gave $10 every month it could.

I suppose one can't buy freedom, because we are free in Christ. But we can help free, rehabilitate and restore commercially sexually exploited girls by speaking out and financially supporting organizations such as Living Water for Girls. This Atlanta based non-profit combats sexual trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation through raising awareness, providing a safe therapeutic refuge, and an aftercare wraparound program. 

Did you know that modern-day slavery is still happening? The trauma of sexual trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation is BIG business, and it is going on right here in America. Young girls are being raped daily for profit in communities we call home. Why? Because there are adults who demand to have sex with our children. This physical, mental, emotional and spiritual trauma often leaves children broken and scarred for life.

I'm angry and sad, but grateful that God has given me a strong heart and a bold voice for the weak. I know He chose me for this because I constantly sense their pain and lift it up in prayer. I want to do all I can do and use Soap for Hope to empower girls. I'm not sure of His plan for my life or the girls enslaved, but I'm going to just keep walking in faith and take it one day at a time.

I just pledged $10 a month and hope you will do the same this very minute. Commit to a monthly pledge, then tell me (comment here, my Facebook, or email), and I'll send you a FREE $10 coupon to use at Good Fortune Soap. (That's like 2 lattes)!

Have you ever heard of the book Half the Sky? It has opened my eyes and my heart. Half the Sky lays out an agenda for the world's women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute.You've got to get this book, and become part of the solution.

2 Corinthians 3:17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.