This morning I jumped in the car so the boys and I could grab the November 2011 issue of Ebony Magazine. Why? My family and I are featured in the article by Denene Millner on the “Great Reverse Migration” – why many African Americans are moving back to the south in record numbers. For many reasons about four years ago we chose to move from Brooklyn New York to Greenville NC and our lives have changed in so many ways.
To be honest, some parts of my story are difficult to share publicly and read in print as it takes me back to a very difficult/emotional time in my life. But as my hubby reminds me, good or bad, this is my story. Every testimony begins with a test. We had to go through those hard times, push through the battles, so that we could see why moving to North Carolina and leaving the big city hustle behind made sense.
In most “how did you start your business” conversations I always say, a big part of my success came from moving to NC where I could realistically work at home because the cost of living here is significantly lower than in NY. The other side of the story is honestly having gone through all that I went through emotionally in New York, being in my friendly, warm, Greenville was exactly what I needed. These past 4 years here have been life transforming, therapeutic, and challenging all in one. I made $500 my first month working at home, grinding it out I was able to turn that into a growing business. I’m still setting new goals and breaking my own records, but it honestly all started with the courage to know when to make moves.
Change is hard. At one point I didn’t even know this “work at home mom” life was possible for me and now I am so comfortable I have to fight this comfort so that I can seek out new levels of success and challenge myself to build a business that is not simply working for my family but scalable enough to sustain employees and further expansion. Point being, my great migration to NC is the current chapter in my journey to success, but it’s not the end. What is your journey looking like right now? Where are you? Are there people, circumstances, locations, situations that you need to move away from so that you can get to where you want to be? Every big move starts with the first step. Where do you plan on going from here?
