Faith, Perseverance, and Community: The Journey of The Trendy Bunny Studio
Reflecting On The Journey
Wow... That's a three-letter word that sums up my life for the past few weeks.
I am at home on Day 14. Day F-O-U-R-T-E-E-N! I am in my home that I love, with people that I love, and I am grateful for that. But this is not easy! For years, I have worked to open The Trendy Bunny Studio, evolving the idea from a pop-up boutique, to an online store, to a brick and mortar, to a design studio, to a marketplace. With business plan after business plan, running the numbers a million times - the pros, cons, current market, needs and wants of consumers... I marked every single detail off of my fear list. I talked myself into moving away from fear and relying more on FAITH - faith that my business plan, my vision, and my studio would serve as more than just your ordinary boutique.
Building The Trendy Bunny Studio
I built on my idea and created a space that was so uniquely special that all a client or customer had to do was walk in the door. Once inside, I was confident that everything would fall into place. If I could just get them into the space, I knew they would see and feel what my vision was.
I knew that my biggest hurdle would be getting people to "find" the hidden treasure of a studio that hides in a basement behind the hustle and bustle of the main attractions in my small town. They have to work to come through those doors - they have to walk with their littles, search for parking, use Google Maps! But if I could just get them to find those beautiful double doors, they too would become part of something bigger.
And so I built those doors, and everything behind them.
Giving The Trendy Bunny Studio Everything I Had
I put every single part of me that I could sacrifice into this studio. I spread myself thin in every aspect of my life. When I thought I couldn't give one more single ounce of myself, I gave some more. I just believed. I had faith that this was too special to give up on. The Trendy Bunny Studio doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the entire town - the women who work there, families who support those women's dreams, the families who built that place - the small companies who build onto their dreams are in there. There is a community of people who can just "feel" the TRENDY dream grow as they walk through those doors. I may have created this business, but it belongs to the City of Greensburg - the people who live there, the families who visit there, and the children who grow there.
It is faith that is still getting me through. And just when I didn't think I had any more to give, any more to sacrifice - I was wrong.
I watched as this city walked through those double doors for an entire S-E-V-E-N days before COVID-19 changed all our lives and locked those doors.
Still, I had tears I didn't know I had left, and fears I didn't know I hadn't addressed. I found a flaw in my detailed business plan that had been overlooked: Pandemic. In all the worst-case scenarios, I didn't check the box that said "PANDEMIC".
Keeping the Faith
But what I still have, what I haven't lost is F-A-I-T-H - FAITH that I have more to give, FAITH that I can do more, FAITH that WHEN THOSE DOORS OPEN AGAIN, THE PEOPLE WHO IT BELONGS TO WILL LOVE IT EVEN MORE!
Stay strong my friends, and have faith.
“With your feet on the ground, you’re a bird in flight; with your fist holding tight to the string of your kite.” - Mary Poppins