Growing Greeting Cards

The seed was planted.
The ideas flowered.
The research ... weeded out ... the plan.
I worked the soil, and I fertilized ... a lot.

April 21st 2005 I made my first dollar.

At that moment it became so much more than just another one of my ideas.

Photo By Sue Bush
This is me, in my old, tiny office, when my line consisted of only fifty cards. The first time I was interviewed for a newspaper.

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I was in my late 30's ... and without realizing it, I had become accustomed to having exciting ideas, and not following through -- for whatever reason. But somehow, that kept me going.

And then it happened.

My daughter got married & had a baby & moved to California & her husband was deployed to Iraq. The baby was only a couple of months old. I couldn't handle them being so far away. I finally got the balls enough to quit my day job. We got pet sitters / house sitters & we rented a car & drove from Massachusetts to California.

I'd had the greeting card idea before we left, and had been talking about it with my wife... she was used to me talking about my ideas & she was always very supportive & honest & helped me process the ideas.

We're in the middle of the USA -- highway driving all day -- tired -- and maybe a little lost. We pull off the highway & into the first parking lot we came to. Turns out, it was the Corporate HQ for Hallmark in Kansas City MO. THAT was the moment we knew - THIS wasn't just another one of my ideas. THIS was what I was supposed to be doing.

No one will ever know the amout of excitement I felt that evening, being so completely blown away by fate - knowing that everything -- every step - every move - every turn -- had been right ... sitting in the Hallmark parking lot.


to be continued ... (don't you hate that?)