Once Upon A Time

Posted by Lisa Stevens on

Ever After Acres has been officially in business for around 2 years, but the story goes much further back.  It began 13 years ago when Lisa developed an allergy to almost every laundry detergent known to man.  The search began for something we could use that would not cause Lisa to break out in a rash.  If you know Lisa at all, she has quite the variety of allergies that have amassed over the years, from minor to life threatening.  Allergies such as milk, detergents, seasonal, shellfish and amazingly an extra annoying allergy to the cold.  A friend of ours told us about these weird berries called soap nuts that you use to do your laundry.  So 13 years ago we started using soap nuts as a family and haven't looked back.  


Move forward about 10 years...Lisa and our oldest daughter Adrianna, most call her Andy, decided to start a business.  They began the initial steps of creating a Facebook page and deciding what type of things they would sell.  It really was a hobby idea at that point.  Then almost 2 years ago the church Ben was pastoring at had to let him go, unable to financially keep him on staff.  It was at this time Ever After Acres really began to take shape as it transitioned from a hobby to a potential family business.  

There were other things at work as well that would help this business flourish.  Early on Ever After Acres was a 2nd hand supplier of soap nuts selling for Earth's Berries.  The discussion had taken place several times about taking the plunge and selling our own soap nuts.  Within a week we received a message from Earth's Berries saying they were closing their business as it existed.  The door of opportunity had just swung open and we walked through full steam ahead.  

We began selling our soap nuts and a variety of related and unrelated products.  For quite some time we doubted the feasibility of it being our career, as did most others.  Ben continued to get information about job posting from well-meaning friends and family and Lisa continued to receive questions about "Were we really serious?"  There wasn't a clear point of when we knew this was our future career but rather little moments...such as when we noticed we were consistently reaching over 10,000 people, or when we received a 500 bag soap nut order, or when we realized we were selling more to people we don't know than people we do know.  

We are still in the midst of this crazy life altering journey of running our business full time.  And I would encourage you today if you aren't doing something you love...change it now, not later, but now.  It really comes down to your priorities in life and what you are willing to sacrifice for them.  It wasn't some magic potion that allowed us as a family to live our lives together each day, it was very intentional conscious choices we made and continue to make together.  You aren't likely to see us travelling to Florida in the winter or cruising on a yacht in the summer, but more often than not you will find us here together as a family at Ever After Acres.   

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