I started The Fertile Soil with many intentions. The first being that I wanted to have a store, a real one. The second being that I wanted it to be a community. A place people can come and feel at home, safe, and loved. A place to make friends, share life, lift each other up, and grow.
The first intention is the easy part, and I'm getting closer to that goal every day! The second though... Creating a community out of thin air is hard, and I haven't succeeded in that quite yet. Partially because I didn't know where to start! I stepped away from facebook back in 2021, taking a year off of most social media for my anxiety. I still posted on Instagram because I HAD to, otherwise nobody would know about the new things I was doing for my business! ...But my audience wasn't growing. My community wasn't growing.
Come 2022 I got a very specific word for myself and The Fertile Soil - GROWTH. Now, do I think that means my business is suddenly going to explode and I'll be super successful? Absolutely not! In fact, these last 6 months have been the worst I've ever experienced, in terms of sales, I had 2 straight months of absolutely no income, despite putting over $300 into ads and promotions on Instagram and TikTok. Despite releasing a candle line with a very popular theme, and having a unique take on the concept, promoting the heck out of it for weeks leading up to the release and gaining over 200 followers on TikTok alone - nobody bought one for almost a month after they were posted. I don't say all this to make you feel sorry for me, but it puts weight behind what I have to say next -
God is good. All the time. Period.
My husband and I have pretty much started our lives over, moving to a new state, selling our house, leaving work, friends, and family behind. Leaving our church community that we've been part of forever. The back story there is it's own blog post, which I'd love to write about another time. The point being, we had no idea what was going to happen, we just trusted God to bring us through, and He is! The lack I have experienced recently and being out of my comfort zone for so long has brought new perspectives, new priorities, and a greater appreciation for the promises of the Lord on my life.
The Fertile Soil is such a promise. It was a seed planted long ago, and has since been fertilized and watered by faith.
And faith is what will grow this community. Those values I mentioned at the top of what I want my community to be - those are values held by those of us who love Christ and want to be like Him! We all have mess, nobody is perfect, but that doesn't negate your value!
So here's my blog! I'll be writing about a lot of things, I'm sure. I've got stuff I want to write about candles, to educate folks about the materials, I wanna tell you guys about my life, the history of how this all started, cats, Jesus, stories about my personal history, you name it! I'm an open book and I want to help others feel comfortable to share and we can lift each other up!
Come as you are, and grow with me~
Love, Bry