Christy Wright - Business Boutique: A Womans Guide for Making Money Doing What She Loves

Business Boutique

A Womans Guide

for Making Money

Doing What She Loves

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Business Boutique

A Womans Guide

for Making Money

Doing What She Loves

Christy Wright

2017 Lampo Licensing, LLC

Published by Ramsey Press, The Lampo Group, LLC

Brentwood, Tennessee 37027

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Dave Ramsey, The Dave Ramsey Show, EveryDollar, Financial Peace, Financial Peace University, The Legacy Journey, Smart Money Smart Kids, Rachel Cruze, The Total Money Makeover, Retire Inspired, and Business Boutique are all registered trademarks of Lampo Licensing, LLC. All rights reserved.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering financial, accounting, or other professional advice. If financial advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations taken from MSG are taken from The Message . Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Editors: Becky Nesbitt, Allen Harris, Natalie Hanemann, Jen Gingerich

Cover Design: Tim Newton and Micah Kandros

Interior Design: Mandi Cofer

ISBN: 978-1-9421-2103-9

Printed in the United States of America

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dedication

For my mom, Darlene.

I am who I am because of you. Thank you for fighting for me and for giving me a life full of love and laughter, of passion and adventure. Your legacy shines in all that I do and throughout the pages of this book. Your heart will go on.

acknowledgements

Pouring my heart onto these pages has been one of the most exciting and rewarding things Ive ever gotten to work on in my life. The reason its been so incredible is because of an amazing team behind the scenes that helped me every step of the way and made it all possible. I could never thank every single person that touched, inspired, and impacted this book, but Id like to say a special thanks to:

Dave Ramsey, for believing in me and giving me so many unbelievable opportunities, including this one of writing my own book. You are generous with your wisdom, your encouragement, and your platform. Thank you for letting me live my dream every single day.

Brian Williams and Jeremy Breland, for leading me so well. You champion me in everything that I do and push me to be better. Youve always been in my corner, and you make everything we do so much fun. I couldnt ask for better leaders. You really are the dream team!

Becky Nesbitt, my editor, for helping me cram hundreds of ideas, years of research, and thousands of stories into this manuscript to give women a clear plan for growing their businesses. Your patience is unending and your encouragement is what got me through it all.

Allen Harris, Preston Cannon, and Jen Gingerich, for leading the entire editorial and publishing process from start to finish. You all trusted me with the content and challenged me to make it better. You believed in me and let me try something completely new. But most of all, you showed me how much I love writing, and thats a gift Ill forever be grateful for.

Rick Prall, for your incredible developmental, organizational, and editorial support. Ill never know how you kept everything straight, but Im so thankful you did!

Luke LeFevre and Tim Newton, for overseeing all design elements and cover art. Lets roll up our sleeves and go to work!

Tim Smith, for leading the research that this book and the entire Business Boutique brand is built on. This message is a home run because of your hard work in those early days.

Meg Grunke and Elizabeth Cole, my publicists and friends, for helping me get this important message out to the world. You are both incredible at what you do!

Dawn Medley and Katie Kinderknecht, for managing my schedule and keeping me sane!

Suzanne Simms, Jen Sievertsen, Andy Barton, Cory Mabry, Alena Good, Robert Bruce, George Kamel, Naomi Parton, and many others, for your countless hours of hard work, continual kind words of encouragement, and much-needed prayers!

And last, and most importantly, my family. Carter and Conley, of anything Ive ever achieved in my lifetime, nothing makes me more proud than simply getting to be your mom. And to my amazing husband, Matt, thank you for your endless support and sacrifice that made this book possible. Through all of the late nights, early mornings, and nights away on the road, you not only took care of our boys and held down the fort at home, but you also never stopped encouraging me. Thank you for supporting me in my dream and loving me so well. I love you so very much.

contents

foreword

Dave Ramsey

My mom got into the real estate business in Middle Tennessee in the late 1960s. At that time and in that area, women werent supposed to be in real estate. Residential real estate was sold by men, and those men wore suits. But Mom didnt care. She loved the industry, she was passionate about real estate, and she had huge professional goals that knocked down just about any obstacle that got in her way.

People laughed at her, yelled at her, and talked bad about her. They told her she couldnt do it. They said shed never succeed. They wondered why she left her two kids at home while she showed houses to strangers. They called the house and said nasty things to whoever answered the phone. They said she should just give up. People did everything they could to steal her dreambut she wouldnt let them. Instead, she proved them all wrong. Within a few years, my mother became one of the most successful residential real estate professionals in the state. She was amazing, and the good ol boys around her just couldnt keep up!

If youve picked up this book, then you may be standing where my mom stood fifty years ago. Maybe youre wrestling with a dream that just wont let you go. Maybe youve dipped your toe into running your own business, and now youre ready to dive in headfirst. Maybe youre looking for a way to balance family obligations and professional goals. Maybe youve got the passion and the dream, but youre struggling to come up with a plan to make it all work. And maybe, like my mom, everyone around you is telling you to give up. Trust me, Ive been there. Every business owner has stood where youre standing right now.

I know what it takes to build a business from scratch. Our company, Ramsey Solutions, has grown into a national brand that employs almost six hundred people, but it all started on a card table in my living room. I was the teacher, speaker, and writer. I was also the one making all the sales, doing the taxes, dealing with vendors, setting the prices, creating the marketing, and setting up the folding chairs for our events. I was the CEOChief Everything Officerand that came with all the responsibility plus all the fear, insecurity, jubilation, and crazy thrill of owning my own business.