We Buy Slime, All the Time – The Doubling Project

We buy the slime . . . and the lemonade, and the survival bracelets, and the homemade soaps, and the wooden toys, and the books (you get the picture) all the time! At least once a month, we find a young entrepreneur set up in their front lawn or driveway eagerly waiting for the next customer. Even if the yard sale is a bust, we buy the slime!

With two young entrepreneurs of our own, we have a heart for the kiddos who are out there trying to start their own business. There is an element of dreaming involved–imagining a line of customers waiting to buy the world’s best cup of lemonade, 0r maybe they just want to make enough to buy a new bike or video game. Either way, they have a dream and they are going for it!

For me, it was an Easy Bake cafe’. My best friend and I convinced each other we would make and sell treats using only her Easy Bake oven. Best of all, the cafe’ would become so successful, we would have one in the Lexington airport. We’d call it . . . (wait for it) . . . The Rainbow Cafe’. We made menus and set out to baking our brownies and iced cakes with the lightbulb heated oven. Our parents didn’t tell us the reality or the expense of such a task . . . they let us dream. However, it didn’t take long for us to realize that we were in over our heads. So, we ate all of our inventory.

That wasn’t my last endeavor. Even as a grown-up, I set my eyes on more . . . like my Lu Who By You Bible Covers! Yep, I had a Bible cover business, and Jamie Brandenburg was behind me all the way. He even bought me my first sewing machine and gave me “seed” money to buy the materials! Some of you may even own my handiwork . . . thank you:) The idea: pick your fabric, pick your ribbon, pick your monogram, and I’ll sew it up for you using the pattern of my own design! They were super cute and sold really well, but it was time-consuming, and even though I once again had visions of grandeur–like setting up shop in my basement where my “way more talented than me” friends would help me sew the church-fashion creations–it was way more desirable to snuggle my newborn Jack.

We are a family of entrepreneurs, each with our own creative flair and ambition. We encourage one another and dream with one another. It’s why we buy the slime . . . because we see the dream and the hope every time those young entrepreneurs make a sale. We know there is something to be bought, something all those one dollar bills will add up to buy.

It’s why I send a message of encouragement to my friends when they want to share their new home-based business with me. They have a dream. It’s not a dream for me (been there done that), but I truly wish them super success and am proud of them for stepping outside of their comfort zones to contact an old friend–I did this once too (like pretty much my entire graduating class plus a few).

It’s why Jamie willingly takes time from his own dream to listen, encourage, and speak wisdom into men who feel like their dreams have just exploded into a pile of debt and arguments.

It why we make a point to shop flea markets, festivals, and farmer’s markets. We buy from the locals because we truly want them to succeed. We believe in dreamers young and old, and we believe in you!

Thank you for believing in this family of dreamers and the dream we call The Doubling Project. We are so very thankful for you!