After almost nine years with a well-known insurance company, Justine made the decision to leave her job while on maternity leave with child number two. Deep down she had always wanted to stay at home with her kids, but when she took the plunge to trade corporate life for tender moments with her young children, she wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

Justine recognized a couple of things about herself that would bring some challenges to a life of staying at home with the kids, which made her slightly worried. Here she was, leaving a job that she knew for nine years, as well as an organization that was steadily recognizing her good work and rewarding her with promotion after promotion. Justine feared she might become bored, and she knew she needed to find a way to bring in some level of income to support her growing family—and that it had to be flexible.

Right away, Justine put her project management and organizational skills to work. In college, she remembered, one of her favorite things to do was to organize her friend’s dressers and closets. She became known for getting things done and for helping people get rid of clothes and unwanted junk. She also had thrifty shopping skills and helped her friends find affordable pieces they would actually wear! These memories propelled Justine to immediately start tackling her own home, pulling out clothes from dressers and closets that were never worn. Instead of heading to the consignment shop, where it would be up to someone else to sell her items, she set up an account on eBay, and started selling them herself.

In the first month, Justine made $450, which she instantly used for Christmas presents. She became an expert in how to list items and get the attention of consumers. After receiving great reviews and maintaining a 100% positive feedback record, she is now one of eBay’s Top Rated sellers. She also created a complex spreadsheet so that she could track every penny of her profit, as well as track how much money it cost her to sell something.

Determined to expand, Justine tested selling on a different platform: online neighborhood yard sales. She gathered unwanted furniture, kids toys, clothes, tools, shoes, and more, and in two days raked in more than $800. One day, she and her family were driving to dinner when she spotted a glider left for trash pickup in front of someone’s house. In true industrious-Justine fashion, she had her husband pull over and together they loaded the glider into their SUV. With a new coat of paint and a refreshed cushion, the glider was up on eBay and sold in 15 days.

Since then, Justine hasn’t stopped. Once she learned that she had a knack for selling, she took a look at another revenue stream: Thirty-One Gifts. Justine joined as a consultant, set up a Facebook page and is now selling someone else’s brand and products, while continuing to manage her eBay business, a process she has down pat. She is minding two shops, and loving every minute of it.

Justine is a mom who made a voluntary change. She left her job with the goal of staying at home with her kids, but she ultimately relied on key skills she honed during her years on the job that helped make her successful in her new venture. When she took the leap, Justine had no idea where she was headed. She was amazed to find that she could in fact reinvent herself —and love it. And much to her own surprise, she is now a successful entrepreneur!

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©2014 Traverse Career Solutions | Ellen Dunagan