A Southern Soul with a Restless Gypsy Spirit

The birth of Southern Soul Collectives: By telling my story, I would like to tell yours! An unlikely journey to Entrepreneurship!

A warm and gracious welcome to Southern Soul Collectives!

I am sure you have seen the ‘About Us’ section at the bottom of the site, but just in case, I would love to introduce myself. My name is Meredeth and I am the owner of Southern Soul. A born and raised Georgia peach, I currently live in a town called Sharpsburg, nestled between Peachtree City and Newnan.

A southern girl with an ever wandering gypsy spirit and a love for affordable fashion, SSC was born from a lot of soul searching and asking myself, “what do I want to be when I grow up?” Mind you, I am in my early forties and quite the grown up so this question seems pretty silly to ask at my age. Well, let me tell you how it all began.

One day I was sitting at the bottom of my staircase crying and wondering 1. why do I feel depressed and 2. why am I crying at the bottom of my staircase? Just 6 months prior, I had accepted an Executive-level position at a company and I just knew this was my dream job. Sitting there sobbing, I began combing over my career in sales over the last 20+ years and all the 9-to-5 (more like 24/7 for me) traditional corporate America jobs I had held. Just then, I heard that small still voice in my head and heart say, "YOU are ENOUGH and this is NOT where I want you to be.” What……?  As I stopped to listen and make sure I heard correctly, I realized I had been truly miserable over the last several years. See, in sales, you are always under constant pressure and nothing will be or is good enough. Even if you are the rock star top sales person, you must always be doing more. This creates self doubt which in turn makes you feel as though YOU are not enough as a human being.

You know the old saying, “fake it til’ you make it?” Well, that is exactly what I had been doing. At that very moment, once I allowed myself to admit, this was not my dream job, the tears dried up. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders that I had been carrying around for well over 10 years. I was finally free!

Fast forward to today and here I am starting a boutique. This began as something to occupy my time while I figured out what I wanted to be, but has quickly morphed into a way for me to impact others. Not only by providing affordable classic yet trendy clothing & accessories to women of all shapes, sizes and ages but also a way in which I can reach many to lift them up and nurture their souls through their OWN stories. Not only will we start there, but a portion of every sale will go towards helping an individual/family in need. #purchasewithpurpose

My plan is to share the stories of women going through everyday life while tapping into their fashion forward styles (if they are anything like me, majority of days are spent in Athleisure wear).

How do I know I am on the right path being the restless soul that I am? As I sat here typing, I glanced over at my phone and Facebook was up. My sister had just posted something and it was front and center in my feed. What was the post?

She posted, “HE has plans for your future. Walk in your calling” and this verse was below her message:

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, and not for harm, to give you a future with HOPE. - Jeremiah 29:11     

My hope is that you come back often to read and share these inspiring stories, to shop (new collectives drop every Tuesday and Thursday) and/or just to say hi.

If you are interested in sharing you story with me, email me at info@southernsoulcollectives.com subject line: blog me. My only ask is that you then share the story on your own social media so that we have the opportunity to touch lives together in a much bigger way. You never know who may need to hear your story at that moments.

What's my favorite collective we sell? The Country Roads Cardigan. I live in layered look of tank tops, cardis and scarves in the fall/winter!

From the bottom of my southern soul, a heartfelt thank you for reading my story and I hope to have the honor of writing & sharing yours one day. I am proof, it is never too late to change the course of your life or to have a positive impact on others.

We all have a story worth telling and if you would like me to share yours, email me at info@southernsoulcollectives subject line: Blog Me.  

Be sure to like @southernsoulcollectives on #Facebook to read the latest blog posts and see the latest collectives drop.

God Bless,

Meredeth, Southern Soul Collectives

 #purchasewithpurpose #southernsoulcollectives #fashion #women #storytelling #souls #clothing #accessories #boutique #smallbusiness #judyblue