Two years ago I received those dreaded words, “maybe it’s best if we breakup.” I was too shocked to realize that moment was a gift.
One day, I needed to move a few things from my small condo. I found myself thinking about my ex. I had to assemble a bike rack and was frustrated over a stubborn peg that refused to budge into place. I couldn’t seem to muster the strength to assemble it. And because I’m an independent gal, I was even more exacerbated that my thoughts were fluttering back to my go-to person, my ex, who would have normally been there to help.
The bike rack peg finally budged. Standing on the contraption with my entire body weight, the peg popped into place. The idea of Stow Simple didn’t come as easily, but the idea was slowly loosening itself in my mind after this breakthrough and breakup.
Wasn’t there a simpler way to make tiny space living easier? Could there be a way to assist independent-minded people in need of a helping hand with on-demand ease? What if there was a service like Amazon, but in reverse? What if I could go online and in less than 24 hours have someone take my stuff away?
Had I not gone through that breakup, I don’t know if I would have had the idea or the drive to launch Stow Simple. Ideas to build Stow Simple into a company with a strong community partnership like Miami Rescue Mission, locally focused, and family oriented began to emerge as a real business plan.
I’ve often been told that they key to life is gratitude, even in the most difficult of times. I try to return to this sage advice in my own life and business and yes, even through heartache. I see it in Stow Simple customers who find that moment when they stumble onto our services. I think of our first customer, Olga, an elderly lady who didn’t have the strength or the support to store things on her own. We were both grateful to find each other in that moment. I think of the businesses that lost their leases and in desperate need of convenient storage during a time of transition. And this Valentine’s season, I think of those couples in between moves and also moving on from each other.
