𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁. Men arrived in Colorado hoping to strike gold... Clara Brown earned money washing their clothes. That ordinary business helped her buy property, support other families, and 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿. Clara had lived much of her life enslaved. In 1835, the sale of her family separated her from her husband and children. After gaining her freedom in the 1850s, she headed west. She worked as a wagon-train cook in exchange for transportation. By the time she reached Colorado, she was well into midlife. In the mining community of Central City, she opened a laundry. Think about the work that meant. Hauling water. Heating it. Scrubbing clothes by hand. Serving customers who spent their days digging through dirt and rock. Clara did that work. She also cooked and cared for people. Then she put some of her earnings into 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀. You don’t need to romanticize the labor to recognize the business lesson. While prospectors searched for a lucky discovery, Clara served a need they brought with them. You may overlook an opportunity for the same reason someone might overlook a laundry. It sounds ordinary. You wonder whether it counts as a “real business” because it doesn’t involve an invention or a brilliant new idea. Back then most women were expected to do laundry. But the person who needs your help asks a much simpler question... Can you solve this problem for me? Clara’s story also reaches beyond what she earned. She helped formerly enslaved people relocate and find work. She supported churches and welcomed people who needed food, shelter, or care. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗲. Her later life brought financial hardship. Fires destroyed properties, and her resources dwindled. People in the community she had helped stepped forward to help her.

Vickie has an amazing ability to really see you and hear you like no one else I know. She can see your potential and help draw it out of you through her amazing Undependent Women's Community. Come join the community and see where you will go with Vickie as a guide. I bet you'll create business assets and investments you never thought possible or you imagined but couldn't quite get off the ground!

Hello Lifeboat entrepreneurs... so nice to be a part of this Undependent Woman Community... Let's start the week strong. My week will be in the comments below. https://www.skool.com/undependentwomen/super-sunday-seven-60580f0e

Her first piece of land was a debt someone owed her. Her brother-in-law owed her money. He repaid her with land. That parcel became part of the foundation of Elizabeth Jane Crawford Fiddyment’s growing landholdings. But 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘄. In 1851, a former employee killed her husband at the Illinois distillery he supervised. They had been married barely fourteen months. Their son was still a baby. A few years later, Elizabeth traveled to California with her young son and joined relatives near Sacramento. She remarried, then moved to the area near present-day Roseville, where she and her family farmed and raised livestock. There, she acquired that first parcel as repayment for a debt. She and her husband expanded their holdings. They built a working life. Then, in 1861, he died. Elizabeth now had five children and a ranch to run. She took over the operation. She raised grain and livestock. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱. She continued building through the years, including after a third marriage ended in divorce. When Roseville began growing around the railroad, she purchased property in the townsite, too. By her death in 1906, historical records credit her with more than 𝟭𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼. She also helped establish a school, taught children, and cared for sick neighbors. Her work supported a family and helped a community grow. Here’s the part I want you to sit with. You can spend years working hard and still reach the end of each month with nothing new that belongs to you. You paid the bills. You met the deadlines. You helped someone else’s business grow. Then you start again. Elizabeth’s story asks you to consider what your work leaves behind. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲. You may never want a ranch. You may have no interest in owning a single acre.