The Small Dreams That Build a Life

It’s Small Business Saturday, and it feels like the right moment to share a little of what “small business” has meant to me over the years.

Long before House of Love and Laughter existed, Jon and I were building dreams together in small, ordinary ways.

We started our married life as college students with big hopes and very little money. Somewhere between classes and graduate school, we opened a tiny catering business to help make ends meet. It was simple, but it became the beginning of our shared love for hospitality—gathering people, feeding them, creating a place for them at our table.

I had a little tutoring business back then, too, helping me through those early years after earning my degree in Education. Not long after, I turned my love for photography into a business with the tagline “Life as you picture it.” Those were beautiful, purposeful years—years that made me feel like I was holding something of God’s design for me.

And in so many of those early beginnings, a simple bit of wisdom rings true:
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney

Jon and I didn’t have much, but we had determination, grit, and a willingness to start small. We kept saying yes to the next right thing we could build with our hands and our hearts. Those tiny beginnings became the foundation of so much of what we dreamed of together.

Over time, photography blossomed into a floral and home décor business, that began right inside our house. I called that business Heather’s House. I painted signs by hand, arranged flowers on the kitchen table and for proms and special occasions and dreamed big in the quiet hours.

We even had plans drawn up to combine my floral business and a photography studio into a little storefront of our own. We all but signed the dotted-line with plans to expand that dream. We imagined and planned for opening a place where people could gather—Jon cooking, me serving, creating a soft place to land for anyone who walked through the door.

But then life shifted, dramatically. In the middle of raising our children, Sophia’s unexpected hearing loss diagnosis changed our focus. We laid down all of those dreams knowing we needed to pour into our children.

We held tight to that dream, and plans were being put in motion to revive it—
to water the seeds we planted long ago and watch a place bloom where Jon could spend his retirement doing what he loved most, and where we could work side by side again, just like we did when we first met.

And later, when Jon faced the unimaginable—brain cancer, and then a stroke—part of that shared dream had to be laid down.

In all those years of dreaming and pivoting, I always held close that God is in the details and the work would be in His time and for His will.

I think of the reminder from Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise the small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

I’ve had to learn how to carry forward what we started, even as I grieve the parts we never got to see through. Even when I know our specific dream would not come to fruition in the same way. But that’s one of the quiet realities of loss: you end up holding pieces of a dream you built together, and you have to prayerfully discern what to do with them now—what to keep, what to release, what to rebuild, and what God is inviting you into next with what is still in your hands. I trust God would not waste any of it.

Through it all, I’ve watched that spark of creativity and entrepreneurship take root in our children. I’ve watched them come alive, discovering who God is calling them to be through the talents and gifts He entrusted to them.

Sophia, my oldest, who built her own successful business in college, now helps others dream, design, and launch their brands. Without her skill and heart, I wouldn’t have a website or a shop. She’s the reason the ideas in my mind made it into the world. I am not sure I would have this website space or the shop that goes with it.

My son, who has carried his own visions with courage. He launched a clever apparel line called Unlikely Friends and created A Space for Grief, where he shares from the heart about loss and how to support one another through it. His honesty and empathy have become a kind of ministry in themselves.

Olivia, who helped bring the shop to life with custom-designed earrings, artwork, accessories and t-shirt designs—and who later launched Livi’s Lattes, her own creative venture. She’s a barista, artist, and party planner at heart, and her imagination seems to spill into everything she touches.

My youngest, already a caring dog-sitter and babysitter with a love for dance and performance. I wouldn’t be surprised if she opens a dance studio or theater space one day. She has been a huge support in helping with the inventory management as well as the ornaments we made for our little family shop.

Here is a look at how our shop came to be: Made With Love. I am proud of what we created and built in the midst of the hardest days and how we carried it with hope.

The entrepreneurial spirit runs deep here—woven through love, resilience, creativity, and all the gifts God has given us. And in the smallest tasks, I hear the echo of St. Thérèse’s reminder.

“Nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love.”

And maybe as you read this, you’ll think about the dreams you’re carrying, too—the ones you’re tending, or reviving, or rediscovering in a new season of life.

The ones you’ve held quietly or bravely, wondering when or how to take the next step.

Small businesses are often born out of the brave, tender, honest places, where we ask God, “What can I do with what’s still in my hands?”

And if you’ve ever wondered whether supporting a small business makes a difference, I promise you—it does.

Every order, every message, every share becomes part of someone’s story.

It helps a family keep going.

It keeps a dream alive that might have once felt impossible.

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and thank God for what He is sending us every day.”

St. Gianna molla

In the spirit of sharing the many little businesses and beginnings over the years, there’s one “small beginning” I’ve quietly carried for a long time: the dream of seeing my words not only here on the blog, but also on printed pages. A dream to be an author.

This time last year, I shared about the first book I was published in—a collaboration where I wrote a chapter about a saint who carried me through a very difficult chapter of my life. It felt like a first brave step into something I had long hoped for. You can learn more about the Cloud of Witnesses here.

And now, I get to share that I’ve written another chapter in a new collaboration book, this time on Mary and her hidden influence on my faith journey. To be included among other writers who love her and have been led by her is a gift I don’t take lightly.

You can pre-order this new book through my shop, and as a small thank you, every pre-order placed before December 5 will include a few special pre-order gifts, lovingly packed and shipped from my home, just for you supporting my new endeavor. You can read more about this beautiful book here.

So on this Small Business Saturday, whether you support my shop or another small business you love, thank you.

Your support doesn’t just buy a product…

It helps keep a dream alive.

It helps a family keep going.

It helps a story continue.

It shows others their hardwork matters.

And it means the world.

When you support small businesses, your support doesn’t just buy a product—it keeps a dream alive, helps a family keep going, and carries a story forward.

Heather Lebano