Women in Entrepreneurship: Meet Carla Bounds

Stationed in Fort Stewart with her husband and their two daughters, Carla was living the life she always dreamed. When she got the news about her husbands sacrifice, she of course was devastated. Being an ARMY wife is not for the weak. However, Carla had to overcome the heartache that the loss of her husband left, looking into a new future that didn't include her husband was a challenge that Carla faced head on. About a year after Brian had passed Carla moved to Columbus, two kids in tow and an old hobby of refinishing furniture. "He was in the infantry, we were stationed at Fort Stewart back then. We moved here in 2016, one year after he passed. I decided it was time to get back to work and tapped into my old hobby of refinishing furniture. My now best friend worked at Bluebelle and convinced me to get a booth. I got a rather large one and was ready to make this my first step at running my own business. 

That quickly turned into getting a second large space. The opportunity to buy Bluebelle came up a few months after that in the summer of 2018. Jumped in with both feet and made Bluebelle my thing!" Carla not only made BLUEBELLE her thing but s. When asked about why she chose to but she took it and ran. Bluebelle and what her purpose was for continuing she was real honest. "My why has some layers because it started out as a way to not only give myself some fulfillment and purpose after my husband passed away, but to show my two daughters what I’m made of while also showing them the possibilities of hard work. Showing them that it’s okay to be scared to do something…. It’s the best time to be brave!"

 Carla is not only giving herself a purpose but also others in the community who may not have the funds for their own brick and mortar but can rent a space and showcase their own businesses. Carla is passionate about helping people grow in her community and also about encouraging other entrepreneurs to chase their dreams. "Owning a business is something I had never done before and this particular opportunity gave me a chance to incorporate several things that I felt passion for…. Retail, meeting people, helping people, growing, and supporting my community. Once all that was realized “my why” was the joy that I get to experience from other local small business owners as they work on their business within our store, seeing them grow and thrive, watching them learn from mistakes and celebrate successes, supporting them as their business grows too big to be contained by Bluebelle, and starting the whole process over again every time someone comes to our store looking to join the Bluebelle family." 

We all have those things that we are afraid of. For me its always the fear of failure. Carla was asked what would you tell yourself if you could go back and say just one thing, what would that one thing be? "It’s okay to be scared, it’s human nature shows up to protect us…. But don’t force yourself out of an opportunity due to fear." That really hit me hard when I read that little nugget of wisdom. Made me think of all of the opportunities I passed on due to the fear led decision. Just a little something to think about. Carla not only owns and operates the Bluebelle Local Mercantile but she is a full time single mother of two girls. Part of her motivation to even follow the refinishing dream was to show her daughters that you can do it if you work hard and be better than you were the day before.

"There are a few things that keep me going. My two daughters are at the top of the list, the other is just my competitive spirit. I have always told those around me that there is always room for improvement, always do better than you did yesterday. I am in a constant state of competition with myself to strive to continue to learn, adapt, grow, and be a good role model for my daughters every day." Carla takes each day with a "got to be better than yesterday mentality", learning and growing and creating the best community she can with her passion and resilience. Carla has taken an opportunity and not only dove feet first into entrepreneurship, but she has done it with such grace and integrity. 

She has created a community within her four walls with 125 filled spaces. Bluebelle has the option to create bigger or smaller spaces according to what each business need is. On top of creating an amazingly safe space for customers to come and shop all of the small businesses Carla hosts food truck days, she has vendor fairs and is always up for any other type of adventure that promotes other people's businesses. The quote, "You can tell who the strong women are, they are always the ones building each other up instead of tearing others down" comes to mind when I think of Carla Bounds. Carla has another little nugget of wisdom about those times when you might be feeling slightly defeated in your entrepreneurship situation, "Embrace that feeling and LEARN FROM IT. Use that information to make your comeback. Take some time to understand what has made you feel that way and figure out a way to make it better. You didn’t come this far to only go this far."  

So, my fellow entrepreneurs, life is mostly unpredictable. So, learn from the mistakes, laugh at the lookbacks and create a legacy that reaches generations to come.