Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with RaeLynn DeAngelis, Founder, and Executive Director of Living in Truth Ministries, located in Lawrenceburg, IN, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Living in Truth Ministries helps women break the chains of food and body image through a renewed mind. We focus on the spiritual aspect of healing, an often neglected part of a woman's healing journey. By replacing worldly lies with biblical truth, women are able to embrace their unique identity, see themselves through God's eyes, and live in freedom.

Tell us about yourself

The ministry was born out of my own brokenness after God set me free from a 25-year battle with an eating disorder called bulimia. On my healing journey, I realized I had believed many lies about myself, lies that contributed to my eating disorder and held me in bondage. Thankfully, God showed me that for every lie I believed, He provided the truth that would set me free (John 8:31-32). It didn't happen overnight, but little by little, I began believing these truths and applying them to my everyday life. Eventually, my eating disorder chains fell away. Praise God; I have been free for 18-years and counting.

After I broke free, I felt God nudging me to help others do the same. I did some research and found that although there were plenty of resources addressing healing from a secular perspective, there was nothing faith-based. Over time, I developed a faith-based healing program using the same tools and principles God taught me in my own healing journey. In 2008, Living in Truth Ministries was born. Today we are a non-profit organization that helps women experience true and lasting freedom through our 10-week healing program, Eyes Wide Open.

Although managing a non-profit organization has its challenges, I am energized by each woman's story of recovery. Seeing chains fall away and women stepping into freedom is truly amazing.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Several years ago, a young woman came through our healing program during her college summer break. She had battled an eating disorder for years and was growing increasingly discouraged by the lack of faith-based support. When she found Living in Truth Ministries, she reached out and got plugged into one of our healing groups. She made tremendous progress and eventually broke free from anorexia. She changed her major in college to psychology, and after graduating, she began working in the eating disorder field to help others find freedom. Today she is married, has a baby, and is living a fulfilling life. Impacting the lives of others and helping them live in truth and freedom is the greatest accomplishment I could ever hope to attain.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

When you start something, whether it is a business or ministry, in the beginning, you do most of the work yourself. It can be exhausting and discouraging. Before I started the ministry, I was a stay-at-home mom, so I had a lot of catching up to do and much to learn. I made mistakes along the way, but each mistake taught me valuable lessons that grew me as a leader and entrepreneur. My goal is to build this ministry into something that will last even after I'm gone.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Building a business takes time. Try not to get discouraged if things take longer than you hoped. Stay the course. Zechariah 4:10 says, "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin." Find your stride take long, decisive steps in a specific direction, and stay in your lane. Trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for disaster.
  2. What are you passionate about? What motivates you? Begin building your business (or ministry) from there. Know the WHY behind your WHAT. People don't buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it. I've heard it said, "Success is born from the place where your deep gladness and the world's great hunger meet."
  3. Embrace the lessons provided by your mistakes and learn from them. Mistakes do not define you; they refine you. Dave Ramsey says, "Success isn't a gleaming and shiny mountain. It's a pile of mistakes that you're standing on instead of under." Do small things like they are big. Invest in your team. And put people before projects. People bring a much greater return on your investment.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

In addition to the Eyes Wide Open healing program, Living in Truth Ministries offers several free resources to help women embrace their unique identity and live in freedom. Visit our website and click on the FREE RESOURCES page to learn more.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://livingintruthministries.com/
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3a09Hfs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/living.in.truth/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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