How Faith Turned My Business into a Ministry

I started a small home-based business in the direct sales industry when I was 29 years

old. At that time, I was a stay-at-home mom to my two boys, Charlie (4) and Robbie (2),

and wife to Robert, who was building a demanding career in the investment industry.

We had very little money, and I felt frustrated and unfulfilled. I knew I had something to

offer in the marketplace, but I wasn’t willing to give up the flexibility and availability that

allowed me to be present for my boys. So I did what I knew to do: I prayed, I looked,

and I waited.

The answer came through an unexpected invitation. A friend who had just started her

Mary Kay business asked me to host a party. Because I was a big advocate of healthy

skin care, I said yes. The party was a huge success. I fell in love with how my skin felt,

and my background in science (I have a biology degree) gave me a unique lens. I

looked at the ingredients and was genuinely impressed. I wanted everything, and so did

my friends and family who attended. Because the products are consumable, I knew

we’d all be reordering for years to come. So I made a decision: I would start my own

business, with my friends and family as my first customers.

Having something of my own, something that let me set goals, contribute financially,

and still be home with my boys, was deeply fulfilling. I was passionate about the

products, and the business grew consistently. Within a year, I had earned my first career car and become a Sales Director. I discovered that I loved leading, building, and pouring my experience into others. By 18 months in, I was earning a six-figure income and driving the first of what would eventually be 11 pink Cadillacs (which always made me laugh, because I genuinely disliked the color pink.)

All of this unfolded while running our home, and as the business grew, it gave me the

flexibility to begin homeschooling my boys, something I wouldn’t have been able to do

otherwise. It was challenging and difficult and painful and uncomfortable, and yet deeply

rewarding. I knew I was exactly where the Lord wanted me, and I desperately needed

Him every single day. What I didn’t fully anticipate was that my business would also

become a ministry. As I led, trained, supported, and encouraged other women,

conversations about Jesus began to surface naturally. Some of the women I worked

with were already believers, and I had the privilege of speaking into their faith. Others

didn’t yet know Jesus, and before long, they were asking to accept Christ and join me at

church. Over the years, 30 to 40 families began attending, and there were many

Sunday mornings when my heart nearly burst with joy as I looked around and saw all

the relationships and redemption stories represented in those pews.

As my business grew, so did my influence within the leadership world, and I felt the

weight of stewarding it well. I had seen firsthand how easy it was for leaders to cross

that invisible line from influence into manipulation, and I was determined never to go

there. Keeping my leadership pure, genuine, and truly helpful was always a priority. I

stayed rooted in Bible study, time with the Lord, church, and healthy relationships—both

inside and outside of my business. And yet, somewhere along the way, I became weary.

After multiple painful betrayals, disappointments, and unmet expectations, I found

myself discouraged, tired, and sad. Even with what the world would call success, I felt

lonely and exhausted. The Lord, in His kindness, led me to begin scheduling regular

silent retreats—extended stretches of time set apart just for Him. Those seasons of

stillness became lifelines. Without them, without being reminded by the only voice that

truly mattered that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, doing exactly what I was

supposed to be doing, I would have buckled under the weight.

As women, we wear so many hats: Daughters, Mothers, Wives, Sisters, Friends,

Leaders. We find ourselves in the home, in the marketplace, in ministries, in

conversations, and in rooms we didn’t even know we belonged in. And in every one of

those spaces, we carry Christ within us.

That is what makes us WORTHY. Not our titles, not our income, not our track record or our productivity, but the presence of the Living God dwelling inside of us. He goes

where we go. He is present in the board meeting and the kitchen, in the sales call and the school room, in the quiet retreat and the loud season of building. He is with us in the weariness and the joy. We are never without Him, and therefore we are never without purpose.

The marketplace is not separate from your ministry. It is one of its most powerful

expressions. The women you lead, the clients you serve, the conversations you have

over coffee or on a Zoom call, those are divine appointments. You are not just doing

business. You are carrying the Kingdom into every room you enter.

So, my dear sister, wherever you find yourself in this season, whether you are just

starting out, pressing through a painful stretch, or standing on the other side of a

breakthrough, know this: you are not there by accident. You are seen, you are

equipped, and you are called. My prayer for you is that you are refreshed and

encouraged by the Holy Spirit and surrounded by sisters in Christ who remind you of

who you are. You are making a difference. You are part of His story. And that is more

than enough.

~Victoria Piccirilli, Worthy Content Creator