So Worth Loving | Business with Purpose Podcast EP 209: Eryn Eddy

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All of us have something in our lives that we might feel embarrassed by, or something that has happened to us that gives us a feeling of shame or something in our past that is holding us back. There are times where these negative thoughts come into our head and we feel like we’re not worthy enough or capable; maybe that we’re not even worth loving. My guest today is an incredible woman of faith who is trying to change that narrative to let women know that they are so worth loving. My guest this week is Eryn Eddy, the founder of So Worth Loving, a lifestyle clothing brand bridging the gap between not talking about self-worth and talking about it. Eryn began her clothing brand as a refuge. She needed to be present with other people’s stories before she could be truly present with her own. “Divorce broke me” said Eryn. “My heart had to be shattered in order to see the hole that God wanted to fill all along. I resisted accepting or believing that God could love me so recklessly and beautifully. The enemy watches our vulnerabilities and uses his findings against us, but God always brings beauty back in.” Eryn is releasing her debut book in January 2021, and she is the cohost of the new podcast, God Hears Her, which launched back in May. The podcast is for Christian women seeking friends to come alongside them in the hurts, joys, and struggles of the everyday. This conversation was so refreshing. There is an air and spirit about Eryn that is just filled with joy and peace, and I felt in so many ways that it was for me, but I know it was for so many of you listening too.

4:34 – The Eryn 101

• Eryn comes from a line of self-starting entrepreneurs. Her parents manufactured furniture for 45 years, and Eryn now owns a clothing company and lifestyle brand called So Worth Loving. So Worth Loving bridges the gap between not talking about struggles of identity and self-worth and talking about it. Eryn started So Worth Loving a little over 9 years ago with no intention of starting a company.
• Eryn did not go to college and had no idea what she wanted to do with her career. She started working in ministry for an organization called Orange working her way up from no experience. While at Orange, the owner asked Eryn what she wanted to do with her life. Eryn thought she’d found her path working at Orange but when asked again about what she wanted to do, she couldn’t come up with an answer.
• Eryn realized that for a lot of her life she’d just been reactionary and never thought too far beyond whatever her circumstances were at any given time. After considering her boss’ question some more, Eryn thought he wanted to pursue music and dove in headfirst.
• Jumping full speed ahead into a passion you’re excited about often makes us vulnerable to other people questioning your ability to do it. Eryn saw a good amount of success with her music finding its way to commercials and TV shows. Everything happened quickly. In that time, Eryn wanted to create something to support the people who supported her music.
• Eryn felt that the people who loved her music were more like friends than family. They were not admiring her art from the outside, but they were actually making it happen. Eryn decided to create t-shirts for free and get this – they included her HOME ADDRESS!
• Luckily no one showed up at Eryn’s house, but they did sent her their t-shirts to her to spray paint and send back to them. Many included letters with stories of why they struggled with self-worth and wrestle with believing they are worth of love. It was then that Eryn realized this was about so much more than just her music.

10:10 – An Important Conversation

• We all struggle with self-worth at one time or another, but our society is not well-equipped to face and discuss it. Part of Eryn’s story includes her divorce while she was building and growing So Worth Loving.
• When Eryn started So Worth Loving and began hearing other people’s stories, she noticed after her divorce that she had not been paying attention to her own story. She was carrying the weight of what other people had been going through and was not as present in her own life.
• As So Worth Loving grew, the company was shipping to all 50 states and did everything in- house, and Eryn started experiencing burnout. It wasn’t until her divorce that she started to realize she’d been trying to find her self-worth in the wrong places.
• The hardships of shame and the divisions that can come with divorce left Eryn questioning whether she was enough and if she was worth to be loved again. At that time, Eryn decided to take about a year and a half off from So Worth Loving so spend time on herself and work for another organization.
• Historically, the church has not been great with responding to divorce or people who experience divorce. Divorce has a stigma and we’re uncomfortable with it because we don’t talk about it and don’t know how to talk about it. Stigmas are divisive. Eryn experienced a lot of divisive questions from people in the church during and after her divorce.
• Eryn decided that it was not up to her to fight her battles, it was God who she would let fight her battles, including the misrepresentation of who God is through wrong comments from people in the church. That didn’t mean it was easy, but God did fight Eryn’s battles and it strengthened her relationship with God.

18:33 – Encouragement if you are in the midst of a marriage crisis

20:41 –Book Resources: How To Survive the Loss of a Love and Option B, and The Soul of Shame

21:50 – To friends and family members of someone who is going through a divorce and some ways to love someone going through a divorce.

29:49 – So Worth Loving & God Hears Her

• Eryn’s book launches in January of 2021 and it’s called So Worth Loving: How Discovering Your True Value Changes Everything. It’s a formal journal where Eryn shares about her wrestling with who God is, her questions, mistakes, and journey to understanding her value. You can preorder wherever books are sold!
• Eryn also launched a podcast in May called God Hears Her and cohosts the show with Elisa Morgan. The two share personal stories of hope and encouragement. True freedom comes from sharing our journeys and knowing we’re not alone. Be sure to subscribe!

36:28 – Hear more about So Worth Loving, how it has evolved through the last 9 years and what the organization is doing today. They also provide valuable and helpful resources on their So Worth Living page.

38:01 – Getting to Know Our Guest

• Find out about one of Eryn’s unusual talents, who she’d most like to sit next to on a 16-hour flight, what her hype song would be, who she’d choose to play her in a movie about her life, and what it means to her to run a business with purpose.

Memorable Quotes

12:09 – “When I went through my divorce, I had to go through a dismantling to see where I found my self-worth. I was finding it in my finances, I was finding it in the growth of my business, I was finding it being in a relationship, I was finding it in the communities I was around, I was finding it in the network that I had.”

12:31- “Anybody who’s listening has experienced divorce, they know that it is a death and the person is still there. You lose friends, you get a Scarlett letter immediately, especially in the Christian community, there’s a lot of shame, and people pick sides. And so all of that definitely played a part in my wrestling with ‘Am I enough? Am I worthy to love? Am I worth to be loved again?’”

17:32 – “At the end of the day, I knew the Lord would fight it and He did and I am so glad because it was an opportunity for me to develop a deeper intimacy with Him.”

20:35 – “You are worthy to be taken care of.”

About Eryn Eddy:

Eryn is the founder and CEO of So Worth Loving, a lifestyle clothing brand. Since starting in 2011, she’s grown her company to include customers in all fifty states and in thirty countries,
and the company is still going strong. She and her work have been featured on CNN and MSNBC, as well as Southern Living and Atlanta Magazine.
This creative enjoys oil painting and singing, and she’s even had her music featured on MTV and VH1.
Eryn is also an author and a speaker, and she calls Atlanta home.

Connect with Eryn Eddy:

• https://www.eryneddy.com/
• https://www.eryneddy.com/soworthloving
• https://www.facebook.com/iamErynEddy/
• https://twitter.com/ErynEddy
• http://instagram.com/eryneddy
• https://soworthloving.com/
• http://instagram.com/soworthloving
• http://facebook.com/soworthloving
• http://twitter.com/soworthloving

Thank you to our partners of the show:

Ammas Umma 

Did you know I have an ethical brand directory? That’s what Chelsea used to start finding products for her boutique almost four years ago! Now, Amma’s Umma carries over 50 intentionally sourced brands and is the perfect one stop shop for all your gift giving needs. As a thank you to the Still Being Molly community, she is offering 20% off with code SHOPWITHMOLLY. Head to shopwithmolly.com for all the details.

GOEX

At GOEX, we believe in the power of purchase. We use a simple t-shirt to connect our customers with their apparel makers. GOEX customers sustain fair wage jobs that liberate workers from poverty and empower them in their families and communities. We are proud to be a verified member of the Fair Trade Federation. Shop sustainable, eco-friendly t-shirts and sweatshirts with purpose today at goexapparel.com.

Simple Switch

I want to introduce you all to a company I believe in that helps you more conveniently purchase with purpose, SimpleSwitch.org

Simple Switch is an online marketplace for ethical and impactful shopping. They let you shop online for more than 3,000 products ranging from everyday essentials like toilet paper and hand sanitizer, to special gifts like journals or jewelry. Every product has a positive environmental or social impact, like planting trees or fighting human trafficking.

Simple Switch is offering a discount exclusively for our listeners. Check out the marketplace on simpleswitch.org and get 20% off your first order with code PURCHASEWITHPURPOSE at checkout!

After 2 years of global impact, Simple Switch is raising money to grow the company and make ethical shopping our new normal. You can learn more about that campaign at IGG.me/simple-switch

The Lemonade Boutique 

This episode is sponsored by The Lemonade Boutique, a women’s clothing with a cause store. Featuring ethically made and fair trade items from over 10 countries, every item is made by women facing extreme challenges such as trafficking, poverty, and more. Your purchase empowers women to take life’s lemons and make lemonade.  Shop at THELemonadeBoutique.com. Listeners of the Business with Purpose Podcast can save 15% by using code PURPOSE15 at checkout.

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