The Moment of Realization (March 2023)
Late March 2023 hit me like a weight: I was living a life others would envy — a six-figure corporate sales job, constant travel, closing deals, yet I hadn’t felt truly alive in years. I was missing my children’s milestones, craving stability, and exhausted by the pursuit of success.
In a rare quiet moment on my couch, I asked myself: What would make me truly happy?
The answer was both simple and profound: I wanted home, not just a house, but a sanctuary. A place of safety, echoed with laughter, and reflected my true self.
My own childhood had been anything but that. Grade school was a challenging experience from the start: I struggled with anxiety long before I even knew the term, and I often found myself daydreaming. Later on, I began skipping classes and acting out to escape a reality that felt chaotic. By fourteen, I was tangled in substance abuse, stealing to fill a void I couldn’t name. It wasn’t until I was sixteen that an ADD diagnosis offered a glimpse into why I felt so disconnected.
In that moment on the couch, I realized the path ahead: I wanted to create the home I had never truly experienced. For the first time, I also recognized that I was creative—a trait I had never acknowledged in myself. With this newfound clarity, my next step became inevitable.
Image Credit: Washburn Photography
The Start of Homecrest & Co.
In early April 2023, I began to share a vision that started as a simple idea: creating a home décor social media account and small business called Homecrest & Co. I began posting home décor ideas, engaging in collaborations, and gradually transformed my creative outlet into a tangible aspect of the business.
While building my business in the evenings, I remained in my full-time corporate role. I taught myself how to create an e-commerce site, source inventory, design a website, and market products, all while raising my children and managing a sales job that required travel.
In September 2023, I resigned from my job. On October 13, 2023, I officially launched the Homecrest & Co. website. I spent six months designing the site, understanding key business aspects, and selecting wholesalers who aligned with my brand vision.
The Highs and the Crash
The launch felt like a dream realized. November and December brought strong growth. My first publication was featured in Voyage Michigan in February 2024. On the surface, it looked like I had made it.
But behind the scenes, in early 2024, I began to struggle: revenue began to decline due to troubling SEO issues on my website. Expenses soared. I was burning through savings. The cost of living in Kalamazoo—rising water bills, property taxes—was becoming unsustainable. I was doing everything alone, without support, and it became overwhelming. Financial hardship compounded every personal challenge. I made mistakes. I lost relationships. I faced judgment and isolation.
To outsiders, it may have looked like the beginning of a small business success story, but in reality, I was fighting for survival. I spent countless nights analyzing data, hiring contract website designers, rewriting product descriptions, and searching through forums for marketing tips, any glimpse of insight that might help keep my business afloat. Along the way, I faced some bad business deals and placed my trust in the wrong people, which were constant reminders that entrepreneurship often comes with hidden costs.
Running for Kalamazoo Public School Board
In the midst of the storm, I made a decision in July 2024 that I felt was necessary at the time: I ran for the Kalamazoo Public School Board.
I had the qualifications—a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education, eight years in Kalamazoo Public Schools, and deep ties to the community. I wasn’t running for politics. I was running for students, for equity, for accountability.
It became evident very quickly that the local political system was not designed for someone like me. For instance, I was not endorsed by the local Democratic Party, not due to my qualifications, but because I chose not to ask for their endorsement. I opted against this; it was a policy I could not ethically support. I witnessed firsthand how insiders are safeguarded, while outsiders are left to struggle on their own.
I finished the race with the fewest votes, yet nearly 11,000 people voted for me without a single campaign dollar spent. That mattered. Those were people who researched. Who saw through the noise. Still, I was left with the sobering reality that experience and heart were not enough.
Selling My Home
By October 2024, I was exhausted. Running Homecrest & Co., traveling to expos and markets, creating content, and campaigning at the same time was physically and emotionally draining. But I refused to give up, even if it meant losing everything.
I was months behind on bills. My home, the one I had worked so hard to purchase, was heading toward foreclosure.
I made the painful decision to sell it.
The city where I had tried to invest, through my business, my campaign, and my hard work, had become too expensive, too exclusive, and too hostile for someone without institutional support. Property taxes kept rising, and water rates were excessive. I realized that I had to make the hardest choice yet if I wanted to preserve even a small part of my dream: I would need to sell my last remaining asset to fund the next chapter of my life.
Reinvesting in the Dream
Several weeks after the election, I decided to take the next step in my business plan. I realized that the only way to truly advance the business was to invest in a retail storefront. The only way I could finance this was by selling my house and cashing in on the equity. I chose to reinvest that equity, not for comfort, but out of commitment.
I continued to travel throughout Michigan to various markets and festivals to promote Homecrest & Co., expand my social media presence, and grow the business from the ground up. I envisioned a storefront that would not only showcase the retail products available on the e-commerce site but also include a small staging studio in the back. This setup would allow clients to experience the vision in person and host workshops that bring people together.
That visibility began to lead to new opportunities. After the Voyage Michigan feature, I was interviewed by Canvas Rebel, invited to appear on the Canvas Rebel Podcast, and later featured in Shoutout Michigan, each platform giving me the space to share what it means to build a business from the ground up, as a woman entrepreneur and the hard work and dedication it took to get there, where I thought I was heading.
I still had no financial safety net, no grants, and no business loans. Just my vision, hard work, grit, and the belief that what I was building mattered.
What Comes Next
What happened next would challenge everything I thought I knew about business, about housing, and about who gets to belong.
Media Features & Appearances
- Voyage Michigan: “Inspiring Conversations with Jen Dayton of Homecrest & Co.” 🔗 Read the full article
- Canvas Rebel: “Meet Jen Dayton” 🔗 Read the feature
- Canvas Rebel Podcast: “Content Creation & Audience Building in 2024 and Beyond” 🔗 Listen to the episode
- Shoutout Michigan: “Meet Jen Dayton — Business Owner & Entrepreneur” 🔗 Read the full profile
Legal Disclaimer
This blog is a personal account reflecting the author’s lived experiences, research, and opinions. All information is believed to be accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Any references to individuals, agencies, or public officials are based on firsthand experience, publicly available records, or matters of public concern.
This publication is not intended to defame, harass, or misrepresent any person or entity. It is protected speech under the First Amendment and is provided for informational, educational, and advocacy purposes only.
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