(Editor’s note: This is Part 1 in a two-part series. Look for Part 2 later this week!)
By Marilyn Miller
In 1995, Sara McDaniel grabbed hold of her diploma from Springhill High School in northern Webster Parish, and she vowed two things – first, there’s a “big, wide world out there” that she was determined to see, and second, that she was never coming back!
Brakes on!! As the crow flies, she didn’t go that far. She enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, about 95 miles away. Four years later she graduated with a Bachelor of Science – Education (BSE) degree. Her teaching certificate took her right back to Springhill, LA, where she and her husband lived while she taught school at nearby Plain Dealing.
In 2001, the couple transferred to El Dorado, AR, and six years later, to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was during this time that two life-changing events happened. She began transitioning from teaching into Educational Sales. And her marriage began falling apart.
But the couple moved together to Corpus Christi, TX in 2011, where they eventually divorced. It wasn’t pretty. One would imagine that thoughts of the south Texas coastal city would not be pleasant. Sara shakes her head. That’s where she was, in Corpus Christi, having a talk with a customer, when she felt the presence of God surround her. Then when she got home, God spoke to her, telling her it was time to move back to Louisiana.
The teacher-turned-salesman wasn’t eager to hear what God had to say. She didn’t want to move back to Louisiana. She prayed that He would change His mind. But, no, the message was clear to her. So, in 2014 she moved back to Springhill.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Sara was driving through Minden when it happened. She saw “HER HOUSE!!” – a 1926 cottage that sat broken down and shrouded by shrubs. She could relate to it. She had been broken down at times in her own life. But the once-beautiful home on McDonald Street, owned by the Fitzgerald family, wasn’t for sale.
“This is why I had to come back,” Sara surmised. “God knew what an impact that house was going to have on so many lives. That definitely included her own.
It took Sara 22 months to purchase her “Simply Southern Cottage.” She bought it in September of 2016, renovated it while living in her grandparent’s house in Sarepta (Papaw Wheeler’s Wooded Retreat), and moved into it in October of 2017.
“At the time, I saw my house as a problem. Why did I have to wait 22 months?” she says of her impatience. Today, looking back, she realizes that “God’s timing is perfect.”
“When I started remodeling the house, I started a blog to document (the work) daily. It blew up! It was never my intention,” Sara said, adding that half a million followers now on Facebook, Instagram, Tic Tok, and Pinterest is “unbelievable.” She confesses that she “just found my way through. I did not intend for any of this to happen.”
“And now I just get to show up (on her blog) and tell them (followers) about Grace, Hope, Mercy and Redemption.” She said she is still using her educational background, but “is teaching them how to restore a historic property.”
Sara has bought, renovated, and sold older homes for many years. “I always dabbled, but now it’s my living,” she said.
How did Sara become a Content Creator (she doesn’t like the term “Influencer”)?”
“What happened was that one magazine (where an article about her Simply Southern Cottage appeared) would share. And then magazines, like Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Living, those larger accounts, shared. I just showed up in my space and it all happened. And I get to show off Minden every…single…day. And bring people to town.” Lately, visitors have come from North Dakota, California, Montana, Massachusetts, and other states. And they shared a common question before their trips began! Where can we stay?
Sara admits that sharing her projects – the grand opening for The Villas at Spanish Court took place recently – is a full-time job. But she wishes more business owners in Minden would get on-board to promote themselves, too. Some already do it successfully, she said. “It would be amazing if everybody would do the same to showcase themselves. The keys are Consistency and Building Trust.”
Look for more about Sara McDaniel in Thursday’s edition.