Photography Provided by Nickol Teague

Meet Whitney Small, a mom, wife, independent business owner and a champion for the fatherless. Whitney and her husband Jason relocated from Pennsylvania to Greenwood back in 2012. She left the corporate world to venture out on her own, in hopes of being more present with her two children, Delaney who is five and Bennett, now three years old. What she didn’t expect was a complete shift in her family’s direction that led them into uncharted territory. Take a look below at what drives Whitney every single day.

What do you do for a living and how did you get into that business? 

“I am an independent ambassador with Plexus Worldwide. Prior to plexus, I had no clue what network marketing was nor did I support others who were involved with network marketing. That all changed when Plexus was introduced to me in February 2015. A trusted friend told me how she thought focusing on improving my gut health, reducing inflammation & regulating my blood sugars would help give me the healthy pregnancy I had been wanting and it was the answer I had been looking for.”

What is your greatest joy from owning your own business?

“I live to help others. Having a small part in helping someone change his or her life absolutely fulfills me.”

Your family has answered the call to foster. Tell us about it.

“Ever since I’ve known my husband, he has had a heart for adoption. Truly, I had never given fostering or adoption a thought until suffering the loss of our third pregnancy close to Christmas 2016. That loss triggered something in our hearts to begin the process of becoming foster parents. This past year of being a foster family has tried, strengthened, stretched and grown us in many ways. We are currently fostering our fifth placement. Although the state average is much longer, our placements have ranged from 24 hours to three months.

There are so many highs and lows to fostering. It’s a constant roller coaster of emotions. Our high point to date has been seeing a drug-addicted baby make a complete 180 in his health, development and demeanor over the course of three months. He’s recently returned to family members and we couldn’t be happier for them. As for the lows, each time we get a placement their stories get harder to hear. Your heart breaks in a whole new way. As layers of their story are revealed your heart breaks deeper and wider.”

What has been challenging?

“Time management can be super tricky for me. As any mom would understand, we want to be able to do it all. Accepting that I can’t do everything and do it all perfectly has been an ongoing challenge and adjustment.”

Your faith seems to be really important to you, why?

“My life has drastically changed and improved over the past eight years and it’s all because of Jesus. If I hadn’t had faith, I most likely never would have become a network marketer or a foster parent. My faith is what pushed me to pursue these unseen plans.”

How do you serve your community?

“My family attends Mount Pleasant Christian church and serves in a variety of ways. We love participating in our annual events like Night to Shine and Change the World. My husband serves the church through their financial ministry. He leads classes and meets with people individually. I am active in the Women’s Ministry and serve in the children’s ministry as well. We are also involved in Defend 82:3, Mount Pleasant’s Orphan Care Ministry.”

Where do you get you inspiration from?

“My inspiration begins and ends at home. Changing lives through this accidental business has allowed me to stay home and focus on the greatest ministry of all, my family.”

What would you tell your younger self today?

“Seek Jesus. Now. Don’t wait one more second.”

What Drives you? 

“Living my life for Him, the desire to change my family’s future, my husband who is my biggest supporter and the many amazing people in my life that force me to level up to be a better version of myself.”