Hi, my name is Latisea and I'm Jeremy! Together we own MLEE Home Decor & More. A five star, award winning company that we are most proud of today. However, the journey onto entrepreneurship, was not easy.
Shortly after high school, we met in 2012 at McDonald's. I was visiting my sister and Jeremy was visiting a friend. After dating for quite some time, Jeremy and I decided to make it official. Before we knew it, at the age of 21 we were married and parents to our oldest Jeremy II. Talk about Happy but STRESSED OUT! We struggled financially leaving us Homeless, sleeping on friends and families couches. Wrestling with fear and doubt, chasing the traditional career/American Dream. We quickly realized that it was not the best fit for us. So we started exploring. Craving flexibility and freedom, we began to play with the idea of entrepreneurship. Jeremy was the first one to bring up the idea of us, starting a business. If I'm going to be completely honest, I was hesitate, but it was an idea that was exciting, and it sounded like the best fit for us. After giving it much thought, we took the leap of faith, and gave birth to MLEE Home Decor & More in 2016.
When we started MLEE Home Decor & More in 2016 we had three tools given to Jeremy by family members while building homes together. A drill, a grinder, and a hammer. lol These very unique tools allowed us to make some pretty nice pieces of furniture, but it was not enough to keep up with the workload. So we went back to corporate America to fund our dream. Talk about TIRED! lol
Needless to say, that chapter was filled with blood, sweat, tears, late nights, and early mornings. We had no idea what we were doing, let alone how to run a business but God had other plans for us.
Fast forwarding to 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic began. We went full time into MLEE Home Decor & More. By 2020, we surpassed our annual income while working in corporate America and had our youngest baby Levi. In 2021, we were named Best in HOME Local Furniture Makers in Jacksonville and surrounding areas by Jacksonville Magazine and in May 2022, we were featured in Voyage Jacksonville as Jacksonville Most inspiring Trailblazers! Talk about a TURN AROUND!
The truth is – that entrepreneurship is not easy at all and not for everyone. However, for us, it's so worth it and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. Though we work longer and harder as entrepreneurs, we have the freedom and flexibility to create our own schedules, mentor to adults and children throughout Jacksonville in person and online through our Facebook Group, Get Crafted With MLEE. As well as, make it to every soccer game and swimming lesson. A sense of freedom that has left us Blessed and Full of Life. That we would never take for granted.
We are truly blessed to have MLEE Home Decor & More, each other, and the community supporting us. We thank God every day for the courage to step out on faith and go full speed with our business. We also want to thank Jacksonville Magazine and Voyage Jacksonville for giving us the opportunity to share our story. This is just the beginning!
In the magazine feature we dig a lot deeper into our past, present, and the future of MLEE Home Decor & More. Explaining how we over came test and trials and share advise to inspiring entrepreneurs. Check out the articles below and Subscribe to this Blog to follow our journey.
Sincerely,
Latisea and Jeremy
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