Starting The Old Farm Shed at 38 and Succeeding w/ Jennifer Matthews (RR #79)

Sep 14

2 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #79 with Jennifer Matthews.

Watch the full episode on Youtube:

Jennifer Matthews didn’t start The Old Farm Shed with a perfect business plan. She started with an idea, a small space, a willingness to take a risk, and one question: “What if you succeed?”

At 38, Jennifer stepped into entrepreneurship and began building what would become a destination boutique in Burgaw, North Carolina. More than a decade later, The Old Farm Shed has grown far beyond its original 600-square-foot space and earned recognition as 2026 Business of the Year.

In this episode, Evonne and Jennifer talk about starting a business later in life, trusting your instincts, standing out instead of fitting in, building loyal customers, motherhood and entrepreneurship, and why collaboration beats competition.

Jennifer also opens up about the years of work behind the success, taking big risks, navigating difficult seasons, and entering a new chapter as her only son heads off to college.

For any woman in midlife wondering, “Is it too late for me to start something new?” Jennifer’s message is simple: go for it. Stop second-guessing yourself. Crawl before you walk, keep learning, and don’t let age decide what you can do.

Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t failing.

It’s never finding out what would have happened if you succeeded.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro

[01:32] Jennifer Before The Old Farm Shed

[03:49] Fashion, Charleston, and Finding Her Style

[05:35] Why She Chose Burgaw

[07:46] Taking the Risk to Start The Old Farm Shed

[13:12] Why Customer Service Comes First

[16:36] Building a Business in a Small Town

[19:23] Collaboration Over Competition

[22:18] Winning 2026 Business of the Year

[24:33] Hard Business Decisions and Bigger Risks

[27:42] Motherhood, Business, and Starting at 38

[31:43] Empty Nesting and Her Next Chapter

[37:04] Just Wear It + Final Advice

Key Takeaways:

• “What if you succeed?” ~ Jennifer Matthews

• “Customer service, customer service, customer service is number one.” ~ Jennifer Matthews

• “Collaboration is the best thing that you can do. Competition will kill your business.” ~ Jennifer Matthews

• Business owners don’t always get that validation or that pat on the back. ~ Evonne Varady

• “Go for it. Put it into place and make it happen. Never second-guess yourself.” ~ Jennifer Matthews

• We still keep growing after our forties. ~ Evonne Varady

• “Just wear it. Don’t let it wear you. You wear it.” ~ Jennifer Matthews

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Timestamps:

Key Takeaways:

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