ALEDO — Paul and Leanne Thomas, owners of Blessed By Nature in Aledo, have been honored with a Small Business Success Award from the Entrepreneurial Support Network of West Central Illinois.
The business, honored in the 10-year and older category, was nominated by Mercer County Better Together, a community-based organization. The annual awards honor entrepreneurs from Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mercer, Stark and Warren counties.
Leanne Thomas said her parents owned their own businesses and her husband’s father owned a farm. A trucking operation also was owned by her grandparents.
“Entrepreneurs — I never really thought that we were,” she said. “It just comes second nature.
“When people say, ‘Aren’t you scared,’ I don’t know any other way than to work for myself,” she said. “It’s a blessing.
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They created Blessed By Nature, a health-food and supplement store, in 2000 to share what they learned after their daughter’s recovery from brain cancer.
Mara Thomas was days from turning 3 when her parents received the devastating diagnosis in 1994. Doctors first thought she had a virus.
“She was kind of paralyzed before we ever knew what was wrong,” Leanne Thomas said. “Her arm wouldn’t work. She had an eye turning in. And nobody was putting it together until the eye doctor said, ‘Is somebody checking all these?’”
Ms. Thomas said Mara would throw up with no warning, her balance was off and she wasn’t growing — all classic signs of a brain tumor. When a doctor told them Mara wouldn’t live to see Christmas, they didn’t accept it.
“I said, ‘I can’t do it. If there’s a breath in me, we will find something,’ “ Leanne Thomas said. “Glad I didn’t give up.”
In 1999, Mara was declared cancer free. She still struggles with damage caused by surgery and radiation, but she continues to beat the odds.
Paralyzed on her right side following surgery, she was wheelchair-bound. A tenacious spirit, a strong faith in God and natural healing support contributed to her accomplishments, according to Leanne Thomas.
Mara, now 27, is able to walk and lives on her own with parents nearby. She also works at Blessed by Nature.
“She found her niche,” Leanne Thomas said. “She loves working here, and the customers love her. All of her disabilities have become abilities … it’s a good fit.”
Leanne Thomas said that, after going to college for horticulture, Mara discovered she would rather spend her days talking to people than to plants. Leanne Thomas also is encouraging her daughter to write a book about her journey.
Being an entrepreneur takes discipline, Leanne Thomas said, but it’s been worth it for their entire family. Their son, Cole, 20, earned an associate degree in agriculture from Black Hawk College-East Campus and will run the family’s trucking business.
“It warms a mom’s heart to know our daughter’s working here with me, and our son’s home working with Paul,” Leanne Thomas said. “We’ve worked our whole life to build these three businesses, and now we’re actually going to see the fruits of our labor.”
In the first year of her diagnosis, Mara spent five months in the hospital. The Thomas farm had 1,000 hogs, and Leanne Thomas said the number of neighbors and family who showed up to help was overwhelming.
“They came in and did everything,” Leanne Thomas said. “My husband would talk to them from the Iowa City waiting room, in peds intensive care, and tell them what needed to be done.
“They wouldn’t take a dime for it,” she said. “They came in and took care of our entire farm,” she said.
That’s why her store is the family’s mission, she said.
“I remember standing there and saying, ‘If she survives this, we’re going to spend the rest of our life thanking people for helping us,’” she said.
Their customers come from beyond Aledo, she said, with many traveling miles to visit.
“More than once I’ve been asked, ‘Are you going to open a chain?’” she said. “But it would lose what it’s about.”
Blessed by Nature, she said, is not about getting rich.
“You can be so busy making a living that you can forget to make a life,” she said. “That’s all I ask — don’t ever forget that you need to make a life. Time is precious.”
She attributes the success of Blessed by Nature to common courtesy.
“Kindness and truly caring about somebody goes so long,” she said. “Be genuine; don’t be fake.”
The store at 315 SE 3rd St., Aledo. carries all natural beef from their farm along with health food items, vitamins, supplements, natural products for children and pets, make-up, soaps, lotions and homeopathic remedies. They also offer a healthy smoothie bar and have a massage therapist on staff.
Leanne Thomas said they also kept a prayer list on the side of the refrigerator to pray for their customers.
“When there’s a customer that comes in that has a problem, we jot it down and we’re praying for them,” she said.
“Our family has been blessed by the changes we have made with natural healing,” she said. “It’s the Thomas’ mission to assist those who seek knowledge by sharing their story and connecting customers to others who can impart wisdom.”
Her advice to others considering their own business is to accept the challenge.
“God lays those ideas on our mind and heart because he knows what we enjoy doing,” she said. “Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to us.”
Blessed by Nature is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. For more details, call 309-582-9999 or visit blessedbynaturehealthcenter.com or the store’s Facebook page.
“You can be so busy making a living
that you can forget to make a life.” — Leanne Thomas