She escaped domestic violence. Now, she’s starting her own business to support her kids

Sarah Brody came to Sioux Falls for a fresh start.

One year later, the 32-year-old is running her own business selling artisanal bath and body products, Inner Peace Luxury Self Care. She dreams of one day opening her own retail storefront.

But the road to business ownership has been a rocky one for Brody, who’s also a single mother of three.

She didn’t come to Sioux Falls to start a business. She came to escape a dangerous domestic violence situation.

“We were on the run from him,” Brody said of her former partner.

Brody had been offered a job with a Sioux Falls company, and so she packed up her life and her children into a camper and made the trip from her home in Kansas City.

That camper ended up causing more harm.

When Brody arrived in Sioux Falls, the job she was promised wasn’t ready for her to start. In the several weeks before her start date, she ran out of money, and she was forced to sell the camper.

She moved into Children’s Inn with her family, where they lived for two months, but in the meantime, her abuser found her.

“He found out that we were in Sioux Falls because he found an ad for the camper online,” Brody said.

Brody told a local judge her history with the man, and he was later arrested, in part because he was violating an existing parole related to an earlier domestic violence situation with another woman. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence on assault charges in a Missouri state prison.

Unfortunately, Brody’s challenges weren’t yet over. Her children got sick on and off in the first several months of their time in Sioux Falls, and because of the pandemic, child care centers were unable to care for them if they showed any symptoms at all.

She lost her job because she didn’t have any other support system for child care. Soon after, she launched Inner Peace Luxury Self Care in November with the goal of growing the business enough to be able to afford a place to live when her subsidized housing program ends in another year.

The business is growing, though, and she even has had a few months of profit, Brody said.

She has one wholesale client, and her products are available at 605 Antiques. She’s also spending most weekends selling her products at craft fairs and vendor markets.

Brody’s story of abuse might not be a unique one, but the speed at which she was able to move through the current crisis and focus on the future was impressive, said Amy Carter, director at Children’s Inn.

“Sometimes, victims can’t see the future,” Carter said. “Sarah’s a bit of an exception in that way … that does speak volumes about her resourcefulness, her resiliency and her determination.”

As she looks to the future, Brody wants to not only grow to where she can support her family financially but also wants to someday open a brick-and-mortar location for Inner Peace Luxury Self Care.

It’s an industry she wanted to go into because she recognizes the importance of inner peace for herself and wants to bring that to others.

She hopes her soaps, scrubs and soy melts help others find relaxation and peace even if, like her, the only alone time they get is in the shower.

“As a mom, especially going through everything we’ve been through and with the pandemic and everything like that, I’ve spent so little time caring for myself because I care for my children so much,” Brody said. “We all need those healthy breaks where we take a moment for ourself.”

If you are a victim of domestic violence, you can call the national domestic violence hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. You also can call Children’s Inn Sioux Falls at 605-338-4880, or just show up at the shelter, and someone will help you.