Remember that time in your life when your 17 year old self had to decide what you wanted to do for a living?! Right around then is when my entrepreneurial journey began.

I was a senior in high school when I created my first listing on Etsy. (It was a monogrammed long sleeve tee, should you be wondering.) I didn’t expect much and I certainly didn’t plan on this becoming my career, but I figured I had nothing to lose by trying. I sold 82 of those shirts that semester, and I started to think there could be more to this e-commerce thing than I thought.

The profits + my Christmas money were just enough to purchase my first embroidery machine (that I still needed to learn how to use) and Saltwater Prep officially made the switch to all clothing.

Fast forward a couple years: I added a few more sewing machines, started to care about Etsy best practices, and thankfully got a few more orders. As I was wrapping up my 2 year degree at the local community college, my Etsy sales were just enough to justify skipping a traditional bachelors degree and going all-in on entrepreneurship.

I’ve been small business obsessed ever since. It’s why you’ll find me geeking out about keywords, shopping local every chance I get, and encouraging fellow entrepreneurs to dream even bigger for themselves and their businesses.