Sunshine Bouquets
Sunshine Bouquets was a small business I started my junior year of college.
I have always had a love for flowers, and in the summer of 2023 I learned I’m really good at arranging them. So when I noticed I could use some extra income, I began my own flower arranging business!
It took a lot of me to run this business as I was the sole proprietor. I created my own website using Squarespace; I created an instagram for my business, and I designed my own advertisements and flyers to help market it!
With an investment of about $50 and a little over a week of preparation, I was able to launch my business and quickly see results! I opened my business right at the end of April, just in time for graduation and mothers day. With some networking and proper marketing, I was able to turn a profit of close to $1,000 in just 3 weeks!
Running Sunshine Bouquets gave me real world experience in entrepreneurship, market research, pricing strategy, and marketing. It was the first time I was able to apply and showcase my skills in UI design and graphic design through creating advertisements and a custom Squarespace website. I gained hands on experience in e-commerce, social media management, and brand development, while learning to strategically promote my product. This experience required initiative, self motivation, time management, creativity, and effective networking; this taught me how to take a passion project and turn it into a profitable business.
Marketing!
OhNgina
OhNgina was a custom shoe business I created in April of 2020, during the pandemic.
I’ve always been a creative person, I’ve loved drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. With nothing better to do during quarantine, I painted the iconic hands from the painting The Creation of Adam on an old pair of Nike Air Force 1s I had, little did I know the path that would unfold.
After receiving endless compliments on my shoes, I figured I’d open an Etsy shop to see if anyone would like to buy them. Once I got my first order, I officially had a business to run. In just my first couple of months, I was getting consistent orders and even released 2 more designs!
At only 17 years old, I was running my own successful business. To help market my shop, I created an instagram and gained over 100 followers in just a couple of weeks! I also designed my own logo and business cards, which I included in every order.
I kept my business open for about a year, until I decided to close my shop for good as I had just begun college and didn’t have the time to dedicate to it anymore. But my time running OhNgina was immensely valuable and was my introduction to entrepreneurship.
Launching and running OhNgina was my first real introduction to entrepreneurship. At just 17, I built a custom shoe business from the ground up, transforming a personal creative project into a thriving Etsy shop. Running OhNgina sharpened my skills in content creation and digital marketing, while also teaching me how to balance creativity with logistics. It gave me firsthand experience in initiative, brand building, and the dedication required to turn a creative passion into a viable business.