From Campus to Career

Throughout high school and now college, I have been a student-athlete. Running from practice to school to practice to practice. I haven’t had time for a job, but I never shy away from an entrepreneurship opportunity.

My whole life, I have been chasing opportunities to create my own small business. In elementary school, I could do some cute lettering (for a ten-year-old at least). Kids would pay me to write their names, so that’s what I did. Every day. At recess. I was a little hustler.

Fast forward to high school. I did the typical babysitting gig, but my best venture was the clothing resale business I started in 2019. I continued doing this for three years. I sold my clothes, my friend’s clothes, and my family’s clothes. I’ve used several selling platforms; Poshmark, Facebook, Instagram, and Depop. I did really well with this, but it wasn’t sustainable during college.

The summer before college, I started giving private softball lessons. It paid pretty well, and I had fun doing it, so I did this the whole summer. I also created a business called Art by Caty. I did everything from digital minimalist portraits to hand-painted canvases. I was able to carry this venture over to college. I made tons of dorm decor and birthday signs. The next summer, I even got a gig to do a mural. I was so excited, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out. I took 13 college hours this summer, so I still didn’t have enough time for a full-time job. This was when I started picking up window painting jobs, mostly for local businesses and family friends. It was a hit! But it wasn’t making me happy. This led me to decide that I enjoyed painting as a hobby, not a job.

I have told you all of this to say, pursue that crazy idea you have for a small business. EMBRACE ENTREPRENEURSHIP! You never know what may happen. You may find your true passion or something you’re less passionate about than you thought. All these random things I tried have shown me what makes me happy and what I might want to do in the future.

If you’ve got a small business idea or need clarification about what you want to do, just try something! Chase that dream. Start that business. Or even write that blog. 😉