09/24/2026
I hope they pick me.
I think that’s one of the most vulnerable parts of owning a small business that nobody really talks about.
At the end of the day, no matter how much you learn, how much you invest, how hard you work, or how many late nights you spend perfecting your craft…
You’re hoping they pick you.
There are a million other businesses that make apparel.
I know that.
So somewhere along the way, I realized I didn’t just want to sell shirts.
I wanted to build the kind of business where my customers felt like they had someone in their corner.
I didn’t want a customer to come to me with an idea and then have to go find a digital designer before I could help them.
So I learned digital design.
I wanted to understand WHY one printing method might be better for their order than another.
So I learned DTF.
I learned screen printing.
I learned sublimation.
I learned embroidery.
I learned new software because I wanted my customers to see professional mockups and receive the best files I could possibly give them.
But more importantly, I learned my customers.
I listened.
I learned about their businesses, their schools, their teams, their events, their families and the ideas they had scribbled down in their heads that they didn't quite know how to bring to life yet.
I learned to ask, “What do you need?” instead of simply saying, “This is what I sell.”
I learned to work with different budgets because I never wanted someone to feel embarrassed for asking what we could do within theirs.
I made room for the last-minute customer without making them feel like a burden.
Because they aren't.
Sometimes life happens. Sometimes somebody forgot to order the shirts. Sometimes the event is suddenly three days away. 😂
And if I can help, I will.
Early in my journey, I learned that charging more for plus sizes was normal in this industry.
And I decided it wasn't something I wanted to carry into my own business.
I have daughters watching me build this.
I want them to see a business where every body deserves to walk in and see the same price tag.
Then AI came along.
And instead of rolling my eyes when customers showed me AI-generated ideas, I learned how to grow with it.
Because why would I make someone feel bad for using a tool that helped them finally SHOW me the idea they couldn't explain?
Their imagination shouldn't be limited by whether they know graphic design.
Their idea is where my job begins.
I've learned things I never imagined I'd know.
I've bought equipment I once wouldn't have known how to turn on.
I've messed things up.
I've started over.
I've stayed up way too late.
I've answered messages when I probably should've been sleeping.
I've learned, invested, changed, adapted and grown.
And underneath all of it has always been one very simple thought:
I hope they pick me.
I hope they can tell how much I care.
I hope they know their order matters to me whether it's 1 shirt or 1,000.
I hope when they have another idea six months from now, they think, “I know who I'm calling.”
So I say all of this to say something I probably don't say enough:
Thank you.
Thank you to every person who has ever trusted me with an idea.
Thank you to everyone who has tagged my business when someone asked for a recommendation.
Thank you to the people who came back.
Thank you to the people who told a friend.
Thank you to the businesses that trusted another small business with their name.
Thank you to the schools, teams, organizations, moms, business owners and individuals who could have chosen anyone…
but chose me.
Because when you choose a small business, you're not just choosing the product.
Sometimes you're choosing the person behind it.
And I will never stop being grateful that you chose me. ❤️
