Why did I start my small business when I already have a full-time job?

This is one of my favorite questions. I'm so glad you asked!

Since I was a little girl, I have always been a creative individual. I would spend my free-time in our family's craft room making/creating whatever I could get my hands on (scrap booking, sewing, jewelry, and much more). I even remember a time that my older sister and I made bead bracelets and sold them 'lemonade stand-style' on our driveway.

In the fall of 2020, I was in my final year of grad school. The nature of my academic program was very hands-on, constantly building architectural models, mock-ups, etc., and I loved it. But the pandemic ultimately took that away from me. All of my classes switched to remote learning, and I no longer had access to the studio at school where I was able to create and build with my hands.

So I took it upon myself to make things 'for fun' in my apartment, such as holiday décor and macramé products. After I would make something, I would show it to my husband, and he would say, "that's so good, you could sell that." So being the entrepreneurs that we are, I photographed and posted some of the products on Facebook Market Place just to see what would happen. And they sold! Sometimes faster than I could wrap my head around, sometimes within a few days.

The first shirt that I made/sold, which ultimately inspired me to start The Daily Collective.

Fast forward to Summer 2021. After graduation and before starting my full-time job, I had time to kill, so guess what I did! I started designing and making again - things that I hadn't tried before like shirts. And again, my husband's response was, "you should sell that!"

So I said, "okay!" and born was The Daily Collective. I laid in bed one night and thought about what I wanted this small business to be, what it should be called, how I would operate it. Although there were and ARE still a lot of unknowns, it didn't scare me. I just went for it, with the help of my husband of course!

So, back to the original question: Why did I start my small business when I already have a full-time job? Because I love it! Designing, making, creating, using my hands. I love all of it, but why just do it all for myself? I believe I have a talent and a passion for that talent, so it should be shared with the world! Ultimately, The Daily Collective gives me a unique, creative outlet when I am not at my day-to-day full-time job.