I’ve been a creative entrepreneur for 15 years and it’s been a wild and incredible journey.
This is my story …
2009 – From a laid off intern to starting my first business at 27 years old!
I graduated with a degree in architecture and moved to DC to join an architecture firm. When the recession hit, our company downsized and most of the interns were let go.
During that time I had photographed a few weddings for co-workers and fallen in love with wedding photography.
With zero knowledge of how to run a business and zero contacts in the wedding industry, I decided to start a wedding photography business.
Smart right?
2019 - Fastforward 10 years. Things are going really well and I’m expanding my business in a new direction. What could go wrong??
I learned so much during my 10+ years as a wedding and portrait photographer about how to grow and scale a business, build real relationships with fellow business owners and the beautiful art of storytelling.
With the huge rise of social media I saw an opportunity to expand into content creation and photography for small businesses.
I spent the year traveling to Chicago every 4-6 weeks to grow in a bigger market.
The plan was to move to Chicago the following year.
Narrator: She did not move to Chicago in 2020.
A year’s worth of business growth efforts were wiped out overnight and my photography business was brought to a halt.
If your business was also hit hard during the pandemic, my heart truly goes out to you.
2020 - As the saying goes boredom breeds creativity.
During the lockdown period I had nothing to do. I made a pair of earrings just to pass the time and shared a photo of it on Instagram.
I had a few people (literally 2) ask if I was going to sell them and a new business was born.
I did everything for this jewelry business — I handmade each piece, all the website + social media photography, marketing, influencer partnerships and built a Shopify website.
This Covid side hustle quickly grew into a 6 figure business in one year and got me through my main business being unable to operate during the lockdown period.
2022 - A little vacation leads to a big decision.
My jewelry business was such a blessing and had financially saved me, photography still hadn’t fully come back online and I was still in Kentucky.
I decided to take a vacation and spend a few months in London.
It was my dream after college to live in London but life took me in a different direction at that time.
Almost 15 years later I was finally making this dream happen.
While in London, I decided I wanted a job which allowed me to be location independent aka a digital nomad.
I had no idea how to pull this off, what this could look like or what type of job I’d need for this to become a reality. I just knew I wanted to figure it out.
2022 after London. If you’ve read this far you may have noticed a trend — I never have all the answers, just a crazy idea and the motivation to make it happen.
I had designed and built the website for my photography business and jewelry business and was always interested in web design but never had the time to fully dive into it.
This seemed like a great time to take on a new creative direction and one that would allow me to also pursue living abroad.
I completed an online certification in UI/UX Design, started Ciao Brand Lab and started to take on web design projects.
2023 - Back to Chicago to grow Ciao Brand Lab!
The entrepreneur community in Chicago is so friendly and welcoming. I thought this would be a great space to connect with other small businesses and design agencies.
This step was so pivotal and allowed me to grow quickly. I met some incredible agency owners and started working for them on a contract basis.
My mantra — which has carried me through everything I have done — is “how hard can it really be?” I believe you are never going to have all the answers in the beginning but as long as you are dedicated to learning, trying and continually wanting to grow, you will eventually reach your goals.
2024 and onwards - Currently working with a few purpose driven design agencies + my own clients, always open to new partnerships and working towards a life abroad!
In the words of Natasha Beddingfield — The rest is still unwritten. I share my story in such detail with the hope of inspiring others to pursue their crazy dreams too. I’m excited to see what this journey has in store.