College Student Starts Million Dollar Design Biz

Notes from Chris

Episode 1312

Taylor Walden had just begun her freshman year of college. She had always been interested in all things artistic, from painting to photography to calligraphy—so she chose to major in interior design.

For the holiday season, she used her skills in calligraphy to make meaningful, homemade gifts for her friends and family. Soon, the people around her took notice of what she was making.

As more and more people became interested in her art, Taylor decided to try opening an Etsy shop to sell art prints. Unfortunately, there was a ton of competition on the site for products like that. She didn’t get many sales.

But she thought that if she could just tweak what she was making to create something a little more unique, she could get a lot more sales. So, on Black Friday of 2016, Taylor woke up at 2am to buy a die-cutting machine so she could make her own vinyl stickers, designed with her own handwriting.

By the end of her freshman year, Taylor had over 500 Etsy sales. Since she had the summer off from school, she decided to expand her shop. She’d noticed a new trend of “bridesmaid proposal” boxes being sold on Etsy. But after reading the comments, she quickly noticed a lot of frustrated customers. The people selling these boxes never seemed to include everything they showed in their pictures. Plus, once the box arrived the customers had to assemble it themselves.

It didn’t take long for Taylor to decide that she could solve this problem. She created her own bridesmaid proposal boxes. She included everything that was needed, put it together beautifully, and even offered to send the box directly to the bridesmaid to take out an extra step for the buyer.

Since this trend was already popular (and since Taylor already had established herself on Etsy), the boxes ended up being hugely successful! By the end of the summer, Taylor had 2,000 Etsy sales and three local stores carrying her products. She realized that she was onto something, and when she went back to school in the fall, she was ready to take her side hustle even more seriously.

By the end of 2018, Taylor had brought in $250,000 worth of revenue while still maintaining her full-time college course load. It was a lot to take on, but the hard work and dedication paid off. She paid for college, her rent, and her wedding to Nick, who works with her in the business.

By the time she graduated, she was ready to commit to her business full-time. Last year, Simple & Sentimental brought in over $600,000 worth of revenue. In 2020, she expects to bring in over a million.

The business now donates a portion of their proceeds to a local nonprofit. Taylor says she can’t imagine doing anything else.

 

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Check out Taylor's wedding themed store, SimpleSentimental.com.
• Like other makers and artists, Taylor started her hustle selling through Etsy.

SEE ALSO:

• It’s No Joke: Prank Musical Greeting Card Earns $36,000/Month: What starts as a silly idea to make a musical greeting card with no off-switch turns into a multiple six-figure, nonstop success for two brothers.
• Nashville Paint-by-Numbers Kits Become Etsy Bestsellers: A visual arts teacher creates “paint by numbers” kits to help others experience joy through painting.
• Graphic Designer Finds Success in the Cards: Wanting to keep her skills up-to-date, a designer creates and sells a line of handmade watercolor cards.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,