From hobby to profit: the small businesses of NGU
Ariona Imel, Staff Writer
With a little passion and persistence, what starts out as just a hobby can turn into a small business. In fact, a few students from NGU have created and developed their very own small businesses through a little hard work and dedication.
Photo courtesy of Kayla McCarson.
Kayla McCarson, North Greenville alumna, created a homemade clay jewelry business. She began in high school and kept it going throughout her college career.
When it came to selling her product, McCarson solely met with people in person. That got old after a while, so she began shipping her product out. Many of her customers lived nearby so she realized making them pay shipping would be silly.
She now promotes her products through both Facebook and Instagram.
As for promoting her product, McCarson said “I joined different platforms like Etsy and did a lot of research in how to make a hashtag; what are keywords that are important? And doing that research really helped me get more views and more followers.”
She describes herself as self motivated. “I have my own drive and my own initiative to do it and do what I love. If anyone encouraged me or inspired me to do more, it would be the people who asked me to do different things.” she said.
When running your own business, complications will rise through the cracks.
McCarson experienced times where she would have a week where she didn’t sell as much or couldn’t come up with new ideas for her product. During “bad” weeks of selling, fatigue would set in. Some days, it was a struggle to try and work on her jewelry at all.
Hindsight is 2020, and McCarson found many strategies she wish she had known ahead of time.
Learning how to take a good picture was something she found incredibly helpful. “After I quit taking pictures with my phone and invested in a high-quality camera and a backdrop, that really helped” McCarson said.
Photo courtesy of Scott and Leah Beardsley.
Leah and Scott Beardsley, former NGU students, recently launched their very own clothing business: Naida Jean currently sold online and at Cohesive Coffee in Greenville, S.C.
They are in the early stages of bringing their products and ideas to life. They have two designs, but are working on creating more. They are launching two more designs in the upcoming weeks and expect those to go over well.
The Beardsleys don’t really consider what they’re doing a “business” since they are still in the early stages of creating and building.
Being in this early stage of building their business, there are definitely times of doubt. “We are in this stage right now where it’s almost perpetual down in the dumps, not in a way where we’re constantly sad about it. It’s just difficult to do something like this and put all you can into it, when you work full time,” Leah Beardsley said.
“So, we both work full time, Leah’s in grad school and there are just some things that are just more important right now,” Scott Beardsley said.
Naida Jean was really just a dream that they were inspired to bring to life, and right now, there are things in their lives that they have to give more attention to. With both of them working full-time, they mutually encounter the hurdle of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
“We definitely have to plan days for Scott and I to sit down and talk about it, because in the beginning whenever we were not at work, we were just non-stop talking about Naida Jean. So we just planned out specific days to sit down and talk about Naida Jean just to kind of keep it balanced and as a priority,” said Leah Beardsley.
At its best, the Beardsleys both love working on Naida Jean as a project. Still, some days they found themselves questioning if they wanted to keep it all going.
Nevertheless, they have received positive feedback. “We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support” said Scott Beardsley. Positive circumstances and turns in life have given them renewed motivation.
They soon hope to open a shop at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Ga.
Photo courtesy of Courtney Hash.
NGU senior Courtney Hash is currently running her very own photography business.
Hash’s initial interest was sparked because of her aunt’s adoration for photography. And like many, photography began as a hobby she just couldn’t escape. Soon enough, she started selling her skill set and getting real clients.
“I’ve always been interested in it as a hobby, I think the turning point was when I took the Film Photography class here at North Greenville; I think it really just helped me enhance my skill level,” Hash said. Her experience as artistic director for The Vision Magazine helped as well.
As she set to bring her passions to life, Hash’s friends and family had her back. Specifically, her husband Connor Hash pushed her to pursue photography as he knew that is what Hash enjoyed so much. “He’s been the one constant person who has encouraged me to continue,” Hash said.
It wasn’t always easy for Hash. “Definitely at first, it was really hard to come up with poses for people to do and make it so it’s not awkward for them to do,” said Hash. “I would always look on Pinterest and things like that and try to come up with ideas and I would make a board for every photoshoot I had. After I did that, it started to set in my mind, and I kind of remembered all those poses that I liked.”
Hash learned from other people and got their ideas for prompts and techniques. These helped her further improve her own shoots.
Hash particularly enjoys shooting wedding and couple sessions. “Engagement sessions are so special because you really get to know the two people and how they work together” said Hash.
Setting up and running her Instagram page (@courtneyhashphoto) is one of the most exciting aspects of her photography business. She enjoys a consistent, professional and chic look.
She hopes to become a well-known photographer and wants her name out there. She hopes to continue growing her business and getting her own studio one day.
