How three local women turned a passion into a side business.
Have you put a career on hold for motherhood and family? Or, do you have a job, but pine for one you can feel passionate about? It’s no secret that the exhaustion of motherhood can dim the creativity bulb, but if you dream of starting a side gig while mindlessly strolling Target aisles, you aren’t alone. Meet three Roanoke moms who harnessed their passions and turned them into viable businesses. You might be inspired to follow your own entrepreneurial visions.
Emily McCahill, Bay & Branch Plant Design
Emily McCahill’s original plant designs are modern and inventive, pairing unique and sculptural pots with succulents, orchids and other houseplants. Emily’s eye for arranging has caught the attention of Roanoke’s most prominent interior designers, who use her work often in their clients’ homes. Emily has branched out (pardon the pun) to private parties, classes and events. Bay & Branch, Emily’s company, can be found at Roanoke’s Magnolia and the Junior League’s annual event, The Stocked Market. Her business is on a hot streak, but it all started a few years ago with a pumpkin.
“Around Halloween, my mom sent me an article about succulent pumpkins,” says Emily.
These trendy pumpkins are hollowed-out gourds decorated with items such as low-maintenance succulent plants, pinecones, berries or feathers. Emily made a few as gifts, and friends went wild for them.
“Other people were asking me to make them, and it grew from there. When my boys went off to kindergarten, I had more free time on my hands and I thought, ‘hey, this is something I can do and love to do,’” she says, gesturing to the rows of plants that she tends in her studio.
Emily is a graduate of the University of Virginia, and has a master’s degree in education. She was previously a full-time teacher, but left her career after having kids (now a daughter aged 12, and nine-year-old twin boys).
While plowing through the sleeves-rolled-up years of motherhood, she wondered what her next chapter would be. She knew her calling was not to return to teaching, but she craved something to feed her creative side. Always a plant lover, she grew up with a mom who was a master gardener and avid flower arranger. Emily loved it too, and covered the tiny patio of her first home in Arlington with plants.
When the succulent pumpkins were a hit, her past and present dovetailed into a business idea, which Emily had the grit and drive to pursue.
“I tell myself when I have doubts, I’ll regret not trying more than failing,” Emily says. “Coming up with new arrangements, and the creative process is both energizing and relaxing for me. I’m thrilled with where the business has gone and I’m excited to figure out how to move it forward.”
Laura Davis, LA Letters Calligraphy
Laura Davis has a steady hand and artistic talent, and has made a name for herself in the Roanoke region as a talented calligrapher and hand lettering expert. Her side business, LA Letters Calligraphy, is the creative force behind unique gift tags, cards, ornaments and hand lettered signs, which she designs in her own freehand-style font.
Laura’s wares are sold at shops like Ellie Proctor’s Antiques and Fine Things and The Stocked Market, as well as privately through her Instagram page. She hand letters wedding invitations as well, working on them in her spare time, which is hard to come by with a family and a full-time job as an office manager at Edward Jones. But her love of the craft keeps her engaged in building her brand.
“My mom gifted me a calligraphy class as a Christmas gift, because I’d wanted to take one for a while,” Laura recalls. “I talked my little brother into letting me do his wedding invitations, and then more weddings came from that.”
Laura began following other calligraphers on Instagram and furthering her skills, practicing every day to get better and to define her own unique style. Word of mouth brought more work, and soon strangers were messaging her to ask to have items made.
“I’d love to say I’ll quit my full-time job and do it, but having a regular paying job has taken the stress off of this, and allowed me to explore it…it’s fun for me,” says Laura, who is balancing her full and part-time work with family life that includes a five-year-old son and five-month-old daughter.
Laura’s goals in 2020 are to figure out an online sales platform for her young business, to break 1,000 followers on Instagram and to be more intentional about a business plan. The Sweet Briar College graduate should have no problem with the latter goal, as her degree in business management well prepared her to execute such a task.
“Hand lettering is really hot right now, and I’ve come into this at the right time,” Laura notes. “But it’s also about putting yourself out there, and getting continually better. You can have all the tools, but if you don’t put the work in, you’re never going to improve.”
Abby Hostetler, Enhance. Abby Hostetler Design Company
Abby Hostetler knows the value of a well-organized home, which keeps her sane while parenting three elementary school aged sons, who keep her hands and calendar full. The Virginia Tech graduate previously worked in public relations and then as a teacher, before staying at home to raise her boys.
She developed a knack for home design on a budget during those early years of marriage, and friends, family and neighbors noticed Abby’s natural talent for design. For more than a decade she’d consult on paint colors, furniture purchases and layouts—for free.
“I realized how much I enjoyed it, and I began to appreciate the mental lift that comes from living in a well-designed and organized home,” Abby says.
She notes that while she loves beautiful things, there are inventive options that don’t obliterate the budget. Through trial and error, she’s become an expert on helping clients find the right things at the right price.
She stages homes, is a whiz at organizing pantries and closets, creates furniture plans, and scours her favorite websites for deals on home goods. She’ll help you clean out your closet, or find a space in your home to make a closet. Whatever the need, she strives to meet it.
“We lived in Atlanta for a couple of years, where I dabbled in the business,” says Abby, whose husband encouraged her to go all-in when they moved back to Roanoke in 2018.
“I got past my own objections and fears and got serious about it,” she says. “I wondered what I would do if I got too busy, or if I failed. But he encouraged me to cross those bridges when I came to them.”
Abby saw a need in Roanoke for empty nesters who want to downsize, and still have all of their kids’ stuff.
“There’s so much emotional attachment, that I can be an objective voice. People have an attachment to their things that can be hard to see past when trying to declutter,” she explains.
Loving the space you’re in has tremendous value, Abby says, and creating that for happy clients gives her the confidence to silence her own inner critic.
“The great thing about running your own business is that you don’t have to put yourself in a box,” says Abby. “I’m not just doing staging, or design or organization. I don’t have to do just one thing, and I can grow and change.”
Develop Your Own Side Hustle
Brainstorm your strengths. Make a list of all the things you love to do, or that people have noted you excel at doing. Make another list of needs you see in your community. Where do needs and talents intersect? Start there.
Befriend social media. Instagram and Facebook pages are free—and allow you to display work and grow a following without spending a dime.
Write down your goals. Even if they seem pie in the sky, write them down and work on them consistently.
Find a mentor. Identify someone you admire in your goal business and ask to shadow her. Build a network of mentors who are further down the road than you, and don’t compete directly for clients.
Just do it. Every entrepreneur has this in common: they dive in, even when they can’t swim yet.