We were lucky to catch up with Aimee Hill recently and have shared our conversation below.

Aimee, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

While spending a day at the Sebastian Inlet sandbar, on the east coast of Florida, my husband, Jim, and I watched from our boat as our friends stood talking in the water, our teenagers lounged on floats without phones in hand, and the younger kids hunted hermit crabs on the sandbar. Surrounding us, were a hundred other boats doing the exact same thing with their own families and friends. At that moment, we realized that no matter what sandbar you’re on, Sandbar Sunday is a way of life that should be shared with others. Similar to the Salt Life brand, we thought there should be a brand that focuses solely on the sandbar life and those that share that common love.

Sandbar Sunday is not a concept that we came up with. It is an age-0ld name for the boat parties that happen on sandbars and shorelines all over the world, in oceans, lakes and rivers. In July of 2017, I set to work researching the term and discovered that there was not a trademark on Sandbar Sunday, pertaining to apparel and merchandise. We hired a designer to create a logo, ordered a few shirts, and began the trademark process.

Since then, Jim and I have worked hard to create a quality, grass roots brand, that has taken off in our local area, growing from there. We are constantly adding new styles and designs and strive to use local companies to produce our products.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

At Sandbar Sunday Outfitters, we know that Sandbar Sunday is more than just a day on the water. It’s a way of life. That’s why we’ve created a veteran-owned, America-loving brand that offers comfort and style while showing off your passion for the sandbar lifestyle.

Sandbar Sunday is more than just another brand. The Sandbar Sunday logo represents beer-filled coolers, sunshine, floats, laughter and the patriotism you feel from proudly flown American flags. But most importantly, it represents time spent with family and friends, new and old, and memories that will last a lifetime.

Aside from building a lifestyle brand, Jim is the Mayor of Sebastian and owns a thriving business servicing the golf industry, utilizing a process that he developed, which requires him to travel all over the country. My original career was in child welfare and for the past eight years, I was the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization. I also have two published novels and am working on a third, having won several literary awards for different works.

The growth of Sandbar Sunday has recently allowed me to step away from my position as an Executive Director and focus on writing and developing our lifestyle brand.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In February of 2018, Sandbar Sunday Outfitters spent the weekend at a festival about an hour from home. Although we had high hopes for the festival, there wasn’t a great turnout and there were certainly moments where we felt that all of the time, money and effort spent preparing for and manning a four-day festival was wasted. We didn’t even sell enough to cover the cost of the booth.

This was the first event that took us out of our small town and into a different city. It left us feeling deflated and discouraged, wondering if we were wrong about the potential of the brand outside of our hometown. Did we not have the market we anticipated? Is it worth putting more money into?

BUT, while we may not have made a mound of cash, when we really thought each day of the festival and how it went, we realized that we were given something far more valuable…the encouragement and support of Sandbar Sunday lovers!

During those four long days, we were entertained with stories of sandbar shenanigans far and wide-from Torch Lake, Michigan, to Tahiti Beach, Bahamas, to Lake Havasu in Arizona and of course, our very own Sebastian Inlet sandbar. We were reminded that there are so many people out there, from all across the country and world, that have experienced Sandbar Sunday and understand it’s allure. People who spend their workweek dreaming of the next Sunday Funday when they can join their friends and family out on the sandbar for a day of sun, music, laughter and maybe (just maybe) a little beer.

This is the moment where we became resilient. We realized that we may not walk away from every event with a profit, for one reason or another, and that’s okay. Because, at the heart of Sandbar Sunday lies a niche of people who not only understand our brand, but define it. They live and love the sandbar life and we are committed to developing a brand that they will love just as much, even if it isn’t always easy.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Imagine yourself on a random sandbar, over 400 miles from your hometown, when you hear, “Hey! We know you!” coming from a nearby boat.

We were anchored on a small sandbar in Marathon last summer and met some friendly faces from our small city of Sebastian who recognized the Sandbar Sunday logo on our boat. It’s not the first time it’s happened, yet it never gets old and we are always happy to meet new friends.

If we’re lucky enough to have good weather on a weekend and cruise the Sebastian or Fort Pierce sandbars, we are thrilled to see Sandbar Sunday shirts, hats and koozies. We get waves and shouts from people we’ve met at festivals or who have seen our boat in the 4th of July and Christmas parades in town. Each time it happens, I am jolted by the realization that our little brand just might be catching on.

Sandbar Sunday isn’t just about spending a day on the water. It’s about the friends and family that meet up to spend the day together. It’s about the people you meet on the sandbar – the comradery that naturally exists between people who share the same passion.

This got me thinking about the grassroots nature of growing a brand. For Sandbar Sunday to be successful, it has to start at home. We love Sebastian and Indian River County and began to show our appreciation for the support we’ve received in our short time in business by giving back to the community. Sandbar Sunday has sponsored many local events for various charities, offered locals discounts and free local delivery, and donated merchandise to nonprofit fundraisers.

As a veteran-owned company, we also offer a permanent 10% discount to veterans as a small way to say thank you for their service.

These actions, I believe, have helped to build a reputation that starts at home and spreads outward from there. We focus on customer satisfaction and strive to provide the type of quality and customer service that we can be proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sandbarsunday.life
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandbarsunday/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandbarsundayoutfitters
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandbarsunday
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sandbarsunday8070

Image Credits
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