I was in college for business management and entrepreneurship. I knew I wanted to create my own brand. Around 2014, I came up with the name “Stifling Outdoors” because I loved the outdoors and all of the beauty you can find in it. Stifling Outdoors means “views that take your breath away” in the outdoors. I thought the name was extremely different and it would be difficult to forget since it was peculiar.

I started with an embroidered hat. It was black and white. Very simple. I only made two. One for me and one for my boyfriend at the time. He wasn’t a fan and that kind of tore down my confidence a bit. The hats sat in the back of the closet for years.

Fast forward to 2018, my current boyfriend found the hat and loved it. He asked what it was, and I told him it was my brand that I started years ago. He wore it every single day. I guess it’s a bit of a love story.

Then I got to work. I started an LLC. I trademarked the brand name and made my first website. My uncle helped me get a silk screen and we started printing a couple of t-shirts. We quickly realized that printing shirts in the Florida heat in a garage was not fun. I then bought a heat press and started using transfers and had my logo made into a silicone 3D model. I loved it.

I didn’t know too much about pop-up markets at first but after following a ton of small business’ on social media I started applying for them. They helped me grow SO much. Getting the brand out there and actually being able to talk to new customers was the best part. I started traveling all over Florida for them and even did a couple in North Carolina.

Being in North Carolina, a state that actually has mountains and is more on brand for my products made me fall in love. I just opened up my first permanent pop-up store in Matthews, NC. It isn’t even a month old.

If you don’t know me, I was born and raised in Florida, and I still haven’t left. I’ve been in the food and beverage industry since I was 16. Although I have loved all of my jobs, I knew that I wanted to do something more “outdoorsy.” I grew up playing outside with my brother who is also my best friend and the one who will take over the company if I can no longer do so. While my brother was stationed in Hawaii, he took me on my longest hike ever. 8 hours. It was hard but I was hooked. Hiking turned into skydiving. Skydiving eventually turned into rock climbing. Rock climbing turned into exploring different countries. Then I started camping. There is nothing better than going to sleep next to a fire and waking up to the sound of birds while you’re surrounded by nature. It’s pure heaven on Earth. Adventure after adventure is how I got into this industry.

I wanted to build an outdoor clothing brand for people who love the outdoors and one that didn’t break the bank. There are outdoor brands that charge a quick $100 for a pair of shorts or pants. I want to keep prices low and quality great so that everyone can purchase something. I also don’t want to be a “camping” brand or a “rock-climbing” brand. I want to be an “Outdoors” brand. I want people to know that you can be outdoorsy if you don’t like to hike or camp. Sitting on a porch reading a book, tanning on the beach, sitting on a roof watching the stars is all considered outdoorsy to me, and they are all susceptible to view that take your breath away.

I am constantly building my audience on social media everyday. Some days I will post something and no one will see it and other days it has a way better outcome. I think this is a very common story amongst most small businesses online. At least the ones that I have talked to. Rule one: Don’t let it get you down.

In the beginning, I hired someone off of Fiverr. That was a huge mistake. I thought they were legit and I spent A LOT. They were using poor programs and I was getting a lot of bots and the wrong clientele. I had to go through my followers and unfollow SO many. This was before reels. Rule two: Don’t use third party sites. IG will shut you down and suspend your account.

Another IG scenario that still haunts me to this day is when I posted a photo of my brother wearing a shirt while holding a rifle on a shooting range. Someone was upset and reported it. IG flagged my account and said I was promoting the sale of ammunition and weapons. I was like WHAT! I tried appealing it twice but they would not get back to me and shut my account down for 10 days. I was then shadow banned. I went from 700-1000+ likes on my content to around 5-14. It definitely hurt my business and that was 2 years ago. I still want to start my account over because I feel like it never fully recovered but I’m still going strong. Rule three: be extra careful what you post because people are out to get you.

My small business is self-funded. I still work full-time and do this on the side. If you’re nervous to start up your own company, just start small. I only had two types of t-shirts when I first started, and I thought that was a huge chunk of money. I had my uncle help me with the silk-screen and some of the paints. I kept saving money and applied for a trademark. Then an LLC. Then a website. Then a heat press. Then a whole room of inventory. Then a pop-up store. We have all learned the story about the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race.

I definitely know I will need help in the future with expanding the business because I am not a finance major and never plan to be. I love spending money and I’m thankful I have a great job to allow me to own a small business and have a life of adventure.