Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Connie Weller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Connie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Many moons ago I created a personal mantra, inhale goodness, exhale kindness. I found myself getting sucked into a negativity wormhole between social media and a very stressful corporate job. I knew there was a lot of good around me and if I just focused on that, it would benefit me and my family. My family and I began doing random acts of kindness and posting them on social media. Eventually, I created a website to list 52 kind acts to inspire others to commit to at least one a week. We did things from leaving pennies on a playground, money in books at the library, handing out flowers at a local shopping mall, etc. Just small ways to lift myself and others in the process. The positive feelings were addictive. I created a design to go along with the inhale goodness, exhale kindness mantra and began selling them to friends through an online/shipping printing service in 2015. March 2016, my life would forever be changed. I was about 1400 miles away from home, on a business trip, when diagnosed with a rare hemangioblastoma (benign brain tumor). I was advised I needed emergency surgery and could not return home as planned the following day. I had my brain tumor removed 1400 miles away from my kids. My husband and brother flew out and joined me for the stressful process. My journey has many ups and downs but the amount of kindness my family and I received was beyond powerful. Many people told me what we had put out into the universe we were getting back 1000x over. During my many months of healing I ordered a screen printing kit and taught myself how to print my mantra on tees. I started selling them on ETSY and donated many to people throughout the US who’s stories inspired me. I eventually created my own website. Along the way, other life inspired designs have followed and connected me to many who are survivors, warriors and people who believe in the power of compassion and kindness. Today, I sell my designs online, at farmer’s markets and festivals. My favorite part of everything are the connections I’m able to make with people through my images. I continue to be motivated by people sharing images wearing my images and the what they bring to them. My images have been worn by some pretty spectacular people. The stories are what motivate me. I’m honored to see my images worn by a woman trying to conceive at the fertility clinic, a patient receiving chemo, a man enjoying a sunset, a woman who’s daughter committed suicide, a couple enjoying time on their sailboat, many struggling with life’s challenges, warriors, survivors, lovers and dreamers. People. People like you and me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

What began as a personal mantra to focus on the good stuff around me has evolved into movement connecting us and helping one another. A movement that inspires, lifts and encourages. We donate a portion of sales to the American Brain Foundation as well as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Dawn Hill Fight Foundation who helps pancreatic cancer patients. We donate to teachers, health care workers, domestic violence survivors, food pantries and more. We started a tradition a few years ago, and now every December, my stepfather dresses up as Santa (because he has an authentic white beard) and we hand out grocery store gift cards to unexpecting shoppers. Last year, we handed out (6) $100 gift cards. That was just from local collecting with friends and family and I’m excited for it to grow every year. That was just from local collecting with friends and family and I’m excited for it to grow every year. I truly believe together we are mighty. Whether it be sharing our stories or financially assisting those we can, we all have something to give. Whether we focus on the goodness around us or create it, we each have the power to change the world, one kind act at a time. Inhale goodness, exhale kindness.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

In November of 2021, I quit my corporate job to attempt to grow my movement/brand. It was the scariest thing to do and I’m fortunate to have a supportive husband who was willing to try to keep us afloat off of his salary alone. That’s a big thing many people don’t speak about. Everyone says, quit your job, live your dream but the reality is, you have bills to pay. We have children to feed. What will happen if we fail? No one has the right to tell anyone else what they should/can do. It’s a very personal decision and frankly it takes more then courage. I’m not sure what 2023 will bring. I’d like to believe I can grow my brand and help contribute to our family’s financial survival but at the end of the day, I may have to suck it up and realize I may need to look for another consistent paycheck and put this dream on the back burner again. I’m not willing to accept that just yet.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Word of mouth and being face to face with customers has helped me grow. I’m new at this and building my brand is a goal I’m still trying to accomplish. I’ve had some failures attempting to pay others for marketing help and I’m trying to grow at a steady pace to avoid any debt.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kindnesstreemovement.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindnesstreemovement/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreativeKindness

Image Credits
n/a They are all my images