We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hazel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hazel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

As a teenage entrepreneur, I have a long time to create my legacy, But I want it to be about being original. I want people to take inspiration from their surroundings and what is in their head rather than what is on their phone. People are drawn to originality because it’s hard to come across. Humans are afraid to wear or do what they want because they are afraid of judgement and they want to follow trends. I think none of it matters. Growing up I wore clothes and outfits that I liked. Despite the large amount of criticism I would get from other girls in my classes, I kept wearing them. If I encourage anyone to do anything, I hope I encourage them to be original.

Hazel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Hazel Emerson and I am a business owner and so-cal teen! I am always thinking about more business ideas and what I can do next! Currently, I am focused on making things I would wear. Things that make me smile or laugh. I want people to do a double take on the things that I create. I really like collecting funny shirts so I decided to start making some because I feel like there aren’t enough. I want people to stop taking fashion so seriously. Yes I love nice clothes but I also like seeing silly shirts on people. I think it shows more personality and self confidence. I want my audience to know that if they like something, they should wear it. Especially if it is silly.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I actually had lots of help building my social media audience because I had an internship at a social media marketing firm a year ago! I got to learn how grow followers and engagement on instagram. It is a lot of work but I am so grateful I had that opportunity to learn all the tricks to then use on my own page. My tips are to post regularly, use hashtags that relate to your niche, and interact with other peoples pages!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When creating my first business, me and my team just could not figure out what to make. We had started a business plan a couple of times with other ideas for products but we weren’t happy with what we chose. Finally we landed on our perfect idea and the rest is history!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: hazelgrazelle