We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Davis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.

Alright, Sara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

When I was brainstorming names for my business, I knew that I wanted to include my mother. My mom, herself a breast cancer survivor, passed away suddenly while I was undergoing treatment for my own breast cancer diagnosis. She was employed in higher education like myself, and similarly found her real passion in her creative side, My mom was always a maker, but when she retired from education she leveraged her hobby into a business. Despite not knowing how to do any kind of digital marketing, she started her own handmade shop, selling textiles, crafts, and vintage items.. Most importantly, though, I wanted to honor my mom through my business because of the way she cared about others. She always valued making other people feel special, from strangers to her closest family members. After she passed, I felt compelled to honor that in the way I approach all of my relationships with people, and especially in my own business venture. When I can align myself with brands I believe in and small businesses that just need a little bit of help to lighten their load, I feel a tremendous sense of pride. That I am able to do so with my own intuition, creative eye, and a sense of humor is an even greater privilege. So for all of those reasons, I can’t think of any better way to honor Patricia Gail Brandt than through my work running PGB Trading Company.

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

I’m a professor by trade- a cognitive psychologist who studies memory in educational and legal contexts. But in the wake of my cancer diagnosis and treatment, I began to question how central my career was to my identity as a human being. At the time, I had joined a dragon boat team for breast cancer survivors while I was at one of the lowest points of my treatment, and that experience completely revived me. And as I began to explore this new part of my identity, I took on additional duties for my team, such as running social media accounts, designing team gear, and creating print and digital marketing materials. While I wouldn’t say that I was objectively good at those things (yet), I found I really loved doing them. I love seeing people’s reactions to getting a new team jersey, or laughing at an instagram post. And unlike academia, where you don’t often see the rewards of your labor for years after the fact, I could see the impact of my work almost immediately.

So on a whim, I opened PGB Trading Company as an Etsy storefront to sell paddle- and academic-themed apparel and gifts. As that venture grew, I became very close with my coach and friend, Bekah Alenduff, and when she started her own paddling clubs-Nalu Uliuli and the Duval Dragons- through her small business (Get Outdoors Fitness) I immediately signed on to help. That decision has led to so many opportunities-I was able to learn tricks of the social media management trade, practice my design skills, and immerse myself in the paddling culture that my retail side catered to. I’ve gained additional clients, met important contacts, and created real lasting friendships. Stepping into the unknown has enriched my life in so many ways- including discovering the “me” that exists outside of my degree.

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

It’s been repeated often, but I think often of Maya Angelou’s quote, “…people will forget what you’ve said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.” My experience as a survivor has given me a capacity for empathy and kindness that is reflected in every facet of my life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Knowing that you’ve created something that makes another person feel special is a powerful feeling. That’s the feeling I chase.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pgbtradingcompany.etsy.com
• Instagram: @pgbtradingco
• Facebook: PGB Trading Company
• Other: Affiliated brands: @gofitness904, @naluuliuli, @firstcoastdragons, @pottsburgdistanceclassic, @duvaldragons, @herselfphotography