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

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I am a marriage and family therapist by trade and decided to branch out into children’s fashion design and e-commerce apparel and accessories in 2018 which was an area I had no training or expertise in. It has always been fascinating to me how the roles and expectations for girls have changed over time and how we are still not showing up for our girls as a society. The idea of a world where being able to authentically be yourself and to be proud of the uniqueness that everyone embodies is such an important concept to me. The business took off becoming award winning, and receiving recognition, and in 2022 I decided to make another pivot into combining the two things I had a passion for. I am used to supporting people from all walks of life and validating their unique lived experiences, but I wanted to find a way to celebrate and represent acceptance and inclusion for children in a way that allowed combining my therapeutic skills with a love for design. I decided to shift my focus to digital inspirational and mental health focused products, and I also opened my own private therapy practice. I never knew that all of the roads I was taking in school-in life-were leading to being in so many different-yet somehow integral-roles, but you must take the risks to reap the rewards.

Sarah, 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 Sarah Hess, and I am a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the state of North Carolina. I am also perinatal mental health certified, hold certification in advanced grief counseling, and I am a Gottman Bringing Baby Home Educator. I am currently pursuing certification as a RETAIN parental leave coach. I have been awarded locally and at a state level for my time in practice, and I also have experience speaking professionally on various topics pertaining to my areas of expertise. I became a marriage and family therapist out of a desire to help positively shape lives and to promote healing. I am a proud advocate for women supporting women and I am a member of a local business group where I am also in a mentorship program. I believe that I can cultivate a space for authentic connection and inclusion for individuals and families within the services my private practice offers, and the digital items I create such as stickers, planners, journals, motivational items, emotional affirmation items, & workbooks. I am very proud to say that all of my business knowledge and acumen has been something that I have cultivated through seeking mentorship, advisement, trial and error, and seeking to educate myself on the aspects of running a business. My core beliefs about this process are that time is fleeting, life is delicate, not everyone will accept you as you are, but accepting and believing in yourself-that’s everything

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I initially began my children’s clothing and accessories e-commerce business with a particular path in mind and pivoted in 2022 to align my product-based business further with my goals. This led to being in the process of selling my initial business as it was no longer something that was feasible to balance with my new pursuits. I think it is important to remember that just because you close the chapter on something that is no longer aligned with your big picture that it doesn’t mean that you failed. I had a very successful business, and I was able to do things such as give back to charity and the community and make genuine connections with others as a result of that platform. Knowing that I could build something from nothing and seeing the payoff of pouring into that, and having a return fostered my confidence to pursue my next entrepreneurial steps.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

After having my second child my family and I decided to move back to the town I grew up in. I went from having a huge network of professional connections and supports to starting at square one. There is something about moving to a new setting-which in many ways my hometown was new to me after living elsewhere for 15 years-that almost allows you a platform for a new adventure. I read anything I could find about small businesses, tried to learn skills for marketing, sales, etc. and used my platform to connect and establish relationships with others. I am constantly learning about the aspects of running a successful business, and it is definitely a constant roller coaster ride. There have been many bumps along the way, but challenges are temporary. Being able to look at things from the frame of…will this matter a week from now? A year from now? Those resiliency skills make all of the difference. You have to get back up every time that you’re knocked down. Moving actually allowed the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and to re-evaluate what I was passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insessionwithsarah/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahhessmft

Image Credits
Misty Rogers-Sarah Hess photos Allison Thomas -Sarah Hess photos Sarah Hess- Emotional Affirmation pages