We were lucky to catch up with Whitney Sarjeant recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Whitney , thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
Being artsy / creative has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I love making my own birthday gifts / cards for friends and family, scrapbooking, making jewelry, and I always dreamed of doing cute little art projects with my own kid one day. Now here I am with a 4 year old son who is my heart beat and the name behind my business, The Sonshine Shop! I’ve been a stay at home mom since he was born and I’ll forever be grateful of all that precious time together, but now that he’s in preschool and I have extra time, I knew it was time to turn my hobby into a small biz. The love and support from my husband, family, friends, and all of you have been the most reassuring thing in the world that I made the right decision!
Whitney, 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?
I was born and raised in Durham and went to college at UNC-Wilmington. That’s where I met my husband, Chris! He’s from Charlotte so I moved here a few years after college, and even after almost 12 years of living here I’m just as in love with this city. When I’m not making bracelets, you can catch my little family at Panthers, Charlotte FC, and Knights games, spending time with friends and family, catching some live music, grabbing a beer and bite from a local brewery, or doing absolutely nothing and hanging at home which is equally as satisfying as being out haha!
I noticed that there weren’t many bracelet options that could not only be personalized, but also making sure that they fit everyone. Not everything should be one size fits all as people do have smaller and / or larger wrists. I think offering those things plus also being affordable have been the main factors to set me apart from others. I truly love what I do, I love the conversations and interactions I have with people, and I look forward to many more years of bracelet slinging!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of all of this is people wanting a piece of my world to be part of their world. There are SO many amazing businesses, big and small, out there, so how cool is it that people choose mine? It honestly never gets old. The majority of orders are happy but there are also some sad orders / stories, and I’m just honored to be there for both.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Slow and steady wins the race is how I like to approach Instagram! Yes it’s great to have followers and continue to grow, but as a small business who doesn’t have employees, I think it’s nice to slowly and organically gain followers. I like to treat my own page the same as I treat my personal life. Not too much over sharing and always be kind :) A few tips: stories seem to get more views than posts, giveaways are always a good way to gain new followers, and even though it’s tough, try to set boundaries for yourself and your time. I’m the most guilty for not doing this but my goal is to start being better about it! What I mean by that is this: if you email a company needing assistance with something, do they message you right back even if it’s 11:30 pm? Most likely not so try to let yourself keep enjoying that movie in bed or beer with your friend. It’s a tough balance of switching your business mind on and off!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @thesonshineshop704
- Other: Email: [email protected]