“Daddy, look! A coloring contest!” Five-year-old Ellie gazed out the window at a bright, colorful billboard as her dad was driving her home after school. 

Her dad rolled his eyes even while smiling, “Do you want to enter?” A couple of weeks later, her dad received a phone call. Out of all the kids in their town, Ellie had won her first of many coloring contests. 

Between lemonade stands and cookies for her friends at school, Ellie’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident from an early age. With the support of her family and occasionally teaming up with her sister, Ellie didn’t hesitate to move from one venture idea to the next. As her passion for starting businesses grew, so did her love for art. She often spent hours designing handmade cards for friends or painting wall decor for her mom. 

As she entered high school, Ellie began to take her passions and skills to a new level. Adrienne, an experienced entrepreneur and family friend, began to encourage and mentor Ellie. In May 2021, Ellie set up her first booth for LighterRae at a local vendor show called Strawberry Days where she sold a variety of handmade goods such as bracelets, earrings, and wall decor. She also opened her first Etsy account to sell her goods online. Things were beginning to take shape.

That was when she hit her first snag. She opened her laptop to find a panic-inducing email–her Etsy account had been suspended. Because her family were missionaries in Guatemala, Etsy had grown suspicious when she logged in from a new location. That meant no more sales and lots of hassle. It went downhill from there. Soon, her Pinterest and Instagram accounts (her main source of advertising) were suspended as well. Earlier, she had experimented with opening another Etsy shop with designs for print on demand. It had only generated a handful of sales and after trying other tactics, Ellie had decided to put the breaks on that idea. 

Fortunately, Ellie did not let that stop her. Like a true entrepreneur, she cut her losses and came up with solutions. Her friend in the US shipped her orders and managed her accounts for her. Ellie began narrowing down on products that sold well and products that didn’t. In the summer of 2023, Ellie introduced handpainted, custom Bibles in her shop. 

In just a few months, she made more sales than she could’ve imagined. She had also begun selling at physical locations such as a local coffee shop called Beans on Broad and a craft vendor store at the local outlets. As she entered college, majoring in (of course) entrepreneurship, she took on her first partner in crime (or, business). Her shop, BrighterRae, has made over 200 sales to date on Etsy alone. Now, Ellie is working to create a website to sell directly. She dreams of one day selling her products in a physical location and changing the name of her shop to something that (she believes) is less cringy. Ellie demonstrates the traits of a true entrepreneur and her go-getter attitude and creativity are an inspiration to everyone, especially those in Dr. Sweet’s 9:00 am Entrepuneral Mind class. 

Visit her shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrighterRae?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1519020172