Last Updated on September 23, 2021 by BookScouter
Creating products you love is the soul of studentpreneurs. That’s why we are so fortunate to have interviewed Josie Hadaway for THIS EPISODE of The Studentpreneur Show!
Josie is a student at Berry College in Georgia, where she is from. Her business, Written by J, is a line of beautiful, hand lettered gifts and home decor items that started in 2016. In this episode you’ll learn of the passion she has for the products she makes and how life is for her on campus while having this full business.
What is Written By J?
Written by J is owned and operated by Josie Hadaway. This business is Josie’s gift and home decor product shop that she officially started a couple of years ago. The product line includes hand lettered signs, water color prints, hats and mugs. Customers can also commission Josie to create one of a kind pieces for their own home or as gifts.
How did Josie start her business?
Written by J came about organically. She was creating lots of fun and creative products that began taking up too much space in her home. This problem combined with family and friends asking her if they could purchase her pieces created a profitable solution.
Being in the entrepreneurship program at Berry College has opened up more opportunity for Josie. By competing in a pitch competition, Josie secured funding that will help her scale her business. Through her courses she’s learned more about business strategy, growth, marketing, and profit.
Once Josie started selling her pieces her passion for her art and business grew. She loves creating custom pieces for her clients and enjoys finding ways to create great products with great profit.
How to create products you love
For Josie, she has always loved creating. From jewelry and pottery to hand lettering and painting, Josie has a natural gift when it comes to creating meaningful art. Once she found hand lettering, she didn’t stop. Through hand lettering and watercolor, Josie is able to create many different kinds of pieces. The possibilities are endless.
How to balance being a studentpreneur
Josie shares that it is a lot to juggle. She graduates in 2020 and is active at Berry through the swim team and campus job. Actively participating in the entrepreneurship program at school is also helpful. Through this program at Berry Josie learns more about business and marketing. Her strategy for succeeding at both college and business is maintenance during the semester. During breaks her focus shifts to growing the business. She recognizes that it’s challenging to do both well all of the time.
Josie knows her market. That’s key to success for any business. By knowing her target market she is able to use social media appropriately and build an audience orgnaically through attending markets and word of mouth.
What is the future of Written by J?
Josie has great plans for Written by J! Just like other entrepreneurs, Josie want to continue creating products you love–you being herself and her target market. Once she graduates next year she plans to take on her work full time. With a singular focus, Josie hopes to cultivate more partnerships with other small businesses, expand her product line to include a digital line, participate in pop-up shops and markets around the country.
Studentpreneur advice:
Josie shares that every entrepreneur should have both creativity and determination. Her best advice for any studentpreneur is that “where ever you are, keep it up! Don’t compare yourself to others!”
To hear this episode of Josie’s story and great advice, CLICK HERE!
Where you can find Josie and buy Written by J products
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/writtenbyj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WrittenByJosie/
Instagram: @writtenbyjosie
Want to hear another great studentpreneur story? Check out Savy’s story with Furever Home Friends!
The Studentpreneur Show is proudly hosted by BookScouter.
