At Start it Up Mentoring, we not only want to help women create and start their own businesses, but we also want to highlight other women in their business ventures. We will have a ‘Women in Business Spotlight’ section to highlight female entrepreneurs and their business journey.
For the first Spotlight, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Roberts-Hanna to take a deeper dive into learning about her business, SunnySouthLove. Sarah and I have been friends for many years and previously in business together. She is a Floridian through and through! She lives in Tampa and loves to create southern-inspired designs. I was able to learn more about her business from what she sells to what motivates her as a business owner. Read below to find out about SunnySouthLove!
What is SunnySouthLove?
SunnySouthLove was just an idea for her since 2017 and Sarah decided to take it from a hobby into a full fledge business as of January 2021. The name for the business was created from being a Florida native in the south and loves the sunshine, so the name was born! She also has quite the sunny disposition! SunnySouthLove comes from her love of crafting. She creates a variety of locally inspired, laser cut and engraved products including home décor, local maps, and seasonal gifts for all of life’s special occasions. She loves creating new designs and products as it excites her, but one of her favorite items albeit most challenging is creating the local maps.
Why did you decide to start a business?
Sarah decided to start her business because sitting in front of a computer all day long does not excite her and needed something that allowed her creative side to flourish, after all she is a quite the creative person!
Who is someone that inspires you to be an entrepreneur and why?
Lilly Pulitzer! For those that don’t know, Lilly Pulitzer is an entrepreneur, fashion designer, and American socialite behind the eponymous LILLY PULITZER clothing brand! Lilly inspires Sarah because she is innovative, different, and stands out from the crowd with her line of bright colored clothing. Sarah mentioned she feels a strong relatability to Lilly Pulitzer because of their shared love of bright colors.
If you could sit with anyone to discuss business, who would it be and why?
Sarah would love to sit with her grandfather, who has created and sold several multi-million-dollar businesses. Although she is not close with her grandfather, she would love to receive some insight on how he went about building those businesses to replicate his success. Sarah knows that learning from someone who has done it could be invaluable.
How do you advertise your business?
Word of mouth works best for her! She shares the various products and events that she attends with friends and family. While she uses social media, it is not her primary form of marketing as she prefers to build a following in a more organic and personal way. This method has worked well and keeps her busy!
What is unique about your business?
She likes to create products that are unique. She likes to make her own designs and is often inspired by something she sees but will add a twist to make it her own style such as with bright colors. For example, the maps she creates will include pops of color that are popular in the local community.
What goals do you have for your business?
Sarah would like to be involved in more community events, at least 10 events per year as well as getting her products in 5-10 local shops.
What advice would you give aspiring entrepreneurs?
If you really love something, just do it. Put more time and energy into it because when you do it will pay off. It might be scary to do, but if you really have a passion for something then people will see that passion and want to buy from you whether it’s a product or service. This is what has worked for her as her passion has garnered support from many.
What motivates you to keep going even on days when its challenging as a business owner?
Her motivation stems from not wanting to do her full-time job forever! She wants the freedom to travel more, have more savings, eat more (she’s a big foodie fan), and explore more!
It was such a fun chat with Sarah and learning about her business even more than I already knew. She’s always a fun-sunny person, and her personality shines through in her business (hence SunnySouthLove).
You can follow SunnySouthLove on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SunnySouthLove and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sunnysouthlove/ to get your southern inspired décor. She also takes custom requests!
If you loved learning about Sarah and her business, SunnySouthLove, let us know in the comments below and share with your friends. We will be sharing more inspiring female entrepreneurs’ stories in the future. Let us know if you have someone that should be highlighted as well!
Of course, if you would like help starting up your business, contact us to get started and remember, Just Start.
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