March 25, 2025
I’ve always been drawn to entrepreneurship.
After my early ventures like Hannah Must Haves, my business journey took several interesting turns before I eventually found success with Jelly Wax and Project Pollywog.
Education Playing a Role
My educational path significantly shaped my entrepreneurial journey. Being homeschooled until high school gave me tremendous flexibility.
I could finish my lessons for the entire week and then devote the remaining time to my business ventures. When I entered traditional high school, however, my focus temporarily shifted.
I became deeply invested in academics and started considering conventional career paths—becoming a veterinarian, an engineer, or a doctor. Entrepreneurship took a back seat, even though I always knew I’d eventually return to it.
Finding My Way
During high school, I moved to a new school across the state after my sophomore year. The transition proved difficult, and I struggled to adjust.
I found myself spending countless hours at the local airport, where I developed an interest in becoming a pilot. I began taking flying lessons, waking up at 5 AM to fit lessons in before school and returning to the airport afterward.
Although I never quite completed my pilot’s license (I was very close, just needed to take the written test), this experience was pivotal because it was at the airport where I met successful business owners who would influence my path.
One gentleman handed me a stack of books that he insisted I needed to read before even considering going into business—classics like Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Think and Grow Rich.
These books taught me that mindset constitutes about 80% of the battle in business, while execution makes up the remaining 20%.
I also began to realize how I could potentially achieve success in business more quickly than through a traditional career path.
Early Jobs and the Sales Experience
After high school, I worked various jobs while trying to determine what type of business I wanted to start. I worked at In-N-Out for a while, but I felt they weren’t fully recognizing my potential.
When I received a mere 25-cent raise after a mini-promotion, something clicked inside me—I knew I needed to find an opportunity with more growth potential.
I found a commission-only sales job selling resort casino packages. The job required me to be 18, and I was still two months shy of my birthday when I interviewed.
I asked if they would wait for me to turn 18, and they agreed. Once I started, I had to approach 100 people daily and visit at least 30 businesses.
It was incredibly challenging, but I stuck with it for six months, learning valuable skills about handling rejection and developing perseverance.
The Moment of Decision
During my time at the sales job, I had a two-hour commute each way. I used this time to listen to podcasts, particularly Masters of Scale by Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn.
One episode featured the founder of Spanx, who described having an epiphany while sitting in her car before work, realizing she couldn’t continue her sales job and needed to start her own business.
This resonated deeply with me because I was in exactly the same position—sitting in my car, dreading another day of sales work.
In what I now recognize was a rather impulsive decision, I quit my job, sold my car, and decided to start a business with the $5,000 I had available.
The Birth of Jelly Wax
With no clear idea of what business to start, I locked myself in my room, researched various options, and eventually settled on waxing products. This decision stemmed from my personal struggles with body hair removal.
Growing up, I had internalized the message that women shouldn’t have body hair—it was “unladylike” and “dirty.”
I would even wear a sweatshirt in summer because I was too embarrassed to show my arm hair.
When I discovered waxing, it worked better for me than other methods, but I struggled to find products gentle enough for my sensitive skin.
Shaving gave me ingrown hairs and bumps, and threading wasn’t practical because it was limited to facial hair when I needed hair removed from everywhere. This gap in the market became my business opportunity.
I purchased more than 20 different brands of wax, studied their formulations, and reverse-engineered what I was looking for in an ideal wax. Then I collaborated with formula developers to create our unique blend.
Before I even had all the inventory, I assembled a sample kit of what the final product would theoretically look like and launched pre-orders. I needed to reach minimum order quantities of about 2,500 kits—an incredibly risky move for a new entrepreneur.
For almost a month, sales were slow—I was down to my last $500 in ad spend and had only made a handful of sales. Then, something changed.
I created a video ad that connected with people (possibly aided by the timing with COVID-19 and salons closing down), and within three months, Jelly Wax skyrocketed from zero to about $700,000 in sales.
By the end of the first year, we had gained tremendous growth and momentum.
Rapid Growth and Growing Pains
The rapid success was validating but also created enormous challenges. I had no experience in logistics, finance, or running an operation of that scale. I didn’t even have a bookkeeper or CPA.
I understood running a business in theory, but I had no idea how to physically do it. I made poor investment decisions and stumbled through supply chain and shipping issues.
At one point, I had to move two 40-foot containers of inventory from my warehouse to my house. My family and I ended up fulfilling thousands of orders every month from my living room and garage.
Eventually, neighbors reported me to the HOA for running a business out of my house.
The burnout was inevitable. After two years, despite the financial success, I was completely overwhelmed. I had just two people helping me with customer service, but that was the extent of my team.
I had hired some consultants, but they weren’t a good fit for me. My family had to bail me out of financial difficulties I’d created through my lack of proper bookkeeping.
I ultimately made the difficult decision to pause the business completely. I moved to Austin, Texas, and took nearly two years away from Jelly Wax to recover and rethink my approach.
Project Pollywog and Finding Balance
During my break from Jelly Wax, I launched Project Pollywog—a brand selling frog-themed jewelry with a portion of profits supporting frog conservation efforts.
This was truly a passion project that connected with my love of animals and jewelry design. It took me back to my roots with Hannah Must Haves.
Project Pollywog also grew quickly, reaching six figures within the first six months. While exciting, this created new challenges as I found myself running two businesses simultaneously.
Eventually, I had to make the difficult decision to pause Project Pollywog to focus entirely on rebuilding Jelly Wax.
Conclusion
My journey back to Jelly Wax was significantly influenced by my partner, who saw what I had accomplished and encouraged me to return to it.
He completely changed my perspective and helped me realize how much I needed help. He was stable, calm, and kind, giving me the space I needed to heal and grow.
He encouraged me, saying, “You have to go back into this. You can do this. This is what you’re supposed to do.” His words motivated me as he helped me get my life back in order.
As a professional chef, he told me, “Food is healing,” and cooked meals specifically designed to balance my hormones and improve my physical health. Through healing my body, I was able to heal my mind as well.
After about a year, I felt ready to return to business, but I didn’t have anyone to start it with. I had only been working to pay my bills and manage my debt payments.
My partner took his savings and invested it into me and the company. He became a partner in the business, which blew my mind because we weren’t married or formally tied together in any way.
The fact that he trusted me so much showed me that trusting the right people can be wonderful.
This partnership taught me the value of trusting others—something I had struggled with earlier in my entrepreneurial journey.