I didn’t start with a big plan—just a simple goal after college: replace my $30K part-time job and create something that genuinely served my community.
So in 2015, I launched Spokane's first ever nutrition-focused meal delivery company. I was 24. I partnered with local farms and I sold out most weeks. This business was flexible enough to allow me to coach high school runners and still race competitively.
I poured everything I had into that business for eight years and thought I was living the dream—until I completely burned out.
I was the bottleneck. Every sale depended on me.
If I took a day off? Revenue dropped.
Some months I paid my head chef more than myself. And when I had our second baby, I knew I couldn’t keep going like that.
I didn’t want to pass down survival mode. I didn’t want my kids to experience a version of motherhood that felt like absence—because I already lived that with my own mother.
I wanted to build a life that honored presence and provided income that supported our family.
I sold the company and I pivoted. Slowly, intentionally.
I created a product I wished existed when I was pregnant: a non-toxic and only certified bio-based non-toxic beeswax candle in the country. I tested it in my kitchen, then partnered with a small candle maker to scale—without compromising on quality or my values.
That $23 candle went on to bring in $50K and more than replaced my salary within the first year—and I did this without social media, working more than 10 hours a week, or sacrificing time raising and exclusively breastfeeding both babies.
The sales system I learned and mastered to sell my new product gave me back my peace. My flexibility. My presence as a mother.
That experience reshaped everything I thought I knew about business. Today, I am so passionate to teach other mothers what I’ve learned—as a business professor at Gonzaga University and small business owner with over 10 years experience.
I help women build sustainable, value-driven businesses that run quietly in the background—without trading hours for dollars, burning out, or having to be “on” more than 15 hours a week to make impactful income.
You and I were both sold a lie: working more does not equal more money. Working smarter does. And that's where we find the margin.
If you're ready to build something aligned with the season you’re in (not the one you used to be), be sure to start with the Presence & Profit Playbook.