STarting TreeLilys Inc
June 11th, 2020- “I hate my march towards motherhood through this dying society. I hate feel trapped and scared in my own home. I hate being so isolated. I’m fucking depressed as shit.”
Thus was my state of mind when I started my business- 7 months pregnant and an absolute mess. I found solace in my daily walks with my husband and drove the car mindlessly and endlessly on occasion, being careful not to stop and extremely vigilant about never touching anything ungloved- I refused to pump gas.
The world seemingly had crumbled and I was bringing life into it. I felt so dumb. I felt cheated out of a normal pregnancy experience. I felt lonelier than I ever had in my life.
So, after playing Animal Crossing for 10 hours a day and consuming Netflix to my hearts content at the expense of what little sanity I held onto, I started TreeLilys.
First, I built this website. I used Squarespace (still do) and that took about a week to get up and running. I add and subtract content from it frequently. It’s a never ending task.
Then, I started an Instagram. My first username was ‘collagemeow’ which I still kinda like but doesn’t scream professional. So, I ditched it for my full name ‘treelilybutcher’ but that was a bit too long for my liking, so I shortened it to ‘treelilys’. I obviously use my creative forces elsewhere.
Once I started making connections and gaining followers on social media, sales started coming. Slowly, but they came.
Being pregnant as I was, and with the world as it is, I didn’t want to have my baby and then put him into daycare. I ,honestly, couldn’t afford to anyways. My goal became to be a stay-at-home-mama and artist.
I registered TreeLilys Inc. with the state of Tennessee. It was pretty easy to do a sole proprietorship so that’s what I chose. I made a TNTAP account and started paying taxes monthly.
I gave birth to my son in September 2020 and was perscribed anti-depressants a few months after being diagnosed with PPD.
I started to apply to farmer’s markets in Nashville. I did my first one in March 2021. I made $300. That day, I proved to myself (and my family) this was a viable enterprise. I had made my living for nearly a decade refilling strangers diet cokes for less than $300 a day.
I caught the fire of ambition for the first time in my life.
I ended 2021 doing over 60 markets in 7 months. I said “yes” to everything and everything. I networked my way from one event to the next. I was addicted. I had been cooped up so long at home, my extraverted nature came roaring out.
I made $2500 at one market and was in the hole $150 at another. I learned what worked and what did not. I learned some people treat other business owners like competition and other people see the world as their community. I started to gain more traction and a solid, loyal following. Repeat customers!
I entered a few group exhibitions in local galleries and by February 2022, I had my own solo show! By March of 2022, I am in 12 shops around town and have a steady online and commission income. I pay my mortgage on time.
2022 is shaping up to be a big year for me. With the inspiration from a fellow collage artist, I am working my way towards doing national art fairs and markets. I am saving for a Mercedes Sprinter Van to travel in safety, comfort and style. I will be an artistic Weekend Warrior.
2022 vs 2020 is night and day for me. I am currently detoxing off my anti-depressants and enjoying motherhood. I work on my business every day whether that means writing a blog post or selling at a market. I enjoy all of it and couldn't have planned it any better, because I didn’t. It just happened.
I say this all the time to people, starting a business and entering into motherhood in 2020 was like jumping from an airplane with everything I needed to build a parachute. 2021 was the time to build it, and now in 2022, I have pulled the chord and am floating to what I hope is a safe and soft landing.
We shall see.
