Hello! My name is Ella Mages. I am twenty years old and starting something not many people dare to try. When I was sixteen, an opportunity arose for me to have my first job in retail at the Creative Collective Boutique in my hometown. The minute I started working there, I became obsessed with everything about it. So much so, almost all of my paychecks were going right back into the store! I quickly grew a passion big enough that it became a dream to own a store of my own.
Late July (2022)
I was scrolling through my TikTok (I know how silly this sounds) and a TikTok about a nineteen-year-old owning her own boutique popped up. I needed to know more, so I sent myself down a rabbit hole of all these nineteen and twenty-year-olds starting their stores. Next, I was researching the legal stuff and how to start a business. I was asking all the business owners in my life if they thought it was doable and where to start. Luckily, for me, I have many young females who took the leap themselves and not one hesitated to tell me that they thought it was something I could do.
With all my gathered research and predicted costs, I very nervously pitched my business plan to my parents. This was not something I wanted to do without their support. They supported it like every dream I have ever had. Thankfully, I have had a lot of guidance from my dad (being a business owner himself). The next week we made an appointment with an accountant to look over all the behind-the-scenes business things to make sure I did it all right and to help me to get my EIN number.
At this point I am feeling crazy and a little overwhelmed. I know exactly how crazy it sounds that I am a business owner while being a full-time college student. I am also young, but I also am so blessed to have so many mentors. The next day after the appointment with the accountant, I was reading my book (The Last Supper on the Moon) and the words:
"Comfort zones don't make your life safe; they keep your life small."
were printed across my page. It was exactly what I needed to read because any doubt I have felt about starting a business have washed away with those words. Those words helped me in the ups and downs of getting this started too.
Now, I know I could have waited to be older to start RA, but the opportunity presented itself, and these things need time to grow. I also know that if I did not do it now, it may never happen because there is always going to be a reason to not pursue it. I have so much gratitude for all my mentors, family, friends, and community who have supported this wild dream of mine.