Cassandra Ann Anderson

I’d attribute my success to a mix of faith, persistence, creativity, and community. I didn’t build my business from a perfect roadmap or unlimited resources. I built it by staying willing to learn, adapt, and keep going even when things felt uncertain or overwhelming. A lot of my growth has come from taking what I had—my background in IT, digital design, and hands-on problem solving—and turning it into something meaningful for my family, my customers, and my community.

I also credit my success to being people-focused. Whether I’m creating custom products, working with local businesses, or showing up at events, I try to make sure people feel heard and valued. Success for me isn’t just about sales. It’s about building trust, creating quality products, and forming real relationships that lead to repeat customers, word of mouth, and long-term opportunities. I believe being genuine, staying consistent, and caring about the people you serve make a big difference.

Another big part of my success is resilience. I’ve balanced business ownership with family responsibilities, outside work, and school, so I’ve had to learn how to keep moving forward one step at a time. I may not have had every advantage, but I’ve always had determination. I’m proud that I’ve been able to grow through hard seasons instead of letting them stop me.

At the end of the day, I think my success comes from not being afraid to start small, work hard, and keep building. I’ve stayed open to growth, committed to improving, and focused on creating something that reflects both my passion and my purpose.

Some of the best career advice I’ve ever received was not to try to fit into a mold someone else has already created. Instead, forge your own path. That advice stayed with me because success doesn’t look the same for everyone. With patience, persistence, and a willingness to keep trying, you can build something true to who you are and what you’re meant to do.

The biggest advice I’d give to young women entering my industry is don’t try to match your business to somebody else’s. What works for one person may not work for you, and forcing your situation to look like someone else’s usually doesn’t lead to the best outcome. It’s important to learn from others, but still build in a way that fits your own goals, strengths, and circumstances. I’d also say to be patient with yourself. Setbacks are going to happen, but they don’t mean you’re failing. A lot of the time, those challenges lead you toward a better solution or a better direction if you’re willing to keep going and keep learning.

The challenges are usually either software messing up, but most of the time it's a printer wanting to go down. Working with machinery of any kind can be complicated and difficult, but all of the troubles usually get outweighed by seeing the kids happy. As for opportunities, I look forward to growing further out, spreading everything further out, and being able to hire more people to help them achieve their goals. I try to find a position working with me in whatever form or fashion somebody wants to that makes them happy and makes them want to get out and do it, instead of something that they have to do just in order to make money to survive. I want them to thrive, I want them to want to do it, to want to come in to work.

My goal is to work with the community and keep it growing. I grew up in a family business that's four generations old, and I watched them interact with customers and the community. I want to help local businesses keep going through the chaos of Hurricane Michael and COVID, and help them rebuild. I think doing the stuff with the community is much more important than selling as much online as I could. I like hands-on experiences, meeting the customer, and seeing their reactions. I give out minis everywhere I go for customer service because customer service doesn't get treated as well as it used to, and I try to make everybody's day a little bit brighter and better. I want people to thrive and come to work, not just do something they have to do to make money to survive.