By Ella Miller

From game-day buttons to custom hats to painted 21st birthday signs, entrepreneurship among college students has immensely grown in recent years. At the University of Arkansas, many students have turned their talents into full-blown businesses, all while still pursuing a degree, illuminating the fact that business ownership as a college student is completely possible. 

For many entrepreneurs, businesses start as a hobby, passion or side project before turning into a full-fledged endeavor. U of A sophomore Aubrey Holloway discovered her love of floral design while working at a flower shop in high school. When Holloway couldn’t fit time in her schedule to continue working there, she decided to launch Designs By Aub, specializing in custom floral arrangements and bouquets. 

What started as designing prom bouquets for friends quickly expanded into a business with a strong customer base in Northwest Arkansas. 

“My favorite part about owning my own business is working with clients,” Holloway said. “I’m a big people person and a big left-brainer since I was a kid. Flower arrangements allow me to combine my love of creativity with my passion for making connections with people.”

Holloway said she feels pride in being able to transform emotions into tangible gifts, especially because flowers are typically given for special occasions.

This past Valentine’s Day, Holloway created 23 arrangements and delivered about half of them. She said it felt like an ‘I’m making it’ moment.

Senior Tori Sloan Stevens found her passion for crocheting that started as a creative outlet in 2023. 

“I picked up crocheting on a whim, and once I started making clothes, I fell in love with the process,” Stevens said. “What really clicked for me was when I wore one of my pieces to Row, and people kept asking where they could buy it. That’s when I knew I had something special, and instead of just making things for myself, I started offering custom orders. From there, it took off, and I kept pushing my designs further,” Stevens said. 

Now, Sewn by Sloan, has grown from small personal projects to custom designs for major photographers and stylists across the country.

“Seeing my work go from a personal hobby to being recognized in professional creative spaces has been surreal.” Stevens said. 

Stevens expressed her goal is to redefine the fashion industry by showing that handcrafted pieces are just as high-fashion as mass-produced pieces. 

Junior Cortlyn Beavert started her business, ButtonsByCort, in 2022 after seeing an opportunity for custom buttons at football games. 

“I thought the concept was so great, but the designs were not as creative and cute as I thought they could be, so I watched a YouTube video and figured out I could make them very easily,” Beavert said. 

Beavert received a button machine and the first round of supplies for Christmas her freshman year, and since then ButtonsByCort has expanded, offering custom designed buttons for graduations, gamedays, birthdays, teams and more. ButtonsByCort now sells buttons in boutiques in five Southeastern Conference towns. 

“My favorite part of owning ButtonsByCort is definitely getting to walk around to sporting events on campus and getting to see customers wearing my buttons,” Beavert said. “I love getting to make connections with people all across the nation.”

Beavert said staying creative and aligned with trends can be unexpected yet rewarding, and a way to push herself.

Behind the passion of each unique business, balancing this ownership while earning a college degree can come with challenges.

On top of owning Designs By Aub, Holloway balances being an architecture student and coaches gymnastics several times a week.

“My schedule can get really full, so trying to figure out my time management can be more stressful than some realize,” Holloway said.

Holloway said she manages school deadlines by planning, even though work for Designs By Aub can feel like free time expressing her creative side. 

“Running my business comes with busy and dead days,” Holloway said. “Busy days consist of picking up and ordering flowers and designing and even delivering. Dead days I focus more on school and try to keep everything balanced.”

Beavert said there is always something to get done, whether it’s emails, posting, designing or getting supplies. Besides Beavert working on her business, two U of A marketing students help assist in the process.  

“I definitely have to keep up with a lot of different tasks at once,” Beavert said. “However, I have learned that color coded excel sheets are your best friend while owning a small business in college.”

As a STEM major, Stevens said she has to be intentional about time management, especially as each crochet piece can take up to 40 hours to create. Stevens said every day is a mix of school, brainstorming and sketching, finishing orders or coordinating with photographers. Sometimes she will listen to lecture recordings while crocheting.

To combat the balance of school and work, Stevens said Sewn by Sloan is shifting toward a website-based drop model, where Stevens releases limited pieces on her own schedule to give more creative freedom.

Despite the challenges that come with juggling school assignments and owning a business, these students said they’ve learned transferable, lifelong skills, and their businesses have even affected their long-term career goals. 

“In school we’re graded by letters, but in owning a business, I know that my work is worth paying for, which makes me feel successful and determined to uphold a good reputable business that others want to recommend,” Holloway said. “I feel like owning my own business allows me to make connections in ways I don’t through my classes.”

Holloway said Designs By Aub has allowed her to think more creatively overall, and she can see herself merging her flower business with her childhood dream job in the future.

“I’ve been set on being an architect since I was young, but to me, flower arranging speaks the same language as architectural design,” Holloway said. “I would love to always be creating and designing for whatever community I am a part of post grad.”

In addition to redefining success and shedding light onto future plans, Holloway said her business has taught her about connections.

“Through this, I feel like I have learned to read people in ways that I can’t explain with words,” Holloway said. “It’s an unspoken connection between me and my customers.”

In the future, Beavert said she wants to continue owning her own business but on a larger scale. Her experience also influenced her major switch from nursing to marketing. 

“Owning ButtonsByCort definitely opened my eyes to a new world,” Beavert said.

Additionally, Beavert said ButtonsByCort has improved her social skills and customer service skills. 

“I have learned that the customer is always right, but if it comes to an opportunity or idea and someone tells you no, there is always someone else who will tell you yes,” Beavert said.

Stevens said the biggest thing she’s learned through running Sewn by Sloan is that connections and networking are immensely important. 

“School teaches you that success is about how well you perform academically, but in reality, the most successful people are the ones who build strong relationships and put themselves in the right rooms,” Stevens said. “I’ve seen firsthand how knowing the right people can open doors that no degree alone ever could. I’ve gotten opportunities to work with well-known photographers, stylists, and influencers, not because of a resume, but because I put myself out there and made those connections.”

Besides networking, Stevens said that running a business teaches real-world problem-solving skills including marketing yourself, directing finances, and overall dealing with challenges.

When Stevens started college, she said she expected to follow the traditional path of pursuing a degree and after graduation working a job in the medical field.

“Discovering this hidden talent completely changed the way I see my future,” Stevens said. “Running my own business has given me the confidence to pursue a more creative, nontraditional career path that actually excites me.”

After graduation, Stevens plans to move to Miami and expand her business. In May, Stevens‘ pieces are set to be featured in Miami Swim Week, and she is working to have her pieces showcased in future major fashion shows. 

Stevens, Beavert and Holloway’s successes highlight an even broader trend: Becoming a successful entrepreneur isn’t limited to people with certain degrees or profitable backgrounds.  Aspiring entrepreneurs can start with a passion or potential opportunity and not only achieve their goals but learn real-world skills, which could change the path of their life. In today’s world, college-age students are able to manage and succeed in these endeavors.