Sitting down to write this, I don’t even know where to start. Six years is a long time, but it’s also gone in a blink. If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: if you have a dream, follow it. If you have an idea, chase it. The only thing in your way is you. Everything else can be figured out along the way. I know because when we started Allie + Bess, we had no clue what we were doing and somehow, here we are.
I’d love to tell you it’s been an easy six years, that every risk turned into a win. That’s not real. When we first started, we thought wholesale was the dream. We landed a big retailer, beaded every bracelet by hand, barcoded product without knowing what a barcode system even was, and said yes to deadlines we had no idea how to meet. We pulled it off, but it wasn’t glamorous. Then COVID hit. That retailer couldn’t pay us. Suddenly, the “big break” wasn’t a break at all. We had a choice: give up or pivot. And if you know us, you know quitting isn’t in the cards. Within weeks, we built a website (she wasn’t pretty, but she worked) and shifted to DTC. That’s where our story really began.
Entrepreneurship is a roller coaster. One day you feel unstoppable, the next you’re convinced it’s over. You learn to develop tough skin. To take the no’s and still show up. You have to want it more today than you did yesterday. During COVID, we rode the high. Influencers were peaking, community was easier to build online, and small businesses were being championed. We felt unstoppable. Until we didn’t. Growth came faster than we could manage, and just as we found our rhythm with a team, the consumer behavior and the market shifted again.
We’ve never openly shared much about 2023, but for me, it was one of the hardest years of my life. The year started slow. Painfully slow. And as 100% owners of A+B, no investors, no safety net, slow months are terrifying. By April, it was down to four of us doing everything: shipping, shooting content, making product, showing up online, hustling with every ounce we had. I wasn’t sleeping. I felt the weight of our artisans who depended on us and our team who trusted us. Honestly, it made me sick, but still, we showed up. We didn’t quit. And then May came, the best May we’d ever had to that point. That momentum carried us to our biggest year.
Fast forward to today. 2025 has been the year of intentionality, of clarity, definition, and building the brand Bess and I had always dreamed of. We have the strongest team we’ve ever had. Collaborative. Creative. Inspiring. We’ve redefined who we are, and we’re bringing ideas to life we once thought impossible. We’re even dipping our toes back into wholesale, this time with the same thoughtfulness that’s built our online community.
If I could share anything with someone just starting out, it would be this: there’s no single “right” way to build something. You get to define who you are. A no is rarely the end of the road, more often it just means a yes is around the corner. Success isn’t always measured in numbers. Sometimes it’s in the relationships you build and the trust you earn. Showing up authentically and holding onto your integrity will take you further than shortcuts ever could. And when you make mistakes (because you will) own them, fix them, and keep moving. That’s how you grow.
Six years, a thousand lessons, and proof that hard doesn’t mean impossible.
-- Allie