Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailey Reid
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always known deep down that o wanted to eventually own my own business one day. In 2017, I moved from my hometown (Bay City, TX) to McKinney, TX to live with my mom! I started college to pursue a degree in Biomedical Engineering. While going to school full time, I would help my mom when I could make jewelry for her business! My love for creating and designing would soon take off! I then started making my own designs and decided to open an Etsy shop! What I thought would be a side hustle in college turned out to be my dream and passion in life! I eventually moved from Etsy to Shopify and started working harder on my business! I graduated from Collin College with an Associate of Science in the fall of 2019 and transferred to The University of Texas at Dallas. Unfortunately, that next semester our world drastically came to a stop when Covid hit. All of my classes were moved online. I am dyslexic and really struggled learning online. Even with my accommodations, the office hours, free tutoring and the additional tutoring I was paying for, I couldn’t keep up and my grades started slipping. I lost my scholarships due to my grades slipping and had to make a very hard choice. I knew that the future was so uncertain and I didn’t know how long classes would be online for. I couldn’t pay $8,000 to struggle with learning online. While school was going downhill, my business was booming! I decided to take a semester off in hopes that things would eventually go back to in person classes. I also wanted to see what would happen if I put all of my time into my business. Could this really work if I gave it 100%? I took the spring semester of 2021 off and haven’t returned to school since. I really did love biomedical engineering and it was a very interesting thing to study, but unfortunately due to the circumstances of Covid and how sudden it happened, the university system was prepared or set up to help those with learning disabilities. I don’t think anyone was really prepared for what we went through as a collective!
I started putting my heart and soul into my company, this had to work! I dropped out of engineering to pursue my dream! It’s taken a lot of hard work, dedication and discipline to get to this point! We are getting close to hitting our 6 year mark of being in business!
Although I’ve put my fair share of work into this company, what helped me get to the next level was hiring amazing employees! I have two employees that work for Highway Hippie now! Holly helps me build out a lot of our inventory for online and shows! Lydia helps me with all things website and our social media accounts! Both of these ladies are moms who have helped build this company up even more! I do not think I would be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for the faith that they both have in this company! I love that the support we’ve gotten has allowed me to create jobs in the job market!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been far from smooth, but I’ve learned the road less traveled and the more difficult journeys are the ones worth taking! Society puts it in our head that we need to avoid the struggles and failures to be successful. That is far from the truth! to achieve success, you HAVE to fail and you WILL struggle. Nothing easy in life comes without some type of struggle and/or failure. One of the things I learned while in engineering school was to look for the flaws and points of failure in projects and experiments. You’re only as strong as your weakest point. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how hard you try to be perfect, you will fail and you will face struggles and set backs. I’ve faced many that have given me the lessons to get to the point where I’m at today! Here are a few of the struggles I’ve faced as a business owner!
In my earlier days, I made a lot of poor financial decisions with credit cards. 2022 was the year that humbled me, in the moment I had pity parties and asked “why me?”. I’ll never forget July 7th, 2022. I was sitting on the couch, on the verge of tears. My husband knew something was wrong. He asked me if I was okay. I bursted into tears and explained to him how I was screwed. I was $20,000 in debt. The money wasn’t coming in. We had just got married, which caused me to take a step back from my company to focus on wedding planning. I also had an office I couldn’t afford the rent on but I had convinced myself that I needed it in order to be taken serious. I was so wrapped up in how others viewed me that I completely lost track of who I was and what the purpose of my company was! I had my pity party moment. Then I started googling craft shows in the DFW area. I got myself into this mess and I was the only one that could fix it! I booked any and every show that I could. I would take the money I made from these shows to book more shows and invest inventory. Once I started to get back onto my feet again, I was able to start working off that debt. I took control of my finances. I recently had another small business friend of mine, Meagan who owns Sookie Sookie, tell me about a book called profit first. I cannot recommend that book enough! It’s helped me regain full control over my finances! I had to feel that embarrassment and pain from my poor decision making in 2022. That struggle taught me a lesson that there is a difference in taking a risk and poor decision making! It’s so important to know the difference between the two!
I’ve also struggled with my fair share of mental health issues. I have anxiety and depression, which can make it difficult to give 100% every single day. I still struggle with days where getting out of bed is the best I can do. There are times I will book shows and the day will come and mentally I’m totally checked out. I’ve learned that it’s okay if your best isn’t your 100%. Sometimes we have to show up and do what we have to, to get through the day! These struggles have led me to being socially awkward and has caused social anxiety. Most of the time, I will have a customer that will show me kindness and it immediately changes my mood, and other times, its getting my self a treat before the show or doing something special to help ease that anxiety!
The other struggles I’ve faced has been imposter syndrome. I’ve built a community of other artists and makers that I can have open conversations with. Let me tell you, none of us know what we are doing and we are all following our hearts. I’ve learned that people only see what you put into the world, not the doubts you face inside your brain. The world needs your art. You are not an imposter and you being unique and leaving your mark on the world is what makes you an artist! Something else that comes with imposter syndrome is finding where you belong. For so long I felt like I didn’t belong in this industry. I thought that I had to fit into one specific box to be a valued brand and artist. I’ve embraced the fact that I fit into many boxes and instead of trying to fit in, I created my own little corner to exist and create!
Overall, you’re going to fail, struggle, and have set backs. How you view it and the perspective on those struggles is the key. The key to success is hidden inside each failure, struggle and set back! One of my favorite quotes is “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” -Thomas Edison. Embrace the failures, learn from them and apply those lessons into your journey!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I design and make handmade jewelry that is mainly either gold plated or gold filled! I work with many different materials such as semi-precious stones, clay, fabrics and different metals! I want to become a gemologist to help ensure that our customers are getting the best stones at the right price! I see a lot of misinformation in the jewelry industry, specifically when it comes to turquoise and turquoise color dyed magnesite. I want to help educate our customers and help them learn about stones and help build confidence when it comes to buying jewelry! We need more transparency and proper labeling of stones in the jewelry industry and I’m trying to be an example of what that should look like!
In the earlier days of Highway Hippie, I would say our necklaces is what helped us gain traction but in recent years our earrings have helped get us closer to being on the map! I’ve recently started focusing on making earrings that are fun and big that are lightweight! I’m always looking to do things that are out of my comfort zone and taking the risk of making something that I personally love that might not be trendy! Our most recent designs have featured a lot of textile art! I want to create stuff that you don’t see every day or that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve started trusting my gut and following my heart more than I usually do. I think there was a point where I was creating to stay relevant, now I create what I want, when I want. I quit caring about trends and staying relevant. That was the best decision I’ve made because it gave me my full creative freedom back!
Aside from creating unique designs, I want to make sure that the experience people have when shopping Highway Hippie is special! Having that one on one connection with my community is a top priority! What sets my company apart is that I do my best to make supporting us fun! I want the connection I have with our community to be deeper than a transactional relationship. I share a lot of the behind the scenes and videos of the design process! I think this helps build trust with my community and they can see the work I put into each piece! I bring my community along with me every step of the way! I’ve had many people tell me they feel like they’re on FaceTime with me when watching our stories on Instagram. I’m always thinking of ways to get my community involved and making it exciting for them! I think a great example of this and someone I’ve pulled inspiration from is Taylor Swift! I haven’t mastered it yet but it’s something I’m always thinking about!
I’m most proud of how far my designs have came! I’m always researching new techniques and trying new things. 99% of the time, the first time I try to bring my idea to life I fail. But when you find the way that works, that is a feeling that’s unmatched! Going out of my comfort zone has led to some of my best work! I would say to this day the piece that has changed my life are the Sunny Soul Earrings. That design was the gateway design that made me feel more comfortable trying new techniques. Before making those earrings, I mainly just did beadwork. I taught myself how to wire wrap to bring that design to life. That design gave me the confidence to try to work with other materials such as clay and fabrics. I’m currently getting into metal smithing! I’m starting out with brass right now. Learning this technique has been the ultimate test of patience and practice!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned that the Covid-19 Crisis was something that has changed us as a collective. I know a lot of people that lost loved ones and went through a lot of hard and dark times! To anyone reading this that struggled during that time or lost a loved one to Covid, I am truly sorry for your loss and I’m praying that you will be able to heal from that pain!
I would say for me personally, I learned that in life things happen out of our control that may cause a huge shift in your life. At the time we may not understand why, but we have to trust that even though it didn’t go as planned, that doesn’t mean that you can’t embrace the change and/or the unpredictable! It’s taught me to be more grateful and appreciative, because in a blink of an eye it can all change!
Pricing:
- Our prices range from $10-$150 depending on the type of piece and the materials
Contact Info:
- Website: https://highwayhippiejewelry.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highwayhippie?igsh=MTd5bHp5azZ5bDhnYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/gd8AH4JgpQWDucpQ/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@highwayhippie?si=Y3EOdEDsaM_DHene
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@highwayhippie?_t=8owmUK4ryhj&_r=1
