Local entrepreneur builds a business model she hopes could rival Etsy
When Bonnie Hewitt’s family decided to tear down a pop-up pool they had had in their backyard, she cringed at all the waste that would come from the project.
Instead of listening to her husband’s pleas to just throw it away, Ms. Hewitt cut the material into long thin sheets and stowed them away in the garage, waiting for an idea to strike about what to do with them next.
Eventually, it did — and with it, a whole slew of ideas for a business that Ms. Hewitt hopes could one day rival Etsy, an online shopping platform for entrepreneurs and other makers to sell homemade goods from potholders to furniture to skin and hair care products.
What was once a pool would be turned into heavy-duty tote bags.
What was once a one-woman shop operating from a dining room table could, hopefully one
day, become a sustainable and eco-conscious platform for makers to sell their goods and operate as employees rather than independent contractors who bear the brunt of the expenses and the
risks.
Ms. Hewitt, 42, from West View, didn’t always plan to be an entrepreneur. She started out as an accountant, but a debilitating illness that left her unable to work her previous job and the need to keep money coming in to support her family pushed her to become her own boss.
The business, Posh Notions, is still in the early stages. It exists on sites such as Etsy, eBay and Shopify and has fulfilled about 80 orders so far. But, after winning her first pitch competition in December, she has secured funding, business connections and more tools to help get her startup off the ground.
“I know some really big things are coming,” Ms. Hewitt said in February. “I feel like I have opened myself up to it.”
Taking advantage of a creative side
In 2011, at age 33, Ms. Hewitt was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a chronic illness in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. She was temporarily paralyzed. Over time, she
was diagnosed with numerous other chronic conditions, including fibromyalgia.
She spent years not only in physical pain but also mourning the loss of what her life used to be.
Out of financial necessity — she was pregnant with her fourth child at the time — Ms. Hewitt started to tap into her creative side.
“We were broke and trying to make ends meet. I was trying to do reselling. I wasn’t able to return to my job,” she said. “I was looking for a way to make money and take advantage of my creativity.”
At first, she started working with vinyl to produce things such as car decals or other stickers you might see on windows and doors. After deciding that really wasn’t her preferred medium, she switched to clothing vinyl, an alternative to screen printing that allowed her to design shirts and tank tops with customized artwork or company logos.
Her website now includes pillows, aprons and onesies for infants.
When COVID-19 hit, customers started asking for masks, so she dug a vintage sewing machine out of the garage and taught herself how to make the face coverings. In less than two weeks, enough orders came in to finance a brand new sewing machine.
“Something’s working,” she thought.
Months earlier, when she first met her mentor — entrepreneur, author and speaker David Meltzer — he told her to put her plans on pause. You need to get healthy first, he told her.
At that time, Ms. Hewitt had recently had learned arthritis had moved into her spine, and she was working to keep her muscles strong so she didn’t have to use a wheelchair. She had come off a medication that she had hoped would help, but it led to more debilitating side effects.
She said she was feeling healthier than she had been, but she knew Mr. Meltzer wasright. “Had I tried to start all these things that I wanted to and not focused on my health at that point, I would have gone back to another cycleof poor health again.”
Fast forward to November 2020, when he was pushing her to pitch her business to possible investors, something she didn’t think she was ready for. She said she didn’t want to disappoint anyone who put money on her success.
He was right again.
From ‘surviving’ to ‘thriving’
In December, Ms. Hewitt competed on “2 Minute Drill,” a pitch competition on Bloomberg TV where entrepreneurs have just 120 seconds to get the judges to buy into their idea. On the day her episode was set to film, a massive snowstorm knocked out the power and the Wi-Fi — up until five minutes before she was supposed to go on camera.
Among thousands of applicants, she won — $5,000 plus prizes.
“I felt Bonnie was at least ready to try out, and not only did she try, but she was a finalist and got on the show and won,” Mr. Meltzer said. “And it’s one of my biggest success stories.”
“She has the desire that she must be what she can be,” he said of her entrepreneurial drive and creativity.
Along with the publicity and funding, Ms. Hewitt secured access to tools to help grow her business, such as a digital marketing company that will help drive more web traffic to her online stores. The prize money allowed her to sign up for a business course she had been wanting to take but couldn’t afford.
Now, she’s focusing on things like how to make a business plan and how to reach new customers. In April, she’s planning to embark on “a cold-calling journey” to connect with local businesses that may be interested in some of the apparel she offers. She’s working to avoid what Mr. Meltzer calls the “dummy tax,” or the common mistakes people make when they’re starting out as entrepreneurs but can avoid if they have guidance from people who have been through it.
Ms. Hewitt also bought an embroidery machine and invested in other new equipment to expand what she can offer. Per the suggestion of one potential customer, she’s looking at expanding her apparel line to more “professional” attire — think polos and button-downs rather thanT-shirts and hoodies.
It took Ms. Hewitt 9½ years to shift from “surviving” to “thriving,” she says, and now she wants to help other people feel empowered to do the same. In addition to growing an upcycling business that incorporates a voucher program for kids in need to shop for free, she wants to create an anti-bullying program and a campaign to help people overcome chronic illness.
“All I’ve ever really wanted to do with any of this is just inspire other people,” she said.
“I know when you go through something traumatic or you’re given what feels like a death sentence … it leaves a lot of people feeling they are not going to get better,” she said. “But I really feel like you’ve got to find a way to keep building your life.”
Now 9½ years since her diagnosis, she has a new thought: “How much more can I accomplish in the next nine years?”