Hello and welcome back to another episode of Startup Standouts. I am here today joined by Kinsley Readwin, who is one of our youth entrepreneurs who does some of our kids markets out of, you're in Pennsylvania. What town in Pennsylvania are you in, Kinsley? I'm actually in New Jersey. Oh, you're in New Jersey. Oh, thank you. So do you, but you do Pennsylvania markets sometimes, right? Philadelphia. Philadelphia markets. Perfect. Okay. Pennsylvania is about two hours away from us. Okay. gotcha those ones that makes sense yeah you're about nine years old right and you've been doing the markets for two years can you tell me a little bit about what your business is so i do um build your own bouquet so you would come in if you see me you come in and then you can pick which flowers you want and then i'll cut them up and get into you i also do homemade sugar scrubs and homemade simmer pots. That's awesome. How did you get all those three items together? Well, I have really sensitive skin and I really can't wear anything. So I have to like decide what I wanted to do that would make me break out the least. And the type of sugar scrub that I do can help you without actually like irritating your skin or anything. My simmer pots, me and my mom are allergic to candles so we actually can't have too many candles in the house or me and her will both break out so I made those because I got really interested in them after my mom made it once because our house does not smell good and we couldn't use candles because we have two dogs and flowers have always been a really passionate gardener so I've always wanted to because I know a lot of people that like they're always like I love flowers but I always kill them so I really want to make something one day that's like how to take care of flowers and this is kind of like the first step oh that's awesome so that might be like a future product like a booklet or a course or something of like how to take care of your flower that's very cool i love to hear that and outside of your business what do you what do you do for fun what are some of your hobbies well i really like crocheting like most girls right now uh i learned how to sew and i'm sewing a tote bag right now that's one of my favorite things and even though it's a part of my business I still love gardening like I just I can't stop doing it even when um like not in season I built an ecosystem for school and I'm I really like going to like animal shelters and like volunteering and see them in the ghost shadow of it for a little bit so that's gonna be cool that's awesome that is so cool i am someone i want to learn how to crochet and sew but i have not had time so you're learning things that i want to learn so i'm a little bit jealous um so you're one of our 2025 scholarship winners correct yes so can you tell us um how much did you win and what have you done we only we only give them out last september we're recording this in January. So it's only been a few months, but I know you've already put some of that money to good use in your business. So can you tell us a little bit about that? Yes. So how much I got, it's actually the highest one you can do, which I'm really proud of. I got $1,000, which is very exciting because I'm only two years into my business. So very happy. I've already spent it on a couple of things. I still have about, I don't know, like $200, $300 left. So like I got my own debit card, which was really cool. So then I can use a debit card. I got a cash box because I really needed a new one. Oh, I got planter boxes so that I can grow way more plants in the summer. I got fertilizer because a lot of my plants have, like most of my plants are really healthy. They just need a little extra boost. So fertilizer was good. and I think I still have a couple things like I got a table and I got a couple other things like little things that like decoration or stuff that's for like extra marketing stuff for your booth yeah that awesome I love that so do you grow all your own flowers I do I will say I do go to the produce junction in like the winter February times where my plants are having a little hard time But most of my plants are actually adults so they don't need as much help as like new growth. I am growing milkweed right now even though we have 14 inches of snow and two inches at our house right now. but they're little milkweed sprouts that and then I also got a big box of seeds and I'm starting my onions about this month oh wow so you really have do you have a green thumb then oh I love that that's awesome so walk me through when you have your booth I've seen some pictures of your booth walk me through your setup because I'm really interested about this build your own bouquet because I think that's such a cool idea. Walk me through like when a customer comes up, what that kind of process of getting them to look at your flowers, maybe walking, do you help them out like picking their flowers or do they come through and they pick their own flowers and then you just tie them up at the end? Like walk me through like what someone might, yeah. So I actually have three options of what you can do. Actually, maybe four. So when you walk in, immediately there's a big sign underneath on this table that says Build Your Unbuke. Because I really wanted, I feel like most people were like, oh, what pretty decoration you have. And I was like, actually, you can buy those. And they were like, and they didn't really understand. So I got Build Your Unbuke. And me and my grandmother made this really pretty stand. It's nice and purple. And it has a vintage violet sign hanging on it. And my flowers are in it. so if you come in you can either say I have 15 please pick out um like these flowers that could fit for 15 you could also do you build it and then I'll hold it for you so like you build it I have vintage vases too so I'll put it in a vintage vase for a little bit and then let you come and get it and then most of the time people come in they're like so how do I do the build George K. So I tell them, you walk over, you pick which flowers you want, depending on what flower and how big or little it is, is how much it's going to go. So we have a $2, $3, $4, and $5. $5 are like my wild, like really pretty, like hydrangeas and lilies. My $4 are like some of my lesser pretty lilies um and maybe like um other things like carnations or stuff and then like my two dollars like the like baby's breath and stuff like that filler and once they pick it out they come over i'll count their price for them i'll write it down then i get the stem i get the bottom and I cut it at an angle because that helps the plant get more like food. And then most of the time I'll get a rubber band, put it at the end, and I have really pretty flower holders that I shove them down in. And then I just tell you the price. And then that's normally it. That's awesome. And I just realized as you were talking, I never introduced your business name. I'm so sorry. You're the CEO of the Vintage Violet. Did you get that name because of the vintage vases? so yeah and violets are one of my favorite um flowers like they're just so pretty and I've always loved like lilac purple which is what most of them look like and one day I was like I don't I so I actually rebranded to the vintage violet I used to be um a different business name and I really did it didn't feel like it fit me so I decided to rebrand and honestly people love it way more and I'm really happy about it so you've noticed like customers getting more excited about about this name okay that's what was your name before um God's Little Miracles okay very nice so what are you you've been coming for two years it sounds like I love everything you shared this such a great story what would you say are your favorite parts about going to the markets making those sales what what do you love the most about market day it's really fun um selling something to someone and like one time i got this guy who came in he was like so i don know what flower i don really know how to make flowers or how to like put flowers together that will look nice and he be like he said to me he like I want you I have $15 I want you to pick out these flowers for my sister it's her birthday and it was so cool because I got to pick out the flowers and give it to him and then he gave it to sister for her birthday and it was so sweet and I love seeing how people buy my stuff and then like I love seeing them talk about it because I feel like sometimes you're always like I feel like they bought it because they just wanted to buy something from everybody but it's really fun watching these people actually talk about you and then um I have an Instagram and I'm at 95 followers and about half of them are people that I actually don't know from like a previous market that's so cool so you actually you have your little like QR code for your Instagram and people are following you from the markets yeah that's so cool and I love that you get to kind of be a part of um these people's like special days a little bit you get to like help make someone else's day a little bit brighter with with these okays whether it's their birthday or another reason That's so awesome. Do you remember making like your very first sale and what that felt like? Yeah, so it was at a market, my first ever market, very rainy. It was really not a good day. It was rainy and windy. And I actually came with a friend, so it wasn't like my personal market. And we mostly were selling a bunch of random items. Like we were selling paintings and we were selling flowers, I think. I can't fully remember. I actually don't think we were. And we were selling vases and we were selling those rainbow loom bracelets. And I remember this person came up. They were like, these paintings are really beautiful. And they took one down. They were like, I'll take this. And then, like, they gave us the money. We gave them some change packs. And then, like, after they left, we freaked out. We were like, oh, my gosh, this is just, like, the best day ever. it was so it just makes you feel like so special just like doing that I mean I know a lot of people do like lemonade stands so it's something about it's hard to like explain this it's something about how like the interaction was and like that he bought something that wasn't lemonade and cookies or hot chocolate and cookies yeah he bought something that you made with your hands yeah that's so cool would you say that that was the point where like you're like oh my gosh like I can I can actually do this or was there another moment that you remember that kind of gave you that extra confidence so I remember one time I wasn't doing the best for you already in like two hours since the market and I made a single sale. I was like, and it was like my third market. I was like, Mom, I don't know if I can do this. I kind of want to leave. I haven't made anything. And then in one moment, it was like I remembered the first time. And I was like, you know, I shouldn't quit just because I haven't made one sale. because I've always dealt with a lot of, like, stress. So anytime, like, in really tense moments, I get really stressed. And I looked to another girl there beside me, and she was doing really good. And I realized I'm actually very shy when it comes to knowing new people. It's like when I talk to her, I'd be like, yeah, so we have. and I realized like she was being bold and like happy. And then so I was like, you know what? I'm going to put a smile on my face, wipe these tears out of my eyes and I'm just going to keep doing it. And I kept doing it and I made about $130 that day. That's awesome. And it really showed me that even when you feel like you're not going to get anywhere and you're not going to do it, you really can. And that was like one of the first moments where I was like, I can do this. I can really do this. That's awesome. I love that story. So you touched on a couple different challenges that you've had dealing with what you were just talking about where you realized that you were shy and you took steps to get out of your comfort zone and start talking to people But then you also touched on some tough weather at your very first market So how do you handle those tough weather situations? So sometimes when the weather is like partly sunny, partly grainy, it's kind of nice because most of the time it keeps like bugs away from my flowers. because my flowers are big bug attractors. So it's like they're wasps and flies flying all around me and I hate it. So when it's rainy, it's kind of nice. But also like then like the wind starts blowing and that's when it gets a little hard because my summer pots, they're really light and little. Like they're about this big and they're really light. So sometimes I'll be like checking the flowers, getting bugs off of them, and then the wind will blow. And then like five of my summer pots will just go flying like I don't see it my mom's like running after them like Kensley your your your simmer pots are running and I'm like oh my gosh so then I have to go then my business cards end up flying away I have these stands for my QR code for my um Instagram and sometimes that thing would just go bonk so sometimes it's hard but when I did paintings it was a lot harder because we were hanging them up on my thing So like anytime it would rain, all the paintings would get soggy and wet and the color would drip and it would be terrible. But now with flowers, it's actually kind of nice because I put them out there and then they get rained on and they get some nice fresh water, which I do put water in them, but it helps them. So it's kind of hard, but also kind of nice at the same time. That's good. It's nice that you have a business that can actually almost benefit from a little bit of bad weather. The wind obviously sounds really hard, but the rain, you can kind of make it work. So that's actually really nice. Well, I could keep talking to you forever, but we have to wrap up now. What would you say is if someone else was listening to this, a kid was listening to this, and they wanted to get started with Kids Market, but they didn't know what to do or they were nervous or anything like that, what's one thing that you would tell someone else who was thinking about getting started? it's gonna be hard and there are gonna be really really big challenges that seem too big to face but as long as you just keep pushing and try your absolute artist you're gonna make it i was really inspired by one story this um this boy he sells honey and he was like one time like he didn't have enough money to like get the honey and like actually get the ingredients to make it or like his family was going to like lose his beef farm. And then he started working a bunch and he was able to help his family pay for his beef farm. And now he's literally in storefront. So it is going to be, again, it's going to be hard. And as long as you know that you can do it, you just got to face it and you'll get over it. I've been sometimes where I don't even have like enough money to pay for my stuff at the time. I was like, well, I can't do that. But you know what? I went to the next market and I made like $250, right enough to pay for my next stuff. Then I made like $300, right enough to pay for my next stuff. So as long as you just keep trying your best, you're going to make it. That's awesome. Thank you so much. And where can we look for you? If someone's listening to this and they're like, I really want to buy a sugar scrub, a simmer pot, a bouquet. I'm sure you don't sell your bouquets online, but where can people find you? So you can go on Instagram and type in kens.thevintageviolet and my name should pop up. And it's Kenz with a Z, right? Yes, Kenz, K-E-N-Z. My name is spelled K-E-N-Z-L-E-I-G-H, so it's a little hard. So you can go there. And soon I'm actually getting my own website. And I actually do sell my flowers in New Jersey and Philadelphia if you want it. And I'm doing a Valentine special. If anybody in Philadelphia or New Jersey, if you want to get it, $25, you get a handcrafted bouquet and a sugar scrub. So my Instagram and soon a website will pop up. Okay, that's awesome. Well, thank you so much, Kinsley. This has been a pleasure talking with you. Thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in, and we will see you all in the next one.
