Emma Claire Thompson is a sophomore at our high school. Many people that know her also know that she has a small business. She owns The Etc Shop, where she customizes almost anything you could think of. She started The Etc Shop almost 5 years ago when she first got a Silhouette, a machine that she uses. She says, “The more I made shirts for people, the more I began to fall in love with it. I love working with people and making their visions come to life.” Over the past 2 years, her business has tripled. While this is exciting, it also has its struggles. Juggling schools and work can be challenging sometimes. Luckily, we have enough free time at school that she can study, and she can have the entire afternoon to work. Her busiest month out of the year is November. Right after Halloween, she has to post all of her Christmas designs. Emma says, “The Christmas rush is a fun but very stressful time.” After high school, Emma wants to go to college and major in business or marketing. She says she wants to continue working on her business through college, but she knows it might be too time consuming to juggle with college. If she continues her business after college, she hopes to own a children’s boutique with embroidery available in store. Even if she doesn’t get an actual storefront, she still wants to try to run her business out of her own home. You can visit her Instagram at @the_etc.shop or her website, theetcshop.squarespace.com.
