From Educator to Entrepreneur: A Story of Success. By Melissa Hutchison

Hi Homies! I’m Melissa Hutchison from Home Sweet Hutch (Retail & Wholesale). I’m excited, and nervous, to share my journey with you. I think mostly because we all have a story and honestly I enjoy hearing about others more than sharing my own but like many things in life, my response...why not?! At least that’s my G-rated response to writing this article. You wouldn't expect anything less from an educator, right? Wait, you’re probably thinking..an educator? That’s right... I'm a full-time educator by day, shaping young minds as a high school principal. But when the final bell rings, I transform into a small business owner and web, graphic, and marketing designer extraordinaire. When someone says, "I don’t know how you have time to do all of that," I take it as a compliment, even if I’m not sure they always mean it that way.
While my hope behind Home Sweet Hutch was to supplement my income—I mean, educators make next to nothing in the grand scheme of things, but let's not get started on that soapbox for now. The real drive behind it all stemmed from the struggle as a woman battling weight issues (thanks, PCOS) and confidence problems. Finding clothes that fit and were actually fashionable? Quite the challenge.
I've always had that entrepreneurial itch. As a kid, I'd slyly trade Lisa Frank stickers with classmates, and my mom often wondered how I managed to bring in cash. Once I got my paws on a computer, I started crafting address labels and selling those to my friends' parents for their Christmas cards. Thinking back on my little entrepreneur side hustle at such a young age makes me chuckle.
Fast forward to high school, where my love for computers and tech landed me a part-time gig as a self-taught web and graphic designer. Here’s an interesting detour..In college, I ignored my business style approach to life and thought medicine was my jam, but after dipping my toes into the medical field, I realized my heart wasn't in it. I ended up with a Bachelor's in Biology and gravitated to teaching. I have loved and still love working in education and while the journey from teacher to high school principal (15+ years in education) has been incredibly rewarding, it has also been taxing, both mentally and financially. While summers and holidays off sound dreamy, I found myself snagging another degree, this time in Web & Graphic Design, using it to hustle in freelance design. It helped the fam, but I soon found myself taking another detour... this time, toward becoming a principal. Pursuing my Master’s in Education Administration seemed like the natural next step, and for the past 11 years, that degree and my experience have been the backbone. I look back and realize that life was helping me marry my love of teaching and learning with my entrepreneurial spirit.

About a year ago, I had this eye-opening realization. My 14-year-old kiddo is about to hit high school, and that's an expensive time of life. While I have plans to keep climbing the school administrative ladder, I also realize that I am not in charge of His timeline. I’ve never been one to be patient and wait. I found myself sitting in a hospital lobby, waiting for my husband to come out of surgery, pondering my next step. I was at a crossroads, re-energized by a recent health reset that has resulted in nearly 75 pounds lost, a love for fashion, a need to supplement income, and a lightning bolt of inspiration: "Hey, why not start my own boutique?" Home Sweet Hutch was born from that lightbulb moment. A place where I could not only sell clothes that actually fit all sizes but also offer shoes, accessories, and home decor—the stuff that gave me a boost when my self-confidence was low.
The whole shebang—from brainstorming the name, snagging the domain, filing the LLC, and all that jazz—came together during my husband's lengthy surgery. I was bursting with excitement, chatting his ear off about my brainchild the moment he was wheeled out. Poor thing, just offer supportive mumbles the whole way home. A year later, Home Sweet Hutch isn't just rocking it on the retail side, but we have added Home Sweet Hutch Wholesale too. We not only provide beautiful, high quality, affordable products. We also get to share our journey, tricks, tips, and the dos and don'ts with other new and growing businesses. And guess where the “we” came from? My amazing mom has since hopped on board, and we're hoping this venture gives her a ticket to retirement soon.
I could write an entirely separate article about the tricks, tips, hints, dos and most definitely the don'ts part of the journey but for now we will save that for part two.
If I had to sum it up, here's what I'd say: Life's all about pivoting. Not the "Friends" kind, although there've been moments I've felt like I bought a sofa too big for the move, or in my case too much inventory, and ended up unsure which way to go. If you find yourself at a place in life unsure of your purpose or direction, think, reflect and don’t be afraid to take the leap and don’t make the jump alone. There’s a beautiful network of small business owners out there who are not only willing to share their experience, but who can help with the hustle too!