Four businesses, 20 years, and a passion for turning ideas into reality.

I created a soap company that sold in over 10K stores, opened two trendy gift boutiques, and created a live music lounge that became a community favorite. In my almost two decades of being an entrepreneur, I’ve also built a successful business during a recession, had to close doors because of economy, and survived being a retailer through COVID. Each venture taught me resilience, creativity, and the power of reinvention.

Now, I’m channeling those lessons into new projects:

Unfinished Business: The Art of Reinvention – A multi-volume book series on business, creativity, curation and reinvention.
Unfinished Business Podcast – Real lessons, candid insights, and chapter reveals from the book series.
Side Notes – A weekly journal of business, humor, and behind-the-scenes stories.

I’ve built, pivoted, and reinvented—and I’m excited to share the next adventure together.

Current Projects

  • A weekly journal inspired by Unfinished Business—of business lessons, behind the scenes humor, and the never-ending art of reinvention. Expanding on book chapters, current projects, and fresh insights about the ever-evolving journey of success. Available to read now.

  • Podcast featuring bold conversations on business, reinvention, and real-life lessons—plus excerpts from the Unfinished Business book series. Tune in for insights, humor, and hard-won wisdom from 20 years of entrepreneurship. Release date 2025

  • A standalone book series built from 20 years of business, entrepreneurial life and lessons learned. Each volume offers insightful reads that blend humor, strategy, and real-world wisdom—whether it’s mastering reinvention or curating ambiance to create the perfect guest experience.

    Release date 2026

Portfolio

  • The Salty Jester Performance Lounge was a distinguished listening room characterized by its speakeasy ambiance and eclectic atmosphere. It provided patrons with an intimate experience featuring high-caliber performances from both nationally recognized and local artists every weekend. The venue quickly gained a reputation among musicians, leading to a waitlist for artists aspiring to perform on its stage.

  • A unique boutique that specialized in unique, trending, eclectic gifts and featured a 20-foot gourmet confection counter. Creating an engaging shopping experience as the first of its kind in the area, we focused on offering purposeful, fun way to gift.

  • Located in Grand Rapids, MN this sister store to Swanky Gifts on Rainy, provided the same distinctive shopping experience and curated selection that made it a great addition to the community.

  • Swanky Sweet Pea was founded with just $80 and a strong resolve after missing out on a job opportunity. Over a span of 12 years, the business expanded from a garage operation to a network of over 10,000 retailers. At a peak, the company had a staff of 18. Swanky Sweet Pea also specialized in customizing private label bath bombs and soaps for various clients, including the top six gift sets on Amazon and other prestigious accounts. We engaged with community leaders, discussing small business challenges in rural Minnesota, and actively participated in seminars and summits, earning recognition with the MN 2013 Labovitz Micro-Entrepreneur Award. The business was sold to a larger Texas-based company looking to grow its presence in the bath and body market. Swanky Sweet Pea has since been resold and continues to thrive.