My first real creative endeavor began like most delusional beginners thinking they’ll “make it” overnight: I started a clothing brand.
I checked all the boxes:
a logo slapped on the front left chest & back of a blank tee
a low MOQ supplier
a strong (but overcomplicated) brand message
I was ready for MASSIVE SUCCESS!
And the funny part?
It actually worked….at first.
I launched a 48-hour preorder.
Two days later, my Shopify read $6,000. GREEEEENNN!!!
Highly motivated and eager I built out another drop.
Collection #2: another preorder, another $8k. GREEEEEEEEENNNN!!!!!!
“Is it really this easy??”
With my ego (and ignorance) at an all-time high, I placed my biggest inventory order yet. Because I was REAL brand now! No more pre-orders!
And unfortunately, that’s when the fun stopped.
The third collection flopped. My “cash” disguised in the form of sweatsuits collecting dust on my shelfs.
My momentum was gone. Truth is, it wasn’t even really momentum at all. It was just my hometown community being kind and supportive of my new thing I started.
My rookie mistake was thinking that would last forever. It didn’t.
Sales slowed. Desperate to hear that Shopify cha-ching…I tried golf hats, basketball shorts, streetwear.. just throwing shots in the dark.
No clarity, no plan. Burned out.
So, I started over.
After pushing all my chips to the center, on a complete bluff, I was back to square one.
I picked up a serving job at a sushi restaurant to make rent.
My days were spent teaching myself Illustrator and DM’ing people for design work. My nights were memorizing roll orders and refilling soy sauce bottles.
It wasn’t glamorous. Most nights I felt stuck. Like I was going backwards.
But in reality...it was my foundation. Every hour learning, every message sent, every shift endured… it was compounding.
And eventually, I landed my first real retainer client: designing apparel and accessories for a supplement brand.
I WAS SO BACK!!!
10 months later, with a stronger portfolio and sharpened skills, I packaged it all up and from the fruits of my labor, Orange Tree Studios was born.
Fast forward to today, I work full-time as a designer at a golf company, still building and servicing OTS clients on the nights and weekends.
I’m busy. And I love it. I used to dream of being paid for my creative ideas.
I owe it all to my failed brand, my side jobs, and a relentless, delusional confidence.
Because creative careers don’t move in straight lines. They zig, zag, stall, and restart.
What feels like wasted time (your day job, your failed project, your slow progress), is often the exact soil your future is growing in. 🌳
So if you’re in that season now… working nights, learning on the side, wondering if it’ll ever click, remember this:
Success isn’t a ladder. It’s roots, growing underground, before anyone ever sees the tree.
🍊 JUICE FOR YOU TO TAKE HOME:
Early wins don’t equate to long term momentum.
Your “in-between” seasons matter.
What feels invisible today is just your roots taking hold. Keep watering the soil.