For many years I didn't know what my dream was in life. I tried many, many things from the idea of being a mortician, fire rescue EMT, running a professional bakery, to finally taking over the family business. Well, as we all know, plans never seem to go the way we imagined. This is where I found my life's motto "Aim for the stars, but be satisfied when you land in the clouds". Just as I was wrapping up my business degree at the local college my parents' business went under! At the same time I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. Life seemed to have a different plan for me. My husband and I decided that I should go full-steam ahead on my business degree and try to finish before the baby arrived. I graduated with a Bachelors Degree 5 days after my daughter was born. Talk about stressful!

As time went on, I started to job hunt for a place I could start my career in business, but nothing seemed to click. At the same time, I couldn't fathom the thought of leaving my baby daughter for the majority of my day. We decided that I would stay home with her and raise her to be the lovely young lady we strive for her to be. After two years of being a stay-at-home mom, we decided that it was time for her to start getting socialized with other kids her age and for me to start getting back into the work force (if only part-time for the both of us). However, life had a different plan yet again! Introducing Covid-19.

Around the time Covid was getting more intense, I had my business idea for Personal Expressions. I had always loved to make things. It was my ultimate pastime! So why not make it my part-time job making things for others to enjoy? I was gearing up for the launch of my small business and planned to launch April 1, 2020 but as many of you might remember this is when the lock down started. So I thought I would delay the start for a month or so.

My mom called me up one day and said "Hey, everyone needs masks, make masks", and I thought, "Well, why not? I can make some masks." Little did I know that THIS was the launch of my business! It started with one post on Facebook on a local St Pete Page ('I love ST Pete', if you are not a follower of this page already and are local, FOLLOW IT), and the next morning I woke up to 45 new messages from people I didn't know all asking for masks! So I got to work! In 2 months time, I had made just over 1,000 masks! My name was out there, my business page was live and I started making other items. Just like that, I closed out my first quarter with more orders than I had ever dreamed I would get in my first year.

Without people like you I couldn't have this dream, I couldn't be home with my daughter while also fulfilling my desire to raise her to be smart, kind, patient, and showing her how to make her own way in leading by example.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You!
-Karalyn Peterson
Founder and Operator of Personal Expressions