Q: What inspired you to start this business? 

A: For Caitlyn’s Case, it started off with my dad sending me a little TikTok about how some girl designed stuff and she sold it. So I kind of built that off of my dad’s inspo and what he sent me.

Q: Okay, when was this? 

A: This was June two years ago. 

Q: Is it just you that runs his business or do you have people helping you?

A:  Just me. I have a manufacturer that does all of the creating stuff. So I will design it and I’ll send it to my manufacturer. My manufacturer will send it back to me, and then I’ll ship it out. But here and there it does get exhausting because I do play a sport. I also work outside of school andI have my photography business as well. And then on top of it, I have school and friends to balance. But once I find a balance between all my stuff, it’s kind of just life. 

Q: Are most of your orders you get from people, are they from people you know, or, internationally? 

A: I’ve had a couple from different states around here, and most of them do come from the school or this area. Some of them are my friends, and then I have an ambassador program where I have a couple college students that are ambassadors for me, so I’m able to get people from San Diego or Los Angeles. 

Q: On average, how many cases do you sell in a week?

A: Around one or two. I don’t get many. It’s not my main focus.

Q: What are the steps to make a phone case and how long does it usually take? 

A: I’ll start off with finding inspiration. I’ll go on to Pinterest. I’ll create a mood board and I’ll figure out the vibe that I want for the case or the next collection that I’m doing. And then I’ll start designing, and I’ll do that in Photoshop, Illustrator, or Canva. And then I’ll upload all of my stuff onto the website my manufacturer has and design each of the phone cases. I’ll send that in. And it takes about, week or two for them to get back to me with it. And then from there on, I’ll ship it out. 

Q: What was your biggest order and from whom? 

A: My biggest order was probably two cases. It was from my most recent collection, which I had just had a fall collection drop. And that was from one of my ambassadors as well. 

Q: You mentioned you play sports, what do you play and do they clash with your business? 

A: I play basketball. I wouldn’t say it clashes with it because I’m able to just do my phone cases outside, on my own time. But again, still finding that balance [is hard]. 

Q: How are you able to balance your schoolwork, extracurriculars and running the business?

A: Planning for sure. I have my own planner, having a calendar and time management is a huge thing, learning how to do stuff during school with planning ahead. 

Q: How do you feel about your business? 

A: It’s fun. Something on the side to do. Nothing too crazy.

Q: Are you planning on establishing something else?

A: I’m not planning to establish something else. I’m definitely just going to keep it with cases. It’s kind of just like a little side hustle or side gig that I have, just to bring in extra money throughout the month.

Q: And what platforms do you sell your products on? 

A: Right now, it’s just . I want to create a website, but that also comes with costs. 

Q:What’s your way of promoting piece products? 

A: Social media, mainly Instagram. I just started TikTok. And then my ambassador program to help spread my name around. 

Q: Do you offer any additional services? And if so, what is it? 

A: I do not. Just cases, just some cases. 

Q: How long did it take you from when you started to get to where you are? 

A: It probably took around a year or so to get it running and getting to know people with my ambassador program. It was  a huge help, getting my name out there was hard, since we literally live in Rocklin and I don’t have a lot of outreach for all of that. 

Q: How much do you charge per case? 

A: For right now, it’s $39 each, and then I cover shipping…

by JAPIEN BANGER, BRINLEY COLEMAN, KELSEY KUO & OLIVIA PHOMMARATH