Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Hull.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Woman Turns Bad Luck into New Business
After working nearly 4 years for a local insurance company, native Atlantan, Patrice Hull was laid off, rehired, and then fired 4 days before Xmas (2010). Within two months, the unemployed grief stricken Atlanta woman was faced with a mountain of debt as the roommate vacated unexpectedly. Patrice, who suffers from Anxiety found herself keeping a log of things she wanted to say, but felt it could be deemed inappropriate at times. “I felt helpless, my life had been turned upside down and people still wanted me to smile and be happy. So I started writing. Often times it was not very PC.” The Atlanta woman had an idea. T-shirts! Not just any t-shirts, t-shirts with quotes of things people really wanted to say. “I was certain in this economy that more people felt the same type of pain. So I made a few shocking t-shirts and wore them proudly”
Today, “Stuff We Wanna Say” Custom T-shirts has expanded tremendously from its humble beginnings. Now the focus is on manufacturing company swag, including their very own “Created To Be Noticed” line of bags.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My biggest challenge is keeping the lights on while enjoying what I do at all times. I never wanted my business to feel like just another job or a means to pay bills.
When people ask what I do for work, I tell them, “I don’t work”. I spend time with my friends and they give me money to wear cool stuff like bags, T-shirts, and more.
I learned the art of pivoting long before pandemic change the world as we know it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I for the last 13 years, I’ve been known as the Tshirt lady, the Bag lady, and sometimes even security in the neighborhood. . But before all of that, like many others, I took the traditional route, obtaining my undergrad and masters. Working for corporate America and small independent companies. But none of them made me feel whole.
I used to say the toughest thing about owning a small business was obtaining working capital.
But the truth was, I never wanted my business to feel like a job. I wanted to feel like I was making a difference and I wanted to make people feel special whenever they entered my store and even more so when they leave.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Now that I look back on it, I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit. Starting when I was five years old, pretending that I was selling peanut butter crackers to a neighbor. When I entered high school I started selling candy and refreshments to other students. That’s how I bought my first car at the age 16 (I didn’t have license or insurance so unfortunately, I couldn’t drive – but it was still an amazing feeling).
Contact Info:
- Website: Stuffwewannasay.com
- Instagram: Stuffwewannasay
- Facebook: Stuffwewannasay
- Linkedin: Patrice Hull
- Twitter: Stuffwewannasay
- Youtube: Stuffwewannasay
Image Credits
Patrice Hull Each of the images were taken by me
