Entrepreneur. Problem solver.

I paid off my student loans, and people started asking how

I paid off over $50k in student loans before my 25th birthday, while working part-time, low-paying nonprofit jobs.

It felt like such a massive accomplishment and took so much work and discipline, and many people started asking my husband and me how we did it. So we started one of my earliest entrepreneurial ventures, a budgeting blog and course.

In many ways, that experience was the catalyst for everything I’ve accomplished since. I realized that I can do anything I put my mind to. It felt like an insurmountable hill to climb, and we did it, against all odds. It gave me the blind naivete I needed to ultimately become a full-time entrepreneur.

I also learned that I love sharing what I have done and learned with others, so they can live into their own full potential, too.

I quit the day job

I was working full-time coordinating volunteer opportunities for college students at my alma mater, Grand Valley State University. My husband was a solopreneur looking to grow his business.

I figured I could take a crack at it. I quit my day job, enrolled in an MBA program, started a graduate assistantship, and joined Avalanche Creative.

I was in my twenties with no connections, no capital, no experience, and no business running a business. In fact, both Lance and I had backgrounds in the nonprofit/public sector work, and neither of us had ever worked in a business before starting one.

What we did have was a relentless commitment to our goals and “I’ll figure it out” attitudes.

10 years of mistakes and 10x the revenue

I’ve made a lot of mistakes and learned everything the hard way, but over the next five years, our company’s revenue grew by 10x.

In 2025, Avalanche Creative was named one of Michigan’s 50 Companies to Watch, and I was chosen as an honoree for Crain’s Grand Rapids’ 40 Under 40.

What’s my secret? Systems and processes, baby! I have a knack for connecting the dots between A and Z.