At the start of 2011, my husband Chris and I, like most working families, were working in corporate positions, and we were eagerly looking for a way to spend more time with each other and help repay our student loans.
I had been working in the insurance industry, which came with a bit of traveling. I quickly learned that building relationships in my community and supporting women to achieve their goals was my passion. Fast-forward to 2013, our son was born, and I was home on maternity leave with no income. With bills to pay, I started experimenting with online marketplaces selling various items to help make ends meet. This online community of friends quickly grew from a few hundred members to over 10,000 in a very short period. I quickly learned that I could combine my passion for relationships to help support women from all over the country to feel confident in their fashion choices.
With zero capital, together with Chris, we transitioned this passion project to an established website and business in 2014. Without funding or assurances of what was ahead, we took the risk and set ambitious goals. I focused on leveraging my sales and social media knowledge to grow our outreach while Chris incorporated his business strategy and finance expertise to structure our operations. We found ourselves alongside several recruited family members shipping hundreds of orders from our living room weekly!
Today educatingthewheelers has become one of the fastest-growing online retailers in America, bringing women an ever-changing assortment of apparel, footwear, and accessories. Our growth has been quick, but it hasn’t changed who we are. educatingthewheelers is still a family-owned and family-run business, proudly based in our hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since day one, we’ve focused on bringing fashion, positivity, and community to our customers. Our vision at educatingthewheelers is to be the brand that inspires women to achieve their best. Their daily engagement and input have shaped our curation while motivating us always to be a better partner in how we support our community.
At educatingthewheelers, we believe that all women are beautiful. We want to empower women by providing an affordable, fashion-forward lifestyle brand focused on integrity, teamwork, and respect for people. We are committed to representing and serving women of every shape, size, and color—today and always.
Fashion isn’t just fun; it should inspire confidence and help empower women to feel great. educatingthewheelers is the embodiment of the values we impart within our family and seek to share with our customers. We always strive to do better in everything we produce, our relationships, and the company culture.
We love hearing from our customers about what you love, what inspires you, what makes you feel confident, and more – you can always find us on Instagram @PinkLily
