A common experience for many of us is scrolling through a social media platform, watching everything from cooking videos to influencers unpackaging PR packages. Among these videos, you may have come across some small businesses selling dainty, adorable crafts that would be perfect as a gift or accessory for your bag. One of these former small business owners is junior DeAnna Torres, who made trinkets, such as keychains and phone charms, for social media, and now vlogs.
Torres’s hobby stems from two of her greatest passions: gift-giving and art. “My hobby started in 2022, [and] to this day, I still love gift giving. I’ve always loved making art for those I care about, and I know it’s more meaningful when it’s personalized for that person. Ever since, I always make something for the people I care about.”
Her exploration of art brought her to launch her small business in 2023. She says, “I started posting behind-the-scenes content on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram in order to help promote my small business.” When she first began filming herself, Torres says, “I started off very shy, and I still am to this day, but I got inspired by so many other creators and realized that I could create a more relatable and comforting community.”
Vlogging her daily life has helped Torres “create a community online.” Another reason why she loves to vlog is because it serves as her “digital diary.” She explains, “Being able to document my daily life, I am able to reflect and look back on what my life was like and see how differently my life is like right now to how it was before.” Torres connects her experience as a solopreneur to her growth as an artist as well: “If it weren’t for my small business, I would’ve never had the art skills that I have right now in order to create.”
However, with the dedication she puts into her art, Torres faces challenges in regards to her “perfectionist side.” She explains, “Especially since I know that I care about them, it’s just something that I always encounter every time I make a gift for that person.” She adds, “I faced major burn out when it came to my business and content creation. At the start, I started making stickers and bracelets because that’s what everyone was doing. Eventually, I started to hate doing art, because I felt that the only way I could enjoy it is if everyone else liked it.” As a result, Torres stopped pursuing her small business altogether.
“During this break period, I started to watch a ton of creators, and I started to create art and content [again], not for my business but for myself.” Looking back at the beginning of her small business, she says, “It took me a long time for me to be happy and proud of myself because I was scared to know how people perceive[d] me. But in the end, I learned how to not be scared, because not everyone will support you, regardless of how much you try, and the only person whose opinion really matters is yourself.”
