Alexa's Entrepreneurial Journey
Hey guys, Alexa Hallberg here!
First off I want to thank you for following the Emerge Entrepreneur Collective. Our goal here is to make this a welcome platform for all new and established entrepreneurs to come together, share their knowledge and grow no matter what stage in business you are in. Being your own boss is, in my opinion, one of the best things you can do for yourself. I know it is not for everyone but if you are looking to break the monotony of the 9 to 5, build something for yourself and have the freedom you want to do the things you want to do…this is the life for you. Now don’t get me wrong being your own boss is amazing but it is also hard as hell. The ups are just as drastic as the downs. Some days you will want to quit while other days you wish you would have done it sooner. Today I am going to share my own entrepreneurial journey and how I got to where I am today.
I am going to throw it back six years to 2015. I started my very first company Boudoir by Alexa. At first it was a side gig while I was in college for a little extra cash. When I graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2017 with a dual degree in Business and Psychology I went right to work for a local manufacturing company doing sales. I absolutely LOVED that job. Right before my 90 day mark they let me go out of the blue with no reason why. I was heartbroken because I loved the company and the people I worked with. However, looking back I realized that had I not gotten let go from that job then I would likely still be working there today. Losing that job was 100% pushed me into doing photography (boudoir specifically) full time.
Fast forward to 2018/2019 ish. I have been shooting boudoir for approximately four years now. I started to get invited to different conferences and events to speak on topics such as self love, body positivity and even women in entrepreneurship. In May 2019, I decided to open a lingerie boutique in downtown Bay City called Lex & Co. because my boudoir clients were having a hard time finding lingerie for their sessions. There was really no place in the Great Lakes Bay Region to fill that need. As a boudoir photographer I considered myself the “accidental lingerie expert” because over my years of being a boudoir photographer – I learned a thing or two about about it! So who best to tackle the industry but me? After a rough stint with COVID pushing the opening back – we were finally able to open in May 2020. Also, in the early parts of the COVID quarantine I decided to create my personal brand “Alexa Hallberg” for those that wanted to follow my entrepreneurial journey but not necessarily through half naked women!
Under the Alexa Hallberg brand I do one on one business mentoring, startup consulting and I share my day to day entrepreneur life and how I balance (and sometimes not) all the things. After a while, my Alexa Hallberg brand led me to creating the Emerge Entrepreneur Collective where I help all those new and emerging entrepreneurs take their passion and give them accessible resources they need to jump into the business world.
As you can see, I keep myself busy! I don’t think it is physically possible for me to sit still. Between my own business empire I am also a single mama to an amazing little kindergartner who is also active in school, soccer, dance, girl scouts in addition to the couple boards I sit on outside of my companies. My path to entrepreneurship has absolutely not been straight and narrow. It has been one that grew very organically over the years and I have chased every opportunity that has come my way. Always learning, always growing.