[contributions from Z Beatty & T Gellenbeck]

Andrea Archibald is the co-owner & founder of Simply Vague and many other projects locally in Columbus, along with an SV shop in Dayton.  She has been extremely involved in our business classroom, attending various classes as a guest speaker and even serving as a judge during our ‘Entrepreneurship Contest,’ run similarly to the hit series, Shark Tank.  She was also nominated as our OOHS DECA Entrepreneur of the Year in early 2016.

Here are some of the businesses, projects & passions of Andrea Loves Local (as of this posting)…

Skills utilized…

Successful entrepreneurs use a wide variety of skills and personal traits to make their business efforts come to fruition.  Below are some skills Andrea used to start and grow her businesses.

1. Creativity
2. Networking or ‘People’ skills ~ being outgoing & comfortable with sales
3. Confidence to try new things and not be afraid to take risks

Challenges…

Andrea, like any entrepreneur, has faced challenges along the way.

1. “Unproven” Business Model, had to figure things out along the way.
2.  Very busy, so much to do and so many places to be!  Finding the ability to multitask has proven helpful.  Also hires help (employees, family, interns) as needed.

Business Plan…

This concept was very hard to get going. There were other companies that had the same idea, just different ways of doing business. The starting of each individual store was complicated, each store had a manager that had to contact the customers.

We know we will continue to see her succeed, promoting all things local in and around Ohio.