Meet Abbigail Ackerman

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abbigail Ackerman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Abbigail with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I get my work ethic from the women in my life, primarily my mom and grandma. They were instrumental in cementing how important time management is when it comes to anything you set your mind to. My grandma was an office manager for the Catholic school I attended as a child. Every summer, I was there at 8 am helping her prepare for the year ahead and get the teachers’ classrooms together. My mom was a Senior operations manager for a large call center. She instilled the mindset “if you’re on time, you’re late,” which has not only prepared me for the great big world, but has made me a more well-rounded adult in the business setting.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a 27-year-old with her Bachelor’s degree in Forensic Anthropology and an entrepreneur, I tend to get a lot of questions about what I do for work. I am entering my sixth year running my own business completely solo. I founded So Sweet! Apparel & Necessities to shine light on a few Greek organizations that don’t have much representation from vendors. This business was created during the pandemic. I was freshly graduated and couldn’t do much in my field due to the ongoing pandemic. As a first-generation student and a Greek member, I didn’t have much paraphernalia for my organization – all my finances went to paying for school. Noticing I wasn’t the only one who wanted nice apparel and trinkets without breaking my bank, I created So Sweet.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would have to say the most important skills that impacted me specifically were time management, discernment, and determination. It sounds obvious, but if you don’t have a good plan for your goals, this whole system can fail. I love physical calendars and notebooks – I’m very old-fashioned that way. Write everything down, any ideas you have, grab a sticky note or scrap paper, and jot it down! I have hundreds of ideas written down that I come back to often and see if they work in the moment or if they need to be tabled for a later date. Discernment is so important right now with AI and rampant scams online. It’s important to know what is going to be damaging or beneficial to your business and yourself – you are attached to whatever you do in life, so make sure it’s worth doing. Always vet companies or places you want to partner with before you do anything. Finally, your determination will make or break your whole plan. There’s nobody else on this earth who thinks the way you do; you don’t have to fake it until you make it. Be authentically yourself, and your customers/people will find you.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed in this industry. Anytime I get overwhelmed, I go outside and sit on my porch for a good hour without my phone. Completely disconnecting and hearing the birds, the rain, or the neighborhood noises really helps my mind “log off” from everything. I think in a society that heavily relies on instant access to everyone, it’s easy to feel more overwhelmed than usual. You’d be surprised how much quieter your brain is when you just sit outside, doing nothing but listening. If I can’t get outside, I call my sister and we talk for hours – she’s been like a reset button for my brain since we were little. It’s really important to have someone you can just brain dump with when business becomes a lot. Especially someone who isn’t involved at all, an unbiased perspective is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sosweetapparel.com
• Instagram: @sosweet_apparel