Meet Carly Hodges

We were lucky to catch up with Carly Hodges recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carly, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.

In November 2023, I was laid off from my job in biotechnology after 21 years at my company. This was a shocking, devastating moment for me, and is still seared into my memory. It is still emotionally painful for me to discuss, as this was a company I felt was my home, a company I thought I would retire from, and called my home. For many of those years, I had enjoyed the culture and pace of an entrepreneurial, privately-held company and the work that came with it. It was in those early days that I started to say words about how I think I’d like to start my own business “someday”. In 2018, the company was acquired by a global conglomerate, and in some ways a slow heartbreak began of being able to see the end starting to unravel and begin ensued, followed by the devastation of a quick and swift break of a rather transactional layoff meeting.

I was in what I can only describe as a dense fog for that entire holiday season that followed. The job hunt was a brutal one, as the market had changed drastically from when I had last entered it in 2002. While I was out of work, I started thinking, “how I could spend my time in ways that brought me more fulfillment and some semblance of joy?” Full of despair between the ghosting and rejections, the job hunt was tough on my state of mind. The voice about my long-held dreams of starting my own business “someday” got louder and louder. What had always held me back was, “what is the thing?”, meaning, what would the business be? After considering my talents, and thinking about what I enjoy, an idea sparked. I’ve been hand-lettering and drawing since I was a child, and as a early adult I would paint the foyer windows of our local grocery store with large murals. The idea kept growing, and I eventually landed on, “Why not now?”

So, I dug in and figured out what I needed to do to start my LLC in Iowa, and Twilight Sun Studios was born. I like to say I officially “took the leap” as my LLC became official on Leap Year Day in 2024. The sense of accomplishment to learn about this process from top to bottom was terrifying but exhilarating, and gave me a sense of purpose during a dark time. It was not long after that I also landed my “other” job, so I now have a full-time job as a senior consultant for an Advisory Services team as well as owning my hand-lettering business. Why not have one job when you can have two?

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am the local go-to in the Iowa City, Iowa area for hand-lettered signs and gifts for busy parents and professionals. Twilight Sun Studios is unique and special because I what I do uses my artistic talents in a very specific way. I love making outdoor signs, indoor signs and writing on anything that needs written on from cups to certificates to gifts. I get to test my lettering skills by using different styles from brush cursive to traditional calligraphy, plus oftentimes I am drawing on signs as well. My customers have been teachers, parents, basketball teams, college students, high school students – I love the variety both in what I make and who I interact with. I just launched my indoor Rustic Burlap banners and more new products coming for Graduation season!

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?

The three areas that impacted my journey were 1. the experience of founding and leading a $100Mn business unit at my previous employer, 2. customer service skills, and 3. business acumen. The experience of founding and leading a business unit gave me the confidence to know I can do hard things, and build something from nothing. And, that I could do it again. I spent 21 years in the customer service function, so I felt confident in my ability to interact with customers regardless of the situation. Having been in customer service and led a business unit, I knew I would figure out what I needed to along the way as an entrepreneur.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I am currently reading the book “Let Them” by Mel Robbins, and every chapter is a golden nugget of wisdom. The premise of Let Them is helpful for my personal development to help me remember to Let Go of what I can’t control, and Let Me remember that I can control how I choose to respond to something. I am soaking in every single page of this book, and wish it had come sooner in my life.
I am inspired by many, many books, and two of my other favorites are Playing Big (Tara Mohr) and Never Split the Difference (Chris Voss).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.twilightsunstudios.com
• Instagram: twilightsunstudios
• Facebook: Twilight Sun Studios
• Linkedin: linked.com/carlyhodges
• Twitter: @TSStudiosLLC
• Other: I primarily focus on Instagram and Facebook for Twilight Sun Studios.

Image Credits

Carly Hodges