Meet the Interns Season 1: Carly Burr

I always knew that I was destined to be an entrepreneur. For as long as I can remember, I could be found making bracelets, bath bombs, cakes, t-shirts, and ultimately, businesses. There is no better feeling than creating a business from scratch and selling products to happy and satisfied customers. This sets my soul on fire. Looking back at everything I did as a child, I know that they were all clues in my life that led me toward my life’s purpose of leading and running a business one day.

I always took initiative in and outside of school, and thrived being a leader. I sold bracelets at my swim club where I donated all of my proceeds to a local charity. In middle school, I found out about a club named TREPS (short for entrepreneur) where students could sell their products and promote their businesses at a big event one night a year. It was there where I created bath bombs and lip scrubs that were an instant hit. I will never forget the feeling I had walking out of the gymnasium that night with two-hundred dollars! I was so proud of myself.

In my freshman year of high school, I locked myself in my room while I learned how to sew with help from Youtube videos. Soon after, I was cutting, pinning, and sewing zippers, ruffles, pom-poms, and basically anything I could get my hands on to create cute and fashionable college tailgate t-shirts. At first, I sold them to my friends and customers I found through my Instagram page. But, I had a thirst for more and decided to take a chance and bring my products to a local boutique. It didn’t take much convincing for the owner of the store to take my shirts on consignment. My heart was filled with joy when I picked up my hard-earned checks in the mail. When I was 16 years old my parents decided to move from bitter cold New Jersey to warm and sunny South Florida. It was hard for me to accept at first, but ended up being the best decision my family has made. When I found out my school offered an entrepreneurship program called the Startup Studio, I enrolled immediately. From the first day on I knew that this class was exactly where I was meant to be. It was really the only class that I looked forward to attending. I worked on my t-shirt brand for two years within the program, utilizing all of the feedback I received and the opportunities that I was given. I went to every guest speaker I could attend, set up meetings with mentors who gave me amazing advice, and was always eager to learn. Because of this, I didn’t even do a double take when Melissa Butterworth put on a contest for our class after she told us her inspiring story. I even reached out to her right after her Zoom presentation via email which was the starting point of our relationship. Months after I submitted my creative marketing proposal and all other tasks that I had completed for both contests, my mom called and said that Melissa was at my house. I can still remember screaming in the car while I was racing to get home to finally meet Melissa in person.

From the second that Melissa and I met at my house that day we had an instant connection. Besides our similar values and beliefs, we also have a plethora of similar interests and hobbies. She even told me that I reminded her of herself when she was my age, and I also see myself in her. I had the privilege of working with Melissa the summer going into my senior year of high school, and the lessons that I have learned from her have been invaluable. I am forever grateful that our paths aligned and we are able to stay in close touch to this day.

Other than helping Melissa with her book project, I am currently attending the University of Miami Herbert School of Business where I am studying marketing and management. I am the vice-president of uStart, the entrepreneurship club on campus where we have guest speakers and networking events for students looking to meet new people and learn more about business and entrepreneurship. In addition, I am also developing and working on a new idea in the fashion industry that I have. I look forward to what the future holds and can’t wait to continue my journey.