Today, we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Ringle.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have struggled with my mental health and have had suicidal thoughts my whole life. Growing up, I didn’t know what was wrong with me.
In 2022, I had a huge mental breakdown after I knew I needed to get help. I was diagnosed with depression. I wanted to create a brand that brought more awareness to mental health and made it a safe space to talk about these scary and dark situations. We have almost been around for one year, March 21st.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We have had struggles along the way. The first one was money. Where do we get the money to start a small business? We saved, but you do have to realize that you have to spend money to make money. Second, for an apparel company, knowing which sizes to buy and how many of each size.
We still struggle with this but are getting much better at knowing what sizes our customers will buy. The third one is creating a website. Websites are very complicated and hard to build. We’ve set up our shop through Shopify, and I highly recommend it. It’s super easy to use and has tons of information if you are learning how to do it for the first time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known for being a huge advocate for mental health and suicide prevention. I try to participate in the Utah chapter of AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. On February 20th, 2024, I attended a Capitol day. The Utah chapter had a full day on Capitol Hill and met with Representatives and Senators to discuss HB 71, a bill that will help bring rural communities mobile crisis teams and more resources for mental health issues. I got to sit down and speak with Rep Johnson about this bill and thank him for his vote.
I am most proud of the community I built on social media. We have grown our account in one year to 1,182 followers as of February 24th, 2024. I try very hard to be very vulnerable on social media, show realistic GRWM (get ready with me), and talk about my issues with my mental health. I try to be a safe space for everyone and anyone who wants to talk about mental health struggles.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
This is a women-owned business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://friendlyreminder1.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendly_reminder0/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-ringle-48a2711ab/
