Cat Hutchings

You would be hard pressed to find things in my life that I love more than being an Entrepreneur. I started a handmade jewelry company back in 2010 when on a whim, I decided to take an entrepreneurship class at college. I was just 23 years old. Ironically, the idea of actually starting my own business had never crossed my mind. I had just gotten engaged to my college sweetheart (who happened to be a business major) and I thought if HE ever decided to start his own business, it would be nice to have some basic business knowledge. It's almost ironic now to look back at all the self-doubts I had as a woman that I never even realized were there. After coming up with a business plan for one of the assignments, I discovered a passion for creating unique handcrafted jewelry pieces that spoke to women in all facets of life that invoked joy and celebrated individualism. Slowly, that passion turned into a business, and that business has grown into a fire, fueled by women empowerment, diversity, equity and inclusion and a love for the entrepreneur spirit in all of us. I now run two Etsy shops, both of which are in the top 1% of all Etsy sellers and have done over 100,000 sales on the platform. My handmade jewelry is sold in over 100 locations nationwide.

Running my own business has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I especially love sharing that gift and encouragement with other women and youth. I now run a team and Coach other Etsy shop owners how to grow their sales and scale. For each order placed on our SpotLight Jewelry Etsy shop, we donate $1 to female or local Kiva entrepreneurs around the world to help them grow and expand their businesses.

I also just launched a brand new company called WonderLight Co focused on creating products and education around mindfulness through intentional gemstone jewelry.

As SpotLight Jewelry (and sister company MoonLight Supplies) and now WonderLight Co continue to grow, I love knowing that my daughters get to experience first hand the incredible balance and fulfilment that can come through work with purpose and the joy of family.