Today, I want to talk about my wife, Jackie. Over the past couple of years, she’s grown a thriving business, but like many so-called “overnight successes,” her journey took a decade of dedication, grit, and passion to get there.
The Early Days 2011-2017
When Jackie moved to Texas after college, she began her teaching career as a teacher’s aide and eventually earned her certification as a special education teacher for preschoolers. This is where most people would say, “Oh, bless her heart,” or “There aren’t many built like her.” And they’d be right. Jackie’s passion for early childhood education has always been unmatched.
Stay-at-Home Mom (2017-2022)
When our son Sage was born, Jackie chose to step away from teaching to raise him full-time. But stepping away didn’t mean slowing down. To contribute financially, she woke up at 4:30 a.m. every morning to teach English to kids in China (built differently, indeed).
On weekends, she began teaching outdoor classes through a program called Tinkergarten, where parents and kids learned to play in nature. While the program provided curriculum and materials, Jackie was responsible for everything else: marketing, class schedules, and creating a memorable family experience. She mastered using Facebook groups and mom networks to fill her classes and built a loyal following. If Jackie created a class, parents signed up, she was great at it.
On Her Own (2022)
When Tinkergarten was bought out and their model changed, Jackie saw an opportunity to make a change. She combined her love for art, yoga, and nature to launch her own business: Saplings Art and Yoga.
Using the marketing skills and mom network she’d cultivated, Jackie hit the ground running. In her first year, she:
Taught 68 classes across 8 locations.
Welcomed over 100 families to her programs.
Offered 20 free/donation-based classes to build goodwill and community.
This period wasn’t just about teaching classes but about learning what it took to run her own business.
The Backyard (2023)
Jackie reinvested her earnings into transforming our backyard into a child’s haven, a perfect setting for art and yoga classes. Parents and kids loved it.
She began experimenting:
Partnering with art studios and yoga studios
Hosting birthday parties and summer camps.
Testing different formats and offerings to see what worked best.
Watching her intuition as an entrepreneur was incredible. Without realizing it, she applied the other core innovator discovery skills I teach my students:
Observing: Seeing the gap in combining art, play, and yoga.
Associating: Merging outdoor play classes with yoga for kids.
Networking: Leveraging her loyal mom community as early adopters.
Questioning: Exploring new revenue sources like birthday parties and camps.
For someone who knew nothing about business or entrepreneurship, Jackie put on a masterclass.
The Studio (2024)
After hosting hundreds of families in our backyard, Jackie took the next big leap: opening a retail studio in January 2024 and changing the name to Saplings Studio. With a lease came real risk, but it also unlocked new opportunities:
Higher class capacity.
More class offerings like an open studio and art play.
More birthday parties and camps.
Hiring and training a team of like-minded teachers.
(Also, we finally got our kitchen and backyard back.)
We spent the entire holiday break renovating the studio during the first week of January. Jackie worked nonstop to prepare, and the effort paid off. One year later:
She surpassed her revenue goals for the year (almost 3x of her previous year's revenue).
She built a team she trusts to run classes, parties, and camps.
She continues to grow her community.
She has a plan to make 2025 even better with new revenue goals.
The Journey
Watching Jackie grow as an entrepreneur has been inspiring. She’s learned the hard stuff: team onboarding, payroll, marketing partnerships, and, unfortunately, taxes. Despite it all, she’s stayed grounded in her vision, passion, and relentless work ethic.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. The path is full of rough patches that make you question everything. But here’s the thing: the scars you earn and the calluses you build? They make you more capable of tackling the next challenge.
I once heard Elon Musk say that being an entrepreneur is like staring into the abyss and eating glass. At first, it sounds insane, who would sign up for that? But the truth is, entrepreneurs aren’t gluttons for punishment. They’re called to build something that matters, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Jackie has spent the past decade building something that matters. She’s created a community where kids and families can play, create, and grow. She’s inspired families. She’s inspired me.
An overnight success? Sure. If overnight means ten years of sacrifice, learning, and relentless effort.
Don’t get captured.
Follow Jackie’s journey at Saplings Studio Instagram
Connect with Zach
Provide Feedback
Also, Check out the Prof Z Project Library, where I have added many resources (books, tools, articles, and podcast recommendations) for different topics such as entrepreneurship, leadership, operations, finance, personal development, real estate, and even health and fitness. It's a free resource, so enjoy a single location for valuable things I have found. Send me a message with any suggestions for adding to the library.