Meet Kasey Paul | Founder of Daisy Box

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kasey Paul and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kasey, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Even as a young kid, I was hustling babysitting services and girl scouts as soon as my parents would let me. And that led me to having many jobs, throughout my teen years and into adulthood. And while I always knew in the back of my head that I wanted to build something myself, the fear of not having income and also just societal expectations of going to college, getting a degree, getting a good job and getting a better job, really weighed on me. I was afraid to fail.

After working in corporate offices for a long time and working for other people and their dreams, I just decided one day to make the switch and take a chance on myself. At the time, I started a jewelry business and that was probably the scariest thing I have ever done. I had worked jobs from the time I was 15 and had never stopped and this was the first time that I would actually be 100% reliant on myself to bring in money to live off of and to survive.

That jewelry business was a huge learning curve for me and introduced me to the incredible small business community which is how my current business Daisy Box was born.

Ultimately for me, I think creating my own thing, my own business, my own concept or product or everything all combined is such a magical thing and I think I was really made to do this. Working for others and their dreams is incredible and some people really love the structure of going to a job that will be there every Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. But for me, I thrive off of pushing my own limits, learning and learning some more, creating something from nothing and getting to trust in me, getting to take a chance on me.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Daisy Box is a gift box company that aims to empower, encourage, support and love on people in a tangible way. We are really trying to encourage human connection. And we do so in the form of gift boxes. Each customer gets to hop on our site and pick from intentionally sourced products from other small business, makers and creators and build a gift box to send to whomever they want. Or they can pick an already curated box for an easy & fun gift giving experience.

What sets us apart is that we recognize that it is really easy to celebrate the big things in life. Marriages, babies, Graduations, etc. And those are awesome things and things that most definitely should be celebrated. But we think that there are a lot of other big-to-us moments that often go unlooked that we feel deserve to be celebrated just as much. That is out main mission at Daisy Box is to celebrate and support people for the real life things that we are all going through. We all need people in our corner and this just helps remind people that they have people in their corner.

The other really important thing to us is that all of our products are sourced from other small businesses just like ours. Every item you could include in your box was either hand made or designed by a person just like you are me and by purchasing a Daisy Box, you are helping support multiple small businesses and their livelihoods and families too. Not only that, but you are getting an incredible high quality product too.

Small business life is definitely not for the faint of heart. For me personally, it has been a really long road. A road where I have doubted myself many a times. Is this worth it? Is it making a difference? Is this the best way I can help provide for my family, provide for myself? But Daisy Box seems different because it is more than just a career for me. It is a way that I can help spread kindness and love in this world. It is a way that I can help monetarily support other small businesses by buying wholesale products to put into our boxes and by spreading the word about these small businesses through the community that Daisy Box is building.

Unsuspecting boxes of love, gratitude, and support showing up on people doorsteps seems like a really good “job” to me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am currently located in Minneapolis but also go back to Oregon for the summers (where I am from). Most of my recommendations would be to awesome outdoor activities. Snowboarding at all the local resorts here in Minnesota during the winter or on Mt. Hood in Oregon during the summer. I would also recommend any skatepark, preferably one with a bowl to skate around in. I love a good taco tuck, some vegan ice cream, juice and coffee. Minnesota also has some really pretty waterways, hikes and waterfalls, so I would definitely take you to that as well. And if we were in Oregon, the coast would be on the list too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Ryan Paul, definitely deserves a shoutout. He has encouraged me, shown me the self-employed route and also has listened to me talk for hours about all my ideas. He believed in me when I didn’t yet believe in myself and I am not entirely sure I would have actually taken the plunge into owning my own business if it weren’t for him.

Also, one of my best friends, my soul sister, Jenna Kuklinski. Not only has she been such an incredibly encouraging friend during starting this new venture, but she also invested financially into Daisy Box as well as is our marketing genius behind the scenes.

I couldn’t do it without either of these people, both professionally and personally.

Website: www.thisisdaisybox.com

Instagram: @thisisdaisybox.com

Image Credits
The first photo (my personal photo) was taken by Emily Bickel