I quit my job and invested my savings into building a loungewear brand. My TikTok followers have helped make it a success.

• Lexi Larson used her TikTok following and savings to launch Sunday Cherries, her loungewear brand.
• She learned inventory planning and manufacturing fixes as demand outpaced her first stock.
• Looking back, she's grateful for her email list and for keeping her followers involved with the brand.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lexi Larson, the 30-year-old founder of Sunday Cherries, a loungewear brand based in Denver. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Before launching my loungewear brand, Sunday Cherries, in early 2024, I worked remotely for a marketing agency. I needed a creative outlet, so I started posting TikToks about my life and working from home.

I was always interested in video and social media, and I knew social media was a powerful tool I could use to launch my own project, but I wasn't sure what kind of business I wanted to start.

Then I noticed that when I wore a cute, cozy outfit in my videos, people would ask where they were from. That gave me the idea to create loungewear that was comfortable but still made you feel put together.

I kept making vlogs, and in early 2024, I quit my job to focus on building my brand. My first two years were mostly about figuring everything out. Thankfully, my followers were along for the ride.

I now feel like I found my groove. Here are the lessons I've learned along the way.

I started the brand with $50,000 from my savings

I put it into a separate business bank account, which became the Sunday Cherries account. The brand has been entirely funded from my savings. I've gotten a few offers from investors, but I quit my job because I didn't enjoy having people tell me what to do, and taking on investors felt like having a boss again.

I was so nervous about my first launch. I ordered about 300 hoodies and 300 sweatpants, and I thought there was no way I would sell them all. That first order cost around $24,000, which was a really scary invoice to pay.

I did about $35,000 in sales that day, and everything sold out, which was crazy. It made me feel like there was a market for the brand.

I sold out my first launch by including my audience

Being a content creator helped a lot. I brought my audience into the process by sharing clothing samples and asking what colors they liked, which made them feel invested.

I think my followers enjoyed seeing someone so transparent and open about the process of starting a brand and what it takes. Many brands present a perfect image, and you don't see anything behind the scenes.

I've learned how much stock to buy

After my first launch, I realized it would be about two months before I had more stock. People would then visit the website and be unable to buy anything.

That taught me a lot about inventory planning and forecasting. When I first started, I would order the minimum quantity because I didn't know what would happen. I've since learned more about what sells on my website and what colors, fabrics, and fits people want. I also take seasonality into account.

Now, I'm more confident about ordering extra stock when I think something will do well.

I've learned you can't control everything that goes wrong

Manufacturing has probably been my biggest learning curve. In the beginning, I spent hours searching and found my manufacturer's website on roughly the third page of Google search results.

For my first drop, I ordered hoodies that were supposed to have a vintage, acid-wash finish. When they arrived, a lot of them were stained with bleach. I had to go through every hoodie and send back the damaged ones. It was very time-consuming, but the manufacturer fixed the damaged products.

I've also had production delays. Recently, a pants order was supposed to ship out, but when the manufacturer sent me pictures of the finished products, I noticed the inseams were several inches too long. I had to halt the shipping process and have them go back and update the inseam measurements, which pushed the launch back by a couple of weeks.

A couple of years ago, something like that would've really stressed me out. I would've thought the business was over and that I was going to lose all my money. Now, when something like that comes up, I'm more likely to think, let's deal with it and move on.

I've learned to outsource

When I started, I rented a 250-square-foot warehouse space and would go there every day to put inventory on the shelves, pack orders, and ship them out. It was a full-time job in itself. Eventually, I realized I couldn't work on anything else because I was spending too much time in the warehouse.

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In March 2026, I switched to a logistics company that handles receiving inventory, picking and packing orders, and shipping them out. It's saved me a lot of time.

I've never hired anyone as a salaried employee, but I work with several freelancers and contractors. I'll find inspiration pictures of a design I want to create and send them to my tech pack designer. She takes my design, creates a CAD model, and compiles the measurements so the manufacturer knows how to make the garment.

I also have someone locally who helps me with content. I focus on my page, and she helps me with filming and editing for the Sunday Cherries pages.

One thing I'm glad I did is build an email list

I watched videos about how to start a business, and one thing I kept hearing was that your email list is one of the few things you own. On social media, your account could be deleted tomorrow, and you'd lose everything.

Before launching my products, I built my email list to about 15,000 people. From the very beginning, I was posting about it and trying to get as many people as I could to sign up.

The biggest lesson I learned: You don't have to know everything before you start

I held myself back for a long time because I felt like I needed more experience, but I realized you're never going to feel 100% prepared, and there's no way to avoid every issue or mistake. You just have to decide, start, and be confident in yourself to keep going.

Some months, I bring in $50,000 to $60,000 in sales, and the next month it could be zero. It's been very up and down.

Thankfully, my social media income is enough to pay my bills, so I'm not taking any money out of the brand yet. I'm reinvesting everything into ordering more products, improving the website and fit, and creating new products.