Macie Poteet, a graduate from Caddo Mills High School who grew up in the town of Greenville, Texas, has put a foot through the door in the world of small businesses. While striving to share her business of making car freshies, she is also a college student who attends Tarleton State University.
“I knew Tarleton was my home when I toured the University in 2022. The welcoming atmosphere and endless school spirit made Stephenville feel like my home away from home,” Poteet said.
While mastering her talent in the world of car scents, she is in the works of a kinesiology degree.
“I am a junior pursuing a bachelors of science degree in kinesiology. After graduation I plan to go to Physical Therapy school,” Poteet said.
Her small business journey, among many others, began during the Covid-19 lockdown that occurred in 2020.
“During quarantine I was motivated to start my business. I was isolated from the world and had time to reflect on my personal life goals. I wanted to do something that I could be proud of and bring joy to others,” Poteet said.
The process of beginning a new business can be tiring. Learning new things and becoming a master takes not only practice, but patients.
“I came across many videos of car freshie business owners and decided this was something I could do well and enjoy the creative process. I watched hours of videos explaining different methods and materials I could use and try out myself,” Poteet said. “Looking back now, my first handful of freshies were pretty rough. It took me a few tries to get the elements perfect, but after about five freshies I had the process down.”
Although Poteet has gotten the process figured out, there are some other elements in her way.
“My business definitely can conflict with school. Some weeks I will have seven or eight orders to fill on top of homework, classes, organizations, and work. I try to plan ahead of the craziness and multitask making freshies and completing work,” Poteet said. “From absolute start to finish, each freshie can take up to a week to finish. However, there are some tricks and preparations that I have found along the way that can cut that time down to about four hours.”
Although she attends school for kinesiology, Poteet is very grateful for her small business and has hopes for its potential in the future.
“I would love to make my business my career. I have many ideas to expand my products and my business that will start in the near future. I feel very rewarded and proud of my business. It proves to myself that I can accomplish my goals,” Poteet explained.
With her love of creation, her business is slowly growing. She has five scents and many shapes for her personalized car freshies.
“I offer five scents including: Black Coral, Cactus Flower and Jade, Jamaica Me Crazy, Leather, and Sea Salt and Orchid. The shapes that I am currently offering are American Buck, Quad Aces, Texas, Horseshoe, Disco Cowboy, Smiley Flower, Circle, Circle with various designs, Lemonade, Cactus, LV, and Cowboy Boot,” Poteet disclosed.
If you are looking for something to make your car smell brand new, Poteet has two options regarding placing an order.
“I primarily sell my freshies through my website “maciescreations.com,” however, I do accept custom or bulk orders through my Instagram @macies.creations,” Poteet shared.
In the end, whether you fail or succeed, at least you tried and that is what matters.
“My advice for anyone thinking about starting a small business is to go for it. You never know what something could become if you don’t try. In addition, give yourself permission to fail, not everything is going to be perfect while you are figuring everything out. The hard work and determination will pay off and that will show through your business,” Poteet concluded. “My business has made me incredibly proud of how far I have come. I truly love every second of being a small business owner and I am very excited to see the future of Macie’s Creations.”
For more information, go to maciescreations.com.
