By Arriana Williams

VALDOSTA, Ga. – A full-time nurse, mother and wife has decided to add another title to her belt – business owner. Erica McFarland, a Valdosta native, is bringing a new custom T-shirt and gift shop to the city.

Sweet SecretZ- by Erica is a local home-based gift and T-shirt shop where Erica specializes in custom button earrings and hand sewn bows. The idea came about when she ordered a couple of custom shirts and they fell apart after only one wash.

“I was like, ‘If I had a business, I would make sure my stuff is quality and cost effective’ so I bought the [sewing] machine,” said the budding entrepreneur, “I make sure that whatever I hand out, I would want it as well.”

Although her business has been licensed for a year she is dedicated to creating new products for her customers.

Erica plans to open up a shop in the future, as well as work closer with outreach programs for women and children. “I would love to do a home economics class. I would love to teach to sew, to knit, and just the basics. Even if it was just as a volunteer.”

“There are a lot of small businesses in Valdosta, a lot of up and coming small businesses. I would love for us to collaborate instead of compete,” said Erica as she touched on local businesses.

“I do everything by myself and sometimes I get backed up. So it’s nice to be able to reach out to someone who’s doing the same thing as you and say ‘Hey, I have somebody for you. Can you pick this up?’ Hopefully, in the future we can do the same for each other. There is enough out here for everybody and I think people fail to realize that.”

She can be contacted on her Facebook page or email at sweetsecretzbyerica@gmail.com.