Hi, my name is Melissa!

I started 3 mile lane co in the summer of 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic on somewhat of a whim. Let's go back a little bit to give you the full scope...

October 2019, I was pregnant with my first child and had developed Cholestasis of Pregnancy, which led me to deliver my son 3 weeks early. He was in the NICU for 2 weeks before my husband and I were able to take him home and settle in.

January 2020 my maternity leave ended and I went back to work. My husband and I were both working for the same company and were looking to purchase our first home. We were renters at the time and our lease was just about up. 

Our landlord wanted to increase our rent and have us sign another year lease. Because we were wanting to purchase a home, we didn't want to be locked in to another lease, so we decided to leave and move in with my parents until we found our new home.

Shortly after moving in with my parents, my husband lost his job due to budget cuts in the company. Then in March 2020 the pandemic hit us all pretty hard. Along with that, I wasn't feeling well and could tell something wasn't right.

After a lot of pain and talking with doctors to try to find out what was wrong, we discovered I was suffering from gallstones as a result of pregnancy. In May 2020 I had my gallbladder removed and I was off work for 6 weeks while recovering.

During my recovery, I found TikTok. And that's where my story really begins.

I would scroll for hours at a time and eventually wound up on Small Business and Sticker TikTok. My feed was full of entrepreneurs chasing their dreams. I had graduated college with a Bachelors of Science in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, so it was always my dream and passion to own a business.

I knew it was my time to shine, so that's when I started planning out 3 mile lane co. I opened an Etsy shop in May and my Shopify store quickly followed in June. I started posting about my business on TikTok and over the July 4th weekend, I went viral, receiving hundreds of orders for my stickers.

After I was cleared to go back to work, the stress of the pandemic, our financial situation, postpartum depression, being a new mom, the anxiety of my first surgery, the demand of my new dream business, and pressure at work was all too much for me to handle. I had my first panic attack while driving to the post office.

I worked from home a lot during the summer of 2020 and quickly got used to being home with my son. I knew that I wanted to work from home, and with my business quickly growing, I started to put the wheels in motion to leave my job and run my business full time.

In October 2020 I put in my notice and poured everything into my family and my small business. My mental health is the best it has ever been, and I'm so much happier because of it!

Now, I own a thriving business selling custom gifts, stationery and stickers, and am introducing new products all the time. I'm so excited to see where this small business goes from here and even more excited that you are here with me for the ride!