Young Catholic Entrepreneurs – CatholicVote org
How we spend our money can influence society in greater ways than we realize. So the next time you search for something new or a gift for a loved one, consider researching where your product is coming from.
CatholicVote has compiled a list of brand new Catholic small businesses founded by young entrepreneurs so that you can glorify God with each dollar spent!
Eve Vanden Heuvel started The Everyday Saint in January of 2023 at the age of 19. It began as a dynamic podcast and resource for young Catholics across the country and now functions as a podcast, public speaking ministry, and lifestyle brand.
The inspiration for The Everyday Saint started when Eve was a senior in high school. She didn’t see her peers taking their faith seriously despite going to a Catholic school. Going to a Catholic college later helped her realize that she wasn’t alone in this feeling. She then created The Everyday Saint podcast to interview her classmates and friends about their faith in order to inspire young Catholics.
When you purchase from The Everyday Saint, you are not just purchasing another t-shirt or journal… you’re getting a conversion starter. Each item comes with an apologetics pamphlet explaining the belief behind the product.
Agape Apparel was founded in December of 2022 to spread the message of sacrificial love. Twin brothers, Nate and Gabe Jones started the company when they were 19, and have been working on it since. They noticed that today’s culture has been pushing a message of unfulfilling love, and wanted to combat that by sharing the good news that there is more to life than using other people.
The key to living a life of joy and fulfillment is dying to yourself and your desires. The paradox is that you have to lose yourself to gain yourself. The goal of Agape Apparel is to share that message with the world through t-shirts, hoodies, and conversations around the products.
Buy your Agape gear here!
Consecrate Chains is a permanent jewelry company that aims to bring people closer to the hearts of the Holy Family. These “consecration chains” are welded shut around a wrist or ankle, and were encouraged by St. Louis DeMontfort to wear as reminders of consecrations!
Jane Dixon founded Consecrate Chains after she realized her desire for a more beautiful and feminine option for a consecration chain, a daily reminder of her dedication to Jesus through Mary and St. Joseph.
Consecrate Chains provides permanent (claspless) jewelry that is custom fit to your wrist. Consecrate is available to book for parish-wide events, small group parties, or just a single client for a chain! They are Denver-based, but love to travel! Find them on Instagram @consecrate.chains or at their website where you can buy chain rings, consecration books, and more!
After doing photography as a side business for 7-8 years, Sarah Kay took the “full-time leap” in 2021 – but not in the way she ever expected. “I have always prayed for a way that I could serve the Church and God’s Kingdom through my gifts and business, so in my discernment to freshly launch my business, God placed the call on my heart with such conviction,” Kay wrote in a statement emailed to CatholicVote.
Not only was her business going to center around wedding photography but she was to exclusively photograph Catholic weddings. Sarah Kay highly values and reveres the Sacrament of Marriage and photographing any other kind of union wouldn’t feel right. Sarah Kay travels all over the world capturing Catholic weddings for beautiful, faithful couples. As a fellow Catholic, she also provides couples unique, prayerful support as they navigate the the road from engagement to marriage.
Sarah Kay is based in Arizona, and occasionally offers couples, maternity, and family photo sessions in addition to photographing weddings. Inquire about booking a session here.
26-year-old Alexis Grace Straeffer started All Holy Homies, a necklace company inspired by the Saints, in October 2023 on the feast of St. John Paul II. Each necklace design is unique to a different saint and new designs are released on the feast days of featured saints. She also makes custom necklaces. With every necklace made Alexis prays for the prayer intentions of her customer. Buy your saintly jewelry here!
Sophia Lebano is a website designer and marketing strategist for Catholic creatives. A 2023 graduate of Franciscan University, she launched her company, Sophia Lebano Creatives at age 18, and it has now grown into a full-time job. She speaks about entrepreneurship on many platforms and loves encouraging other young adults and teens to start new businesses.
In addition to this company, Sophia co-hosts the Hear and Now Podcast and runs a Catholic goods and jewelry shop, House of Love and Laughter. Find more information about her businesses at their websites!
Julia Grealy is a 26-year-old mother, wife, and virtual assistant. She began the Julia Grealy Virtual Assistant firm to work with other Catholic business owners on their marketing and project management. Julia greatly values family time and seeks to help others with business tasks that can free them up to spend more time with their families. She works with her clients to complete tasks effectively to encourage work-life balance and positive family relationships.
Check her out at Juliagrealy.com.
From a young age, Colette desired a purposeful, creative career, not a traditional 9-5 job. Photography was a part of her life during middle and high school but it wasn’t until her senior of college when she officially began her wedding photography business. After learning that many couples valued a wedding photographer who understood the reverence of Mass and the gravity of the Sacrament of Matrimony she knew that this was the purpose of her art.
Colette and her husband provide wedding photography to Catholic couples in the Midwest and across the United States. Their passion for documenting marriages stems from the heavenly joy they both experienced on their own wedding day.
You can view their work here or on Instagram @colettemphotography.
In the fall of 2021, Jessica Beyer began to edit a video for Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World weekly podcast and was then invited to do a video project in Rome. This work seemed like confirmation for her to embark on a dream shared with her family: to own a business and provide beautiful content for Catholic creators.
She received training in computer animation, learned video editing at a marketing company, and worked as a freelance artist for several years. Her passion, through it all, was to serve the Catholic Church, and the aim of her new business, Oasis Studio 7, is to do just that. They still produce Jimmy Akin’s weekly YouTube video and podcasts and have produced animations and videos for multiple other Catholic groups and individuals. To learn more about Oasis Studio 7 click here!
Riley Provost is the owner and designer behind Ivy Doe & Co. Catholic Gift Shoppe. She is a wife, mom, educator, theologian, and artist. Through Ivy Doe & Co., she strives to put a faith-based spin on ordinary items and infuse every day with prayer and reminders of God’s omnipresence to inspire people on their journey with Christ.
Need an apron? Have a Mother Teresa “wash the dish” quote-themed one! Looking for a grocery list notebook or an adoration journal? Choose from over a dozen different designs featuring saints, Eucharistic, Marian, or Sacred Heart designs. Ivy Doe & Co. products make great gifts for loved ones while also supporting great causes. They mostly source production services from other small, Catholic-owned businesses and every single purchase supports adoption! Find unique, practical, and Catholic-inspired products at ivydoeandco.com.
Marie is a Catholic wife, mom, and business owner. At the age of 22 she founded the Catholic wedding planning and coordination company White Lily Weddings. The company now has a team of Catholic planners throughout the country and serves Catholic couples nationwide. White Lily Weddings seeks to take care of the small, but stressful details of wedding planning so that couples can focus on preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony. They simplify the wedding planning process to make the couple’s engagement more intentional. Connect with Marie on the White Lily Wedding website or through email: hello@whitelilyweddings.com.
