At Ease

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One year ago, Rebecca McConnell, 22, embarked on a career she’d never imagined possible. After catching a TV commercial for the iPad, she decided on a whim to buy one that same evening. “I was drawn to its portability,” she says. “I knew I could take it to a café and not make a scene by bringing out my watercolors.” Two years earlier, McConnell had dropped out of college. “I got really stressed,” she says. “I told my family, ‘I’m done with art.’” For two years she barely thought about it, except when she was assisting customers at Michaels craft store, where she was working at the time. Today, life feels a whole lot different for the young entrepreneur.

YOU’VE BEEN RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS FOR A YEAR. HOW IS THE TRANSITION FROM EMPLOYEE TO OWNER?