After graduating from college, it’s all a matter of deciding what the next step is. Whether it be continuing education at graduate school or finding a job at a company, every graduate will have the difficult decision to make as to what they want their future to look like.
Cabrini College alumna Lindsay Dittbrenner had enough of the drama that came with job searching so she opted for something else instead. She decided to start up her own business. “It was one month since the day after graduating from Cabrini,” Dittbrenner said, “I had already sat through my fair share of interviews, and was getting tired of applying to jobs that I didn’t truly want.”
Frustrated with the lack of response from the job market Dittbrenner chose a unique route. “I didn’t want to apply to any more jobs,” Dittbrenner said, “so in the spur of the moment I figured if I could create something awesome, maybe someone would buy it.”
Dittbrenner named her business after her twitter name. That’s when Sass and Sangria was born. The company caters mostly to college students and recent graduates, but customers of all ages come in and shop there.
Dittbrenner wanted to create and make products since she was creative, but instead she said that her company had become more of a boutique. She started carrying brands like Kiel James Patrick, Krass & Co., Lilly Pulitzer, Judith March and many others. She also had the S&S signature brand for ladies and Great Dane Gear for men. A lot of her personal style inspired the products she carries. “I love the classic preppy style,” Dittbrenner said, “I grew up on the Main Line so it’s in my blood.”
Startinga new business isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. There is a lot of responsibility and paperwork that comes with it. “The hardest part is having the money to get started,” Dittbrenner said “I’m pretty money savvy.” Dittbrenner was an accounting major at Cabrini college and describes herself as being “really frugal.”
Dittbrenner knows that in the end it will all be worth it. So she carries on hoping to come that much closer to her ultimate goal. “It’s disappointing, exciting, exhausting and,” Dittbrenner said, “I’d say just about every other day I think about saying ‘never mind’ but I know a few years from now it will pay off.”
