This is Stephanie Schultz's story so far...
If you’ve ever caught yourself staring at the clock during your shift, thinking there’s got to be more than this — same.
I didn’t start out wanting to run an online business. My first “entrepreneurial” experiment was selling Mary Kay. I hustled my way to that red jacket, learned how to talk to people, and realized really fast that direct sales and makeup weren’t my thing. But something stuck: the idea of being my own boss, of building something from scratch, and of not depending on a paycheck someone else controlled.
In my mid-20s, I put myself through ultrasound school. Seven board exams later, I was a multispecialty sonographer scanning hearts, babies, emergency cases, you name it. It was demanding and deeply rewarding.
I love ultrasound and I care deeply about healthcare; it’s meaningful work and it’s made me who I am. But even with all of that, something felt… missing. Like I wasn’t quite living up to my full potential, like there was another gear I hadn’t shifted into yet. I still work in ultrasound today, and I’m grateful for it, but I wanted more than trading hours for income. I wanted to build something that could grow with me.
Before I ever touched Shopify, I tried eBay arbitrage. I’d buy pallets from liquidation.com with used and new lighting fixtures, plumbing parts, and random home goods with strong margins and quick sell-through. It worked — really well. The margins were great, and I proved to myself that I could make real money online.
But it was mind-numbing. Packing boxes, printing labels, chasing returns. I felt underutilized for my skill level. The customer base could be… intense. Every dinged box turned into a novella. I didn’t want to physically handle inventory or live surrounded by cardboard. I wanted a business that scaled with systems, not shipping tape. I wanted freedom — to take my laptop anywhere, to work from up north at a fishing cabin with a steaming hot white mocha latte and the windows cracked to that cool lake air.
That picture stuck: a business that worked around my life, not the other way around.
Hunting for passive income, I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It flipped a switch. Wealth isn’t just about working harder and stashing money in your 401K. God knows that feels like a never ending rat race to the bottom with the current inflation rates and lack of decent pay raises these days. Real wealth is about building systems that work for you, even when you’re not clocked in.
So I started digging. I looked into Section 8 real estate investing, short term rentals like an AirBNB, affiliate marketing, and low-ticket dropshipping. Real estate was appealing, but in 2024 the buy-ins were high and the returns felt tight for the risk. Affiliate marketing felt too surface-level. Low-ticket drop shipping was a race to the bottom.
One late-night scroll, I saw Dropship Breakthru explaining high-ticket dropshipping: fewer orders, bigger margins, real customer relationships, and the chance to build a brand, not just a storefront. It made sense.
I thought, what's the worst that could happen? I'd at least learn some new skills. I went for it. After shifts, I set up Shopify, called suppliers, wrote product pages, and learned freight logistics. Seven months later, Seven months later, I’ve done nearly $100,000 in sales with Gone Broody, and now I’m building my second website.
I went from scanning patients to scanning product catalogs, from reading ultrasound images to reading customer reviews, from hospital hallways to Shopify dashboards — and I’ve loved even the messy parts.
Everything I learned in healthcare shows up here.
Ultrasound taught me calm under pressure. Vendor delays and shipping hiccups don’t rattle me — I troubleshoot.
Patient communication taught me clarity. My product pages, FAQs, and emails are plain-spoken and thorough.
Hospital systems taught me structure. Clean ops, accurate timelines, proactive updates — the “boring” stuff builds trust.
High-ticket e-commerce isn’t about quick clicks; it’s about trust, follow-through, and problem-solving.
Sell what you believe in. If you don’t respect your products, customers can tell.
Make operations your marketing. Honest timelines, clear quotes, and consistent updates are the best ads you’ll ever run. Customers want to know you're going the extra mile.
Know your numbers. Margins before ads. If it doesn’t work on paper, it won’t work online.
Publish, then polish. Launch, learn from real customers, refine, repeat.
Use what you already know. Every past role gives you superpowers. Bring them with you.
Here’s what keeps me moving: opening a laptop in a quiet cabin up north, steam rising off my coffee, morning mist over the lake. I check a few emails, approve a freight quote, update a product page — then close the lid and go cast a line. I want school pickups that aren’t a sprint, weekends that aren’t spent recovering, and work that travels with me.
High-ticket e-commerce gets me closer:
No boxes stacked in the living room.
No daily runs to the post office.
Fewer orders, higher value, happier customers.
Systems that keep selling even when I’m off-grid for a few hours.
I’m doubling down on what works: tighter product curation, clearer buying guides, transparent shipping, and post-purchase support that feels personal. My next site builds on everything I’ve learned: simple, honest, helpful, profitable.
Now it’s me, a laptop, and a lane that finally fits. I’m still in scrubs some days, still scanning, but the boxes and tape guns are gone for good. Goodbye, eBay; hello, high-ticket dropshipping. Fewer orders, higher value, deeper relationships — built on clear timelines, real service, and systems that don’t live in my living room. This model lets me work from anywhere: a quiet fishing cabin up north with the windows cracked, coffee steaming beside my keyboard while I answer a few emails, approve a freight quote, and publish a product update before I go cast a line.
This isn’t an escape; it’s a race to financial freedom. Every product page I tighten, every proactive update I send, every solved delivery puzzle is one more step toward owning my time — and my family’s schedule. I’m building a business that grows with me, travels with me, and respects the life I want to live. Goodbye to mind-numbing packing and return dramas; hello to purposeful work I can run from anywhere. I’m going to keep running this lane until freedom isn’t just a plan — it’s the way we live.
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