Not many people have "retired" at the peak of their business. Even fewer achieve it by the age of 30. For Kersti Wells, the entrepreneurial spirit caught her early and hasn't let go yet.

In grade school, she drew a cartoon series. By high school, she was spending her weekends selling at craft fairs. In college, she teamed up with a mentor and started a wholesale business handpainting sorority shirts. A gift industry sales rep noticed her University of Illinois skyline design, and that encounter turned into Campus Creations, a sportswear business that had reps in 10 states when Kersti was 19.

Soon, Kersti and her husband, Eric found themselves running a business with 25 employees, producing 1,000 shirts a day. Focusing on hospital gift shops, animal organizations, museums, zoos and train stores, Campus Creations grew 600% in six years and was named to the Inc. 500, one of the fastest growing businesses in America.

Yet while on a rare vacation, they realized they weren't having fun anymore. Kersti was spending 95% of her time managing the business, not designing. And the business had never been Eric's dream; his heart was in computer programming. Over a five-month period, they finished obligations to their lease, customers and employees, sold the automatic press and cleaned everything out. It had been their most successful year.

Going from business owner to independent artist has had it's pros and cons. While she enjoys having more time with her children, she occasionally misses the challenges of being in charge.

Kersti has been married to Eric for 12 years. They live in Menomonee Falls, WI with their three children, Alex, 8; Justin, 7; and Megan, 5. They all love animals and currently have four: Fargo, the beagle (in many of her illustrations), two cats and a hamster.

excerpted from It Takes Two Newsletter, March 2000