When the world slowed down in 2020, Jena Stearns got busy.
After 16 years in insurance, Jena found herself at home during the pandemic, feeling restless and creative, surrounded by sewing supplies. What started as a way to help her community quickly grew into something much bigger.
“I had young kids at home and decided to start sewing masks,” Jena said. “I had the materials and knew how to do it. We sewed about 5,000 masks and sold them locally. Then, when Ohio required businesses to provide masks for employees, friends started calling, saying they needed hundreds the next day.”
To keep up with demand, Jena invested in her first laser cutting machine. It allowed her to produce 40 to 50 masks at a time instead of one by hand. “That machine changed everything,” she said. “We made around 8,000 masks before I said, ‘I never want to see another one again.’”
That turning point sparked a new idea: What else could this machine do?
Turning a Pandemic Project into a Business
When her local chamber hosted a fall farmers’ market, Jena and her mother decided to experiment. “We made anything and everything the laser could create, such as signs, cups, shirts, you name it,” she said. “People loved it. We realized there was a real need for a creative space and custom printing in our community.”
Encouraged by the response, the Fostoria chamber recommended Jena join FINSYNC CO.STARTERS Core, a 10-week program designed to help entrepreneurs test, refine, and grow their business ideas. The program was led with excellence by Sarah Stephens Krupp and Renee Smith, owners of Thrive Community Partners.
“At first, I thought I didn’t need a business class,” she said. “But I signed up thinking, I will probably learn something.’ It turned out to be so much more than I expected. It wasn’t a seminar, it was a workshop that really got into the details of running a business.”
Learning to Think Like an Entrepreneur
Through the Core program, Jena gained clarity about the difference between a hobby and a profitable business. “It helped me put my passion on paper,” she said. “Sometimes you feel busy, but when you do the math, it doesn’t always make sense. CO.STARTERS helped me figure that out.”
She especially credits the program’s unit cost section for shaping how she prices her work today. “I still use that every day,” she said. “It taught me to factor in everything, from supplies to time to overhead. I’m not paying to have a hobby. This is my career, my paycheck.”
From Home Garage to Main Street
After completing CO.STARTERS, Jena entered her chamber’s Launch Fostoria contest, which was modeled after Shark Tank, using the business plan she had created during the program. Competing against other local entrepreneurs, she pitched her vision to judges and eventually to a live audience of nearly 500 people.
She won.
The prize package, worth around $16,000, covered her first year of rent, marketing, and additional training. With that boost, Jena opened her storefront, Beyond Laser Creations, which has now been thriving for more than four years.
Today, the shop offers screen printing, embroidery, laser cutting, and a DIY craft studio, serving a loyal local customer base. Her team includes her mom, two part-time employees, and her husband, who she jokes “works for free.”
A Family of Makers
The entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family. Jena’s 12-year-old daughter learned to sew masks alongside her and used her earnings to buy her first iPhone. Two of her children later completed the FINSYNC CO.STARTERS Generator program for young entrepreneurs.
“It’s come full circle,” Jena said. “My kids learned early what hard work and creativity can do.”
Building Beyond
Looking back, Jena credits CO.STARTERS with giving her the structure and confidence to turn creativity into a sustainable business.
“It helped me understand what it really takes to run a business,” she said. “When I needed a business plan years later, I pulled out my CO.STARTERS book, updated the numbers, and it was all still there. The foundation hasn’t changed. It just keeps growing.”
Jena’s journey shows how a spark of inspiration, backed by community support and the right tools, can grow into something truly lasting.