economy
This 28-year-old paid off her law school loans selling stickers and coloring books
Elyse Burns started selling her art on Etsy when she turned 18. Now she's paid off her student loans and did nearly $5 million last year.
TL;DR
- Elyse Burns enrolled in law school at Duke University in 2019, taking out federal loans for tuition and living expenses.
- She started selling hand-painted canvases on Etsy at 18 and by 2020, her company Elyse Breanne Design was making six figures.
- Burns joined TikTok in 2020, sharing her business journey while studying law, which significantly boosted her company's growth.
- She paid off over $75,000 in student debt by September 2023, without working as a lawyer or taking the bar exam.
- Elyse Breanne Design achieved approximately $4.6 million in sales in 2025 and has 18 employees.
- Burns opened a stationery and gift store, Mill and Meadow, in Durham, N.C. in 2022.
- Future goals include getting her products into more big box stores.