Rock Hill Mom Discovers Entrepreneurship

By Mike Switzer

Published November 30, 2016 at 5:29 AM EST

After being frustrated with the choices she found for clothing for her daughter, our next guest decided to teach herself how to sew. Thirteen years later, she has more than one million people visiting her women’s-wear web site and she’s shipping her designs all over the world.

Liz Carlson is founder of Southern Fried Chics, based in Rock Hill, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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