Stretching, squishing and folding. As slime has risen in popularity since 2016, new creators have risen too. Sophomore Pilar Nava owns a slime business and has an Instagram account, showing off the different slime she makes and reviewing others that she’s been sent as well. Through this, she’s gained over 460,000 followers. She also has an Etsy account with over four stars. She has made and sold almost 19,000 slimes.  Nava’s successful slime business has opened her life to both changes and new opportunities.

“It’s really fun,” Nava said. “It can get stressful at times, like with school and family stuff that I have going on. But overall it’s really nice to be a part of what it’s like outside of school.”

Becoming interested in the concept after buying some slime online, Nava started her own slime business, known as MacaronsSlimes, or @macarons.slime on Instagram, in 2017 because of the social media trend in which people would make and showcase different types of slime. Nava knew that the trend was popular, but she didn’t expect the amount of growth she got. Her Instagram page got bigger and so did her sales. 

Although Nava operates the business herself, her friends help with ideas and naming and testing different slimes. In addition, her family joined in on the fun and now contributes throughout the process as well. 

“I feel like it has made me become closer to my family because my family does help me with slime, so I became closer with them,” Nava said.

Nava enjoys doing the work that drives her business. She has a five-gallon mixer that creates a giant batch of slime in around 20 minutes. According to Nava, with 21 types of slime currently posted on her Etsy page, they sell out pretty often. Last year, she would sell around 200 to 300 slimes every week, with prices changing based on the type. Slime sales vary, however, depending on the season, increasing to about 600 sold per week in the summer.

Her slimes vary from Icee to foam to even slushie types. At the moment, Kiwi Slush is a reigning best seller. All slimes are made by Nava and are shipped internationally in small, customized packages. She says she has no secret recipe, but according to many reviews, the enticing smells and different textures are amazing. Scrolling through the homepage of the MacaronsSlimes Etsy, in bright red text, most of the slimes show that multiple people already have them in their carts, ready to be purchased.

However, although she enjoys it, there are some stressful aspects to owning a business. With school, family and friends along with MacaronsSlimes, Nava has a lot on her shoulders.

“…I feel like I don’t put that much into school anymore because I have slime,” Nava said.

Nava also feels stress because of having to restock her business. She tries to restock once a week, but since school has started, restock times have started to vary in timing. She’s only working on the business in her free time and only got one restock this August.

Her stress hasn’t gone unnoticed by her friends either. Nava has to keep up with the business while handling her school classes. Her friend, sophomore Anaika Castillo, says she’s there to help and come up with ideas when needed.

“I sometimes feel like it’s too much stress on her if she can’t come up with new ideas,” Castillo said. “Whenever she’s stressed, I’d always be like, ‘Go take a nap, go play with your dog, go play with your little cousins.’”

Despite her stress, Nava thoroughly enjoys pursuing her business, and her family and friends are there to support her in the process. 

Nava has even become an inspiration to her friends. Castillo says Nava has inspired her to want to create her own business as well. Although Castillo is nervous to do so, Nava has supported her ideas along the way.

“I always have ideas and I share them with her, and she’s very supportive about it, too,”  Castillo said.