“It’s incredible what following your dream can do,” Kayla Stewart tells PEOPLE
NEED TO KNOW
- Kayla Stewart went from struggling young mother to business owner after being inspired by a secondhand children’s store hours away from her home in Spanish Fort, Ala.
- Despite giving up nursing school and facing financial setbacks, she and her husband risked everything to open a Kid to Kid in their community
- She liquidated $200,000 from her home and 401K to open the store, which now serves her community’s needs
At 21 years old, Kayla Stewart’s life changed in an instant. She had just moved into an apartment with her husband, Austin Stewart, when she found out she was pregnant in April 2015.
At the time, Kayla tells PEOPLE she was working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), making $9 an hour, while Austin earned $11 an hour as a deckhand. Money was already tight, and the reality of raising a child under those circumstances felt overwhelming.
“Having a baby and barely being able to pay your bills was extremely hard,” Kayla tells PEOPLE exclusively. Still, the couple did whatever it took to get by, even if it meant sacrificing comfort, rest and the small joys most young couples take for granted.
“We lived off of peanut butter sandwiches and butter rice to make sure we had the money to keep a roof over our baby’s head,” Kayla recalls…