Movers, Shakers, Mommies, and Makers

Success Stories from Mompreneurs

Gibbs Smith

• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781423644309
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Success

Eleven entrepreneurial women share their stories of balancing motherhood with starting their own businesses in this inspiring anthology.

Motherhood is a full-time job—and so is starting a business from the ground up. Attempting to do both at once can seem daunting, but as these firsthand stories of success demonstrate, it really can be done. In their own words, eleven mom-entrepreneurs tell their stories of transforming their businesses from side-projects in craft-rooms and garages to nationally recognized brands.

While each of their stories is unique, these women all speak of the leap of faith required to make their dreams come true. They all share what they learned as their businesses—and children—grew. Now the furniture, clothing, toys, diaper bags, and other products these women create can be found in stores across the country, including at major retailers such as Nordstrom and Walmart.

Leap of Faith

Ali Fenlon

DeNai Jones and Korie Conant

Every business experiences that “leap of faith” moment when decisions are finally made to shut out feelings of doubt and just go for it. It is when you give your business wings to fly—and usually start spending the big bucks. It is both a scary and an exhilarating time.

While all of the mompreneurs in this book discuss their leap of faith moment, or multiple moments, depending on the business, Ali Fenlon of Sage & Harper and DeNai Jones and Korie Conant of Petunia Pickle Bottom have particularly engaging stories about leaving behind paying jobs, making the decision to leap, and filling their need for creativity and innovation.

Fotofly © Ali Fenlon (left), Kim Corona (right)

Sage & Harper

Ali Fenlon

sageandharper.com |

Sage & Harper |

@sageandharper |

@SageandHarper

In the Beginning

As a young girl, I spent precious time with my grandma in her very humble home. In her basement was a sewing workshop of sorts. When I picture this room, I can still smell the aroma of a warm wood-burning stove and hear the pitter-patter of a Seattle rainstorm outside. This special room was filled with everything that one could need to create just about anything. Thimbles and spools of vintage threads lined the shelves of wooden cabinets on the walls; the closets were overflowing with colorful, retro fabric scraps and hundreds of used patterns; pins and scissors were scattered about; and I loved to be in the chaos alongside my grandmother.

Her gift was incredible. She could take something ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary. Those piles of wrinkled fabric could be totally transformed. I was amazed that with a vision, a steady hand, and a sewing machine, the results could be anything from an elaborate, gorgeous ball gown to a hip, sporty jogging suit. Her passion for perfection and attention to detail was evident in all her work. She eventually began designing for various organizations and sold many of her original patterns and designs. I loved to parade around in her endless creations and to pretend that I was all grown up and working as a fashion model on the runway.

I was taught to sew at a very young age. My mother taught sewing classes, so by default, I was always a student. Sewing, unpicking, and resewing seams became irritating, and I soon learned to do all of my projects right the first time. Stitches were to be straight and perfect—nothing less would do—which instilled in me an eye for detail and quality.

My experiences as a young girl helped to lay the foundation for what would later become my business, Sage & Harper.

Creating a New Me

I managed a retail store in my early twenties, and when I had my first daughter and became a stay-at-home mom, I was home just one week before it became apparent that changing diapers nonstop wasn’t as fulfilling and gratifying as I’d hoped. I loved my new role as a mother, but my personal growth was lacking. I felt the absence of the workplace because it had challenged me in so many creative ways. My goal now was to find a strong substitute for what I was missing and a creative outlet to excite me.

I went into my sewing/laundry room and found a stash of old fabric, everything from cut-off jeans and fabric scraps to curtains and tablecloths. I decided I’d make something out of it. A bag seemed easy. How hard could it be? I finished it, tried it on, and looked in the mirror. It was awful—all slouchy and quite unattractive. So I kept at it, sewing every single stitch by hand until I had seventy bags. A common aesthetic began to emerge in my bags that included abstract florals, geometric prints, and bold colors. I got excited seeing all my hard work in the form of these quirky bags, so I invited my friends and family over to buy them. I made some cookies and juice, and less than two hours later, I had sold every single bag. I was thrilled and realized that I was on to something.

Sage & Harper’s classic messenger bag.

Travis Richardson

The Big Leaps

Over the next four years, my little hobby grew and soon began to take over my life. I had sewn close to 400 bags by hand. The house was a disaster, and most days, my husband would come home at five thirty in the evening to find that I was still in my pj’s, no bra, hadn’t brushed my teeth, and the baby was crying as I rocked the rocker with one foot and pushed the sewing machine pedal with the other. Most of my weekends were spent setting up and taking down my booth at local craft shows and art venues just to sell a few bags here and there. That process of getting my brand out in the community to become more recognizable was very slow and daunting. Eventually, my husband sat me down and said, “Let’s decide what you should do with this business, sweetheart. Either we put this all to bed, or we give it wings to fly.” Mind you, I hadn’t made one red cent up to this point; after we factored in labor and the cost of materials, I wasn’t even profitable. So we decided to go big or go home. We needed to take a chance and launch this in front of a large captive audience. We had heard of a huge fashion exhibit (in fact, the largest in North America) called WWDMAGIC. I called to get a booth. “I’ll take the biggest you’ve got,” I said. The rep went on to tell me that a twenty-by-twenty booth would cost $30,000. My sad reply was, “Oh, ok . . . what’s the smallest and cheapest booth you have?”

I sewed my little heart out to make a handful of prototypes, and soon we packed up for the show and went down to Vegas. It seemed like a good location to place our bets. Once we unloaded our trailer, I had my hammer and drill in hand. We began setting up shop next to some giant booths like Free People and Jessica Simpson.

To say I felt like a little fish, a tadpole really, in a giant pond is an understatement.

My husband and I, along with a friend, were anxiously waiting for the show to start. Unfortunately, my nerves got the best of me, and before I knew it, I was sick as a dog and found myself stranded on the toilet, unable to move. I had convinced myself before the doors opened at the show that if we sold just one bag, I would be happy. My husband called me to say, “Where are you? We just did a $1,000 sale.” I immediately dropped to me knees in the bathroom stall and started a prayer of thanks. I finally made it back to the booth just in time to see a small group of buyers walk into our booth with name tags that read, “Disney.” What?! I was blown away and pinched myself as we made a business deal with one of the biggest companies in the world. In the weeks following the show, we made deals with Kohl’s and many other retail shops across the country.

Sage & Harper’s classic back pack.

Travis Richardson

Less than two weeks later, I hopped on a plane to Guangzhou, China, all by myself to see if we could actually fulfill the orders that we had promised. I hired a female translator, Cici, to accompany me through the city. She took me to McDonald’s for lunch the day after I arrived, and after we ate, she asked me if I needed to go to the bathroom. While standing in line, she asked if I needed a tissue, and I politely said no. I went into the stall and realized that the toilet was just a hole in the ground and there was no toilet paper (aka tissues). Over the intercom, I heard N’SYNC Christmas music. I laughed to myself, as this trip was in mid-April. Once I realized the scope of just how foreign all these things really were, I began to feel my heart beat heavy in my...

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Leap of Faith
• Learning Curve
• Managing Expectations
• It Takes a Village
• Finding the New Normal
• Follow Us