introducing
jessica the fabulous little gem of a lady behind the very successful, Jessica N Designs We are seeing you everywhere lately! Congratulations on all the publicity! Between features on Lauren Conrad and Tori Spelling and keeping two shops afloat you must stay busy! What are your thoughts on all of this buzz and how are you handling it? I am incredibly grateful for all the press we have been receiving lately! It is really exciting and humbling. Both Lauren & Tori are people I admire so it was sort of surreal being featured on both of their sites! I have been seeing a lot of the phrase “good things come to those who hustle” & I think it’s true. If you are really passionate about what you do & you work your tail off, people can’t help but notice. You do have to be prepared when press comes your way- we have definitely seen an increase in orders and emails! Tell us the story behind Jessica N Designs. When did you decide you wanted to run your own business? Did you have that ‘lightbulb aha’ moment or did you wake up one day surprised that you already were running a business? It has been a dream of mine to own my own business since I was in High School. I always knew I would, I just never knew how or what that business would be. I did know I wanted to be doing something creative, I have loved making things since I was a kid. Before I started jessicaNdesigns I tried & failed at a few things, but that just kept me going- pushing to find what I was really passionate about. When I had my first daughter, I wanted a necklace with her name on it & that is when I discovered hand stamping. I started making things for myself, then friends and family. The decision to open up an Etsy shop was a “why not, let’s see what happens” kind of thing and I thought it cupcakeMAG.com
would be so neat if a couple people I didn’t actually know ordered something from me. Little did I know how much my business would grow - after my first year, my sales more than quadrupled. It is so amazing to me when I really think about that. What have you found to be most effective in terms of running your business entirely online? When did you make the decision to move into the wholesale/brick and mortar business? How did you come to that decision? It continues to AMAZE me how many people you can reach online. I live in a very small town & my business would not be possible without the internet and the amazing blogging and handmade community. For me, building honest, lasting relationships & community with my customers is key. Building those relationships takes time, it is not something that will happen overnight, but it is essential. I am constantly blown away at the real, lasting friendships I have developed with incredible women I have met online. Running a business like yours takes up a lot of physical space. Let’s talk about the importance of having a work space. How did you carve a place to work out of your home? When I started, I was working wherever I could find space in our tiny house -in the living room, on the kitchen table, in our basement. It was so unorganized and all over the place and it was not ideal. But it is what I had to do to make it work those first couple years. Eventually I moved to a dedicated spot in our basement. When we out grew our small home, we moved & I was working out of the 4th bedroom in our 65