Welcome back to our weekly series, where we interview a creative entrepreneur!
I started this blog to be a landing place for women and moms who want to create uncommon lives with their families through entrepreneurship, so I started this series to help unveil the behind the scenes and story of starting and growing a business!
Today we are interviewing Joslyn Pattee, owner of Lemons & Lace. Joslyn designs and makes the CUTEST headbands around, and is a true HUSTLER. She has built her business with no formal business training, and it now includes 6 seamstresses, 61k+ instagram followers and loyal fans internationally in two short years. I can’t wait for your to hear her story!
Meet Joslyn!
Joslyn and her little cutie.
We also made a 20 min. Skype interview! So grab a cup of coffee, bundle up on the sofa while the kids nap and watch here.
So without further ado, let’s get started!
Hillary: What did you do before Lemons & Lace and how did you decide to start your own business? How did you discover your passion?
Joslyn: I have always LOVED doing hair! As a hair stylist, I have always enjoyed turning bad hair days into good ones. The hair accessories available in stores gave me a headache, so I started sewing headbands for myself. When I would wear my homemade headbands in public, people would frequently ask where they could buy them. It happened so often that I decided to start selling them.
For several years I sold my headbands mostly to friends and close contacts on a blog I called “Hip Headbands”. It was a small project, but it was a lot of fun. I was only making about $100 a month, but it went a long way in cosmetology school and early on in that career. The blog was simple, but it took a lot of work to sell a headband. The blog wasn’t automated at all, so it required a lot of back and forth between me and the customers.
After a couple years of Hip Headbands, my husband suggested starting a website just to make it easier for my customers to get what they wanted. There was really no expectation that it would turn into something much bigger than it had been for years. But that one decision changed my life! That first month I sold more headbands than I had in the previous year! It’s been a lot of fun to see things grow from that one little idea. Within 2 months, we became International and 5 months after that, I quit my job as a hairdresser & made L&L full time. I would say the mission of L&L is to bring affordable, comfy accessories to all ages.
I’ve been doing Lemons and Lace for just over 2 years. We opened shop December 1st, 2012.
What is your WHY? Why do you do what you do?
I love that I’ve been able to share my creations with people worldwide, 30 countries, 50 states & numerous boutiques. It still makes me giddy seeing each order come through. We have a lot of repeat customers which is such a big compliment. Overall, it’s just such a rewarding, positive force in my life.
What was the biggest failure you encountered while building L&L and how did you overcome it/learn from it?
There has been a lot of ups and downs in the last two years. One of the biggest struggles for me is learning how to run a successful business since I haven’t done it before. There is always a learning curve, knowing what is in demand, molding to what your fans are looking for. I think just learning how to adjust to growing business is a challenge.
I have learned that I need to recognize I have limitations to my skill set. I have other people fill in the work where I don’t have the talent or ability. I have had a lot of different people contribute in areas that I wasn’t capable of doing on my own.
Where did you find your mentors, or resources to help learn about business ownership?
My husband and family are huge mentors. They are my go-to sources when I need an honest opinion about an idea. My husband is so supportive and has had some great ideas about some of the more technical aspects of growing a business. He also knows the name of every single fabric (there are at least 60!). He’s busy with residency, but he does all of the finances and helps with other things when I’m stretched too thin.
What would you consider are your strengths as a business owner?
My biggest strength is customer service. My customers are very first at Lemons and Lace. We pride ourselves in creating high quality items as fast as possible. I put a huge emphasis on responding quickly to customer questions and concerns. It’s important that my customers see that they are my top priority.
What was the smartest decision you made along the way to get you where you are today?
I recognized the fact that people wanted comfortable trendy accessories and I think the smartest decision was buying a domain name, making a website and turning it into an LLC company instead of selling on a blog. It would have been a lot easier making a couple headbands a week when I had free time or when my husband was working late, but definitely not as rewarding.
What has been the most successful way you have advertised your small business and spread the word?
Instagram has been the biggest blessing. Without it, my job wouldn’t be as rewarding. Literally everyday, I am blown away by the comments, likes, followers and tags. I love that our IG is a place where people can get fashion inspiration from! One thing I have always strived to do is reach out/comment to those who tag us. I love connecting with our fans and making them feel special and they do that for me as well. I also love getting my fans involved by helping name fabrics, giveaways, caption contests and more. I have also gained some great friendships through social media, bloggers, customers and fellow shop owners!
Do you currently have help or do you do everything?
I got to the point where working at least 90 hours a week, and was staying up all night when I was 8 months pregnant. I realized that I couldn’t do that forever. It was hard for me to give up control over every aspect of the business, but it was the best decision I had made since starting the company in the first place.
I’m at the point where I have a lot of people that help out in a variety of roles. If I had not outsourced, I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now. I would say to outsource as early as possible. It has allowed me to focus on my specific skillset that has allowed the business to do well in the first place. There are people out there that can do my bookkeeping, sewing, packaging etc, much better than me. That way I can focus on what I do best, designing.
Exactly. I love that quote, “Do what you do best, and hire the rest!”
How many hours a week do you work? How do you balance work and home?
Balance…what balance?! I don’t have the balance that I would like to have yet. I still work probably 50 hours a week with the hired help of my team, babysitters and cleaning lady. I am looking to hire a personal chef, if anyone’s interested! Haha! Lifestyle is a tough thing when you run your own business. The business is always there, especially with the way people are always connected on the internet. It’s been a continuing struggle to find the right balance because this business will take every single second of my day if I let it! It is a ton of work, but I love it. My top priority is being a mommy, so eventually I would like to see my role become part-time in the business. I’m definitely not there yet, but I’m working towards that!
What type of lifestyle does your business afford you?
With my husband in residency as an ER doctor, you can imagine the amount of debt we are in The dual income has been a huge blessing! I never thought I would make MORE & sleep LESS than my husband!
Ladies, please take note. She just said she makes MORE than her doctor husband.
What has been your biggest business “WIN” or success story?
I would say my biggest win is that I have found a way to have sustained success. It is extremely rewarding. It is obviously beyond stressful at times, but still rewarding. Also the fact, that I find ways to grow the demand of orders, keep up with this demand, and keep the processing time down at the same time.
If you could sit down with any entrepreneur for a 2 hour lunch and pick their brain, who would it be and why?
This may sound crazy, but I would sit down with Taylor Swift. I love how she makes her fans feel like a million bucks, she stays true to herself and she is so successful in what she does. There are so many artists out there and yet she sells millions of records when people don’t purchase physical records as much anymore.
What do you do for fun?
I love going out to eat with my husband. We love date nights! We both love being outdoors, which is a little hard to do in Cleveland. I also love taking my 13 month old son on little mommy-son dates. He is my little buddy already and loves being in public.
What’s your favorite success quote?
“She believed she could, so she did”. I love this because I honestly believe you can do anything you want to. With a lot hard work of course!
What is your end game. Where do you see Lemons & Lace in the next year and ultimately when you have grown it to it’s ultimate destination?
I’d love to see the brand continue to grow, expand our products even more while maintaining our handmade feel, high quality items, short processing time and quality customer service. Last year, we designed our own lemon fabric for headbands & scarves and it was exciting! We also had our designs professionally screen printed on kids apparel. I would love to do more of that and a few more items!
Any parting advice to all the creative entrepreneurs and moms watching this interview?
Find what there is a demand for & run with it. Stay true to yourself, your brand and be patient. Sometimes success takes time. As hard as it may be, try not to compare yourself to others. Work hard & see where it leads you. Every story is different & unique, embrace yours!
Isn’t Joslyn’s story incredible?! I’m still blow away that she is making more than a doctor’s salary on her own, while staying home with her kids. Awesome. Power to all the mamas out there.
If you want to connect with Joslyn and ask a question, leave them below in the comments!
You can find her on instagram here, and check out her website here.
Happy Monday!
Be Brave, Hillary
