ChickSpeak

It’s not every day that we meet women like Jen Mull. As a trend-setting wife and mother of two darling girls, she’s managed to find the time and resources to conceptualize and build a brand that may one day give Lilly Pulitzer’s accessory line a run for its money. Jen’s company continues to create classically hip and whimsical items ranging from belts to bags and headbands, all of which are available online at Preppy Potato.com. We recently connected with Jen and wanted to find out more about how she’s been so successful and seemingly balanced in both work and personal life. She was candid, creative and as sweet as we’d thought she’d be… plus gave us some “preppy potato advice” that’s worth remembering. Thanks Jen!1. Preppy Potato is a name that sounds like it has a story behind it. How did it come about?

This question made me smile. While I was pregnant with my second child I took a local sewing class with one of my friends. After I outfitted my house with drapes and pillows, and made one too many cloth napkin… I wanted to create something else. I started with making a bag or two, and then I moved onto belts. I began sewing lots of them for friends and family. I literally decided to “do something” with the idea, and emailed my best friend a note that read something to this effect. “…Nobody will take me seriously as a “brand” unless I have a name, until then… I will just be some lady who sews belts.”

She fired back an email list of like ten possible names, and “Preppy Potato” was one of them. It made me laugh out loud, and remembering that, “I wanted to be taken seriously,” the idea of having a name that seemed anything but seemed appealing. Thus the name and company began.

2. You have cleverly named your various collections. Where does your inspiration for these names originate? How do you create these names?

Lets see, I have had many collection names. 1. Paris Flea Market Collection 2. Tiffany Blues Collection 3. Myers Park Collection. 4. Ann Arbor Collection… to name a few from the past. The colors of the fabrics will dictate a name of a collection. I went through a “shabby chic” phase a bit ago, thus the name “Paris Flea Market” came to be. Myers Park is a section of town where I live. I grew up in New England, so I am drawn to lobsters and the likes. We vacation every summer in Maine. It is my favorite place, other than home, to be. I am inspired by my life. All the belts/fabrics have names as well, and these are friend’s names, friend’s children’s names, family, classmates of my children, etc…

3. If your personality had a theme song, name the title and artist The song would be “Crazy” by Patsy Kline. The song is mellow but the lyrics are anything but. I live a full life. People on the outside always comment on how full it is. But ask my friends, and they will tell you I am mellow and quite peaceful. It is a strange combination. It is what makes me, me.

4. If you could choose any woman to be your “Preppy Potato Icon” who would it be? What collection would you want her to showcase first? How come?

Wow. Good question. A present day icon would be Reese Witherspoon. She is smart. I think she is smart before she is beautiful. I think her being smart makes her beautiful. Having never met her, she appears to be a good mom. She seems to have her priorities straight… and her head on her shoulders.

I like women who have layers. They are not tied up into one identity. They do not find their self worth in what they do… they find their self worth in who they are and how they treat others. I would put her in one of our headbands or give her a cute monogrammed buckle leather belt. An icon from the past would have to be Jackie O. There is nothing that says “classic” like this former First Lady. I think she made “classic” hip. It is what I try to do with our line of accessories.

5. Being a wife, a mom and a successful business owner must be stressful at times. How do you combat these stresses?

The pursuit of balance is just that. Ithink there are moments when it all comes together, but generally speaking, women expect to somehow get there, and I do not think it ever happens. In reality, my children need me right as the phone rings with a big customer. Market dates in the fall always coincide with the beginning of a school year… when I feel like it is important to be there for them as they make these significant transitions in their lives. I think going into it knowing what you will not compromise is important.

I could have grown larger faster, but for me, I would rather have well adjusted, well-behaved children then some silly account that I have to wait 90 days past the ship date for them to pay me. I may miss out a time or two with a sale here and a sale there, but I didn’t miss field day, and that is important to me. The best money I ever spent though was a housekeeper. To me, crossing one more thing off the list of things to do and not even having to do it, is priceless.

6. Identify one of the most significant challenges you have overcome in regards to starting your own business. What advice can you give to budding entrepreneurs?

The first time I swam with a big “fish” ie: a large account of 100 stores, they went bankrupt. It came as such a shock to me. It nearly swallowed me whole. I had worked so hard to get where I was, and it seemed quite hopeless b/c after paying for the raw materials, the labor, the manufacturing; I was out all of it. We shipped with a contract for them to pay after 60 days, an industry standard for large accounts. They stocked their shelves with our product and then sold it all. They filed Chapter 11, and I have never seen a red cent for any of it. This experience made me cautious. Before that I just rode the tide. I learned the in’s and out’s of my financial books. I learned I could survive. I hustled for new business like never before.

My advice is to learn all the “jobs” it takes to make your business succeed. Do you know how to take a photo? Do you know how to edit a photo? Do you know how to create a website and change a website from time to time? Do you know how to keep your books? Do you know how to manage your inventory? If you have a product that requires sewing, do you know how to sew? I am talking know how to do all of it. I am not saying you have to be an expert at it all, but I am saying, what if you have new design and you want to add it to your online store… waiting on someone else to do it for you, and then paying that person to do it, to me is silly. It will not happen overnight. It does not have to, but you should know how to do it in case you ever need to.

You need to also surround yourself with smart people. Learn by asking people / other women questions. Be vulnerable, not a smarty pants. Work with kind people. I have no time for mean people. My other advice is, do what you love because it will never feel like work.