An Interview with Jill
Jill and I have met several times in person, but as our working-mom schedules became more hectic, we decided to conduct this interview over e-mail. I love her answers! Keep reading to learn more about this great mom and her awesome site: www.honestbaby.com.
Q: What are your kids’ names and how old are they?
A: Jack is seven and Wyatt is four.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a mom?
A: Being able to do the stuff you did as a child all over again.
Q: What is your business?
A: Honestbaby celebrates imperfect parenting with informative articles, a panel of bloggers and no judgments. Our companion children's t-shirt line has sassy slogans that poke fun at parenting stress.
Q: How did the idea for your business start?
A: When I was a new mom I noticed many mothers took the parenting thing a little too seriously. Online I saw a lot of sites where parents criticized each other’s choices. Parents were made to feel like they were doing things "wrong." I was looking for moms like me — moms who made mistakes and found humor in the daily disasters. Not super-moms spawning super-children. I wanted to fill that gap so I launched honestbaby.com, a website and clothing line that would provide humor, community and most importantly, embrace imperfect parenting.
Q: How did you come up with the name of your business?
A: I thought it was funny to wonder if your baby could understand all of the parenting stress surrounding them, what would they honestly say. Our shirts give some of those imagined answers; "I'll walk when I'm good and ready", "sharing is over-rated", etc. So honestbaby kind of made sense, and the URL was available ☺
Q: How long did it take for you to get from idea to your first sale of a t-shirt? And what was that process like for you?
A: It took about six months. The process was grueling because I had to learn two industries from scratch. I had worked for ten years in film and television but knew nothing about fashion or running a website. I found people who had done it already and questioned the hell out of them.
Q: We all know people who have great ideas for businesses, but they never actually start up. Why do you think so many people stay in the idea phase?
A: You need major motivation. Mine was that I wanted to be my own boss, make my own hours, and have the flexibility to be around for my family. When I would hit dead ends, instead of giving up I would remind myself why I was doing it. It’s also putting yourself out there in a huge way. You have to be 100% behind your idea. Any doubt or insecurities will only hold you back. You need to be extremely optimistic and just a touch delusional.
Q: Why do you think you were successful? Why didn’t your idea remain "Just an idea" — what had you make it a reality?
A: Timing. It was at that point when I was pretty obsessed with the whole parenting world. I was passionate about it and motivated by my desire to work for myself.
Q: If you knew someone who had a great idea, what are the steps you would tell them to take?
A: Talk to someone who is in the same line of business. Find out how they did it. I was lucky enough, and pushy enough to get information from other people who were successful. Bounce your ideas off of other people. Don’t underestimate research. You can teach yourself anything if you take the time to do it.
Q: Do you think anyone could take those steps?
A: Yes. You can’t be shy and you have to admit you don’t know everything.
Q: What do you consider to be the hardest part of your business?
A: Prioritizing. I have so many balls up in the air right now that it’s hard to decide which to deal with on a daily basis. Everything is growing so quickly and there’s only so much time in the day.
Q: What is the most fun for you?
A: I recently shot a webisode about celebrity parenting. It was fun to get back to my roots of television production.
Q: What would you warn people NOT to do based on what you’ve learned through opening up a business?
A: Don’t rush. Take your time and do it right. You only have one chance to make a first impression.
Q: What would you tell people they should make sure they do based on what you’ve learned through opening up a business?
A: Believe in yourself and get behind your idea. The rest will follow.
Q: What do you consider your talents to be?
A: Being persuasive and creative.
Q: Do you get to use your talents in the business?
A: Yes, I need to be persuasive for many different facets of my business. Whether it’s convincing writers to contribute content, boutiques to carry our t-shirts or advertisers or partners to promote on our site, I am constantly working to persuade people to be a part of the honestbaby community. Creatively I like to think outside the box and collaborate with others as much as possible.
Q: What is the best part about owning a business and having young kids?
A: The flexibility! Being able to go to school events, be there if they’re sick, just hang out with them on a daily basis.
Q: What advice would you give to women who are thinking of starting their own businesses?
A: Persistence. Never give up. Even if you doubt yourself (which I did) work through it. Surround yourself with a good support system, which should include positive people and reliable babysitting.
Q: What role does your husband play? And how important is that to your success?
A: My husband plays a huge role! He encouraged me in every way possible. He helps with all the technical aspects. My background is creative. I knew nothing about running a website.
Q: Is there anything else you would want people to know that I haven’t asked?
A: I know it’s a cliché, but you really "can do anything you put your mind to". Don’t over think things. Just go ahead and do it.
I want to send a huge thank you to Jill for this interview. Check out those t-shirts, they're awesome!!
Interview by Sarah
