May 2009 Newsletter from WithIt:WOW Leader

WOW LEADER

Jamie Young

Interview by Stephanie Lowder

I grew up in a very open, liberal, California family environment. My Mom is a painter and sculptor, my father is an entrepreneur, my older brother is a musician. We were always encouraged in the arts and whatever we wanted to learn. That helped me to think I could do anything I wanted to do, it gave me a very strong background of support.

At age five, I wanted to be a fashion or textiles designer. I was taking art and design classes by that age. At age seven, I designed my own bedroom.

I didn't originally intend to go to college, I wasn't that impressed with the benefits of a formal education. But then I decided I would go, and there was this requirement to get into Parson's. They said if you want to study here, first you have to complete one year of college at another accredited institution and get straight As. So I went to ASU, Arizona State, for one year, with straight As. After Parsons, I realized I loved design but not fashion design, I loved commercial design - graphics, product, textiles - and that became my work.

My very first job after Parson's: I worked for a small soap company, Rainforest Essentials. They let me do everything - design, packaging, tradeshows, learn about production, learn about selling. I learned about everything. It was a great opportunity for me. At the same time, I had my own design business - I always had that.

Garden pots. David and I took a day trip to Mexico and brought back these really beautiful garden pots. We resold all of them to a florist at home. So we began making our own pots, handcrafted, beautiful. That was one of the things we were designing.

I decided to have kind of a yard sale at my house. I used every room and every space, I gave each space a different look - one room had a baby clothes theme, one had a garden theme, and so on. I wanted to see what people were attracted to, what they responded to, what they bought. I sent out 300 invitations, beautiful handmade invitations, and ran it like a mini store for three days. At the end of the three days we were really surprised to see what people responded to - garden pots. No matter in what room, or how things were presented, it was always the pots.

We then got the idea to make pots into lamps. David designed a base - his background was as a sculptor and furniture designer, making antique reproductions and fine furniture for many high-end clients in California. Then we made a cement mold to reproduce the base, and that was the beginning of our lighting company.

After a year working with lamps, David said I think we need to go to India. If we're serious, we need to travel and we need to see the beautiful materials they're using in India. So we went to India, and that really allowed us to find something unique. No one was doing UL lighting there at the time, it was an unfilled niche. So we developed our own UL approved lamps in India - with bases & shades packed in one box, special finishes, container shipping, the whole program.

How did our lamps become so popular, so fast? I think it was because we had something unique. And a whole lot of drive.

And marketing - I love design, I love talking to people, and that's the essence of marketing. We went to tradeshows and spent all of our money - and I mean ALL of our money - on market samples. We developed the most beautiful samples we could imagine, and very well made. We had beautiful business cards, hand-done - I spent hours and hours on these cards. We had a really beautiful catalog, with photography that we staged ourselves. We handed out catalogs for free to anyone who would take one and probably some people who didn't even want one.

I knew that if we wanted to grow our brand, we had to make it as easy as possible for people to find us.

For the press, we sent anything they needed, any sample, anytime, overnight. In our second year of business, we got a whole bit in Elle Decor. Two years later, we were in Architectural Digest. That helped.

I think we did start some trends. For instance, we didn't just put any old white or ivory fabric on our shades. I love textiles, so we picked some of the very finest out there - with fabric, we went crazy. And we applied it in interesting ways.

Our company is driven by talent, so we're not really focused on knockoffs. In the beginning it did sometimes bother us when someone took our design. We have sent some letters, but at this point we've never sued anyone. We make a point not to get caught up in the anger. We just keep going forward.

I've had many kinds of mentors. One was like a cheerleader. He didn't know MY business, but he knew business. And he taught me a lot of things about business, one of the most important being: don't be afraid to say no. He taught me that saying no is one of the best things you can do in business. It makes you slow down, it keeps you true to your intention, to your own plan.

I'm never afraid to ask. I go to people all the time to ask about business - a ton of people, in accounting, in legal, in sales.

One thing High Point needs? To consolidate. This spring we showed in InterHall. It was a fantastic show for us - in fact, it was our best tradeshow in the 12 years of our business. Our location was so phenomenal, but we heard it wasn't that busy in all locations. Consolidating would make it so much easier - for everyone.

Why not "Young Jeter Company"? When we first started and were choosing a name, David said people might think "Jamie Jeter" sounded like a roto-rooter business. Or they if they weren't familiar with sports they'd mispronounce Jeter. Jamie Young is a simple name, and "young" is a word everyone can relate to.

Until January this year, we were not affected by the economic downturn - lighting is probably less affected than larger ticket items. But in January things began to slow down. For instance, the NY tradeshow, which is normally one of our largest annually, was off 50% in January both in sales and attendance. Now business is starting to pick up again.

Business changes in the last six months: Our factories have lowered their minimum order requirements and are shipping a bit faster. Our designer business is way up. We are taking a smaller booth in NY this summer than usual. We're using our marketing money differently this year - more e-mails, more specials being offered. We want to help our customers get thru this period and still offer great unique product.

Something I'd really like to share with women just starting in business, if it could help somebody. Something I've learned in the last six month's economy - to trust my instincts, faster, quicker. Not to be afraid of making decisions that everyone may not love, that might upset some people, but that are best for the company.

Being a woman in business faces us with challenges others do not face. I really believe that. I believe it's harder to make tough choices - not family choices, but business choices. Choices that may upset some people. And I've learned it's not always about what you want to do, it's what you have to do. We have to ask, how will we be profitable and continue to move forward?

And it's freeing. It's freeing to realize that you don't have to follow the rules - even if you made the rules. You can break them, you can change them, you can move on to a better way.

I'm only 43. Everyday I'm making many different kinds of decisions. We have two boys, 12 and 8, and family in LA. I'm still leaving work every day to watch a soccer game or some other kind of game. We're trying to live a balanced life.

Inside my bedroom closet it's very neat, organized, and color-coordinated. Very color-coordinated. I probably have 400 scarves in there - we do a lot of traveling around the world and it's an easy thing to pick up.

The next thing I want to learn is compassion. For myself and for others. For the world.

Girlfriends. I have a very large number of fabulous, close girlfriends. I have coffee every Saturday morning with a group, other friends I've kept since 7th grade, and many more I've made in the last ten years. They are a huge part of my life. Girlfriends try to help me keep it light.

Jamie Young Jeter is co-founder and principal (along with partner and husband, David Jeter) of the Jamie Young Company, www.jamieyoung.com, makers of lamps, shades and accessories for residential, hospitality and custom markets.