Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Butler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jen, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

When I was in school, and for most young people, the path to the future is pretty cookie cutter. Graduate high school, go to college and start working. Young people are expected to somehow magically know what they want to do, would be good at, would find joy and fulfillment from doing and be able to support their desired lifestyle before having any real concept of any of these things. The problem I have with the educational system as an adult who has experienced it, a parent preparing for kindergarten and an educator living it daily is there is not and should not be one path that will lead children into a fulfilling life and career.

I began my journey into college thinking I wanted to be a fashion buyer for a company like Nordstrom. I was focused and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising, Design and Textiles from Washington State University in 3 years because I was so eager to start “real life”. Well, real life led me to realizing I had zero desire to work at a cubicle for 40 hours a week and thus retail management became my career for about 8 years. Realizing the hours, pay and that it was practically impossible to move up the career ladder was not working for me I had to come up with a new plan from scratch at 24. I knew I needed to work and eventually I would start a family so I had to come up with a career that could work with both. This led me to education.

When I became a teacher I thought it was going to be magical. I would get to decorate my classroom, create really fun lessons, be done working at 3pm and have summer break. It was and is not anything I ever imagined. Going into my 10th year of teaching I often ask myself why I keep signing up for another ride on the crazy train. Besides the obvious of needing to pay bills there are parts that are magical and fulfilling but they are ruined by the hundreds of unpaid hours required to meet the basic requirements of the job, the behaviors to be managed, admin and district politics, incessant meetings that could have been emails and all the other things you hear teachers complain about is true. So, after my second year of teaching I started a business called The Dotted Bow to supplement my income and with a hope for a more fulfilling, flexible and less stressful career.

Entrepreneurship is something that I do not think is taught enough in school or discussed within the family unit as a viable career path. College is not always the right choice to get the perfect career match. Helping students have a mindset of business and experiences in a variety of businesses could help save them a lot of time that might be wasted following the traditional path of college. Not everyone wants to become a doctor or a lawyer and that is ok. Additionally, although entrepreneurs might have to put in many more hours of work there is also the lifestyle benefit of freedom and flexibility of time. What I have realized is that success is not what they teach you in school, to grow up and be an adult working 9-5. Success is time. Time to choose when to work, when to play, when to grind, and when to make memories with the people in your life.

As corporations are starting to realize this trend in flexible work environments my hope is that education becomes more flexible. There are parents like myself that would like to spend more time with my child and be a part of their learning alongside their teacher. I would like to be able to travel and go on adventures that supplement the academic structure of our educational system. I would like to be able to be an educator who can have a flexible schedule working in person, online or at a location that benefits the learning of my students. The one size fits all, this is the way it’s always been done systems are not working. Work should not be all we do and suck us dry so there is barely anything left for ourselves and families. Education should not be treated as a babysitting program so that parents can continue on the hamster wheel. The education of our children should be an equal partnership between highly qualified educators and active parents. Both educators and parents should be able to have flexibility and freedom within their work and lives so that our children can learn and experience as much as possible. With education and experience students will be able to better figure out who they are, what they like, what they are good at and how they want to live. That knowledge is what will allow them to succeed at finding and securing a fulfilling career.

My dream is to continue to find that balance of career, family and freedom through building and refining my small business. I want my daughter to not be limited by what should be learned based on her age and grade level. I don’t want her to be stuck in a classroom packed of 30+ kids and an overwhelmed teacher who is bogged down dealing with behaviors that she can’t even teach. I want my daughter to learn through experiences by traveling more than just over her school breaks. I want our education system to support teachers and parents with flexible learning opportunities that meet the needs of working parents, allow educators to focus their energy on engaging lessons and individualized learning and allow children to become who they are meant to be and how they get there.

Jen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jen Butler, I am a mom, wife, elementary art educator and small business entrepreneur. My business, The Dotted Bow opened in 2004 and has evolved over time starting with farmhouse style wood signs, refinished furniture, handmade pillows to now floral hoop wreaths and custom home decor and gifts. I went viral for my “I dream of shiplap..” pillow which gained a lot of attention from huge bloggers like Liz Marie Galvan, liked by the Joanna Gaines herself and was featured on Country Living Magazine. I have refined my style and business to truly reflect what makes me happy. I pride myself and my business on custom hand made to order items. I want my customers to love what they order and for it to be exactly how they want it. The most special items are always the custom orders for weddings and nursery decor. I also enjoy sharing sharing DIY projects, home design ideas and everyday life.

I think it is important to figure out what you enjoy and then how to make a living from that. I would encourage anyone considering starting a business to just do it. Do not let failure keep you from potential success or the joy of a side hustle.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started out on instagram I had no idea what I was doing, I did not even have a personal account at the time. I just started posting photos of everything I made and then researching how to grow and get followers. In the beginning there was a lot of giveaways and small businesses doing following loops that I started participating in which helped my grow. Then I started finding and following bloggers who I then starting offering product to for posts. At that time bloggers and bigger accounts were happily working with small businesses for free product. I was lucky enough to get in contact with a blogger I loved named Liz Marie Galvan. At the time she had about 100K followers which to me was HUGE. She was just moving into her farmhouse and I offered to send her some pillow covers in exchange for photos on Instagram and she even did a blog write up with links to my Etsy shop. I was really excited but I had no idea how big it was going to be. I will never forget waking up a endless instagram notifications on my phone the morning she posted her styled pillow photo. I was driving to Las Vegas for my brother’s birthday that day and my phone notifications would not stop. Between the instragram dings and Etsy cha-chings it was crazy. That month, July 2016, I had over $10K in sales out of nowhere from one partnership. Country Living Magazine also reposted and shared the photo which kept the viral pillow moment going on through the next year. There was a lot learned from that viral moment. I have not experienced anything like it since but it was quite a wonderful ride. You never know what can happen from one partnership so don’t ever let fear of rejection or failure get in your way.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started with a Silhouette Cameo, an Etsy shop and instagram and the rest is history. I did set up all the legal stuff by myself through internet research not by paying someone. I also found a mentor to answer initial questions at the local Small Business Development Center. I kept my expenses really low. I didn’t want a business that needed a lot of upfront funding or inventory. That is the beauty of owning a business is that you have that control to decide what type of business you will have and what you are comfortable with. I did not have a fancy logo or website. I learned how to make my own logo, found the programs or apps to use to make my social media and photos look good. I learned how to create a website myself rather than pay someone to do it. If your funds are limited don’t let that be the reason you never start. The amount of information on google, pinterest, tik tok and instagram is more than enough to start marketing, building and starting your business. Don’t be afraid to ask one of your favorite small business owners or influencers questions, many are kind, helpful and happy to help.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thedottedbow.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedottedbow
• Other: Personal Instagram www.instagram.com/houseofbutlers

Image Credits
@lizmariegalvan (I dream of Shiplap pillow photo) all other photos are my own.