We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Lynch recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer , thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

As a Court Appointed Special Advocate, I volunteer for CASA of Travis County. My role is to support children in the Child Protective Services system. Whether from physical, sexual, or emotional abuse -or all three- these young people sometimes lose sight of their value. I didn’t.

Too often, a child would ask me, “Why do you like me?’

No child should ever question their worth.

I responded, “You Are Good.” I told them the many ways they were unique.

I realized these three small words made a significant impact on their self-image. There is so much power in telling them they are good!

You Are Good became more than a slogan or tagline. It’s a mission to instill worth in every child. I created clothing and notecards with the message so we can remind ourselves and others that we are all valued.

YOU ARE GOOD…..lovable and perfect, just the way you are!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My two daughters’ individuality inspired me to write Livi and Grace. Two sisters couldn’t be more different, but their love and acceptance of their uniqueness and each other’s gifts prompted me to write a children’s story. First, I wrote poems and it evolved into a story, which became a book.

Through my volunteer work with CASA as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children going through the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, I experienced the heartbreak of children who had never felt special, cared for, safe, and unloved. They were going through so much in their young lives—from child abuse to abandonment. I made it my mission to instill in every child I met that, “You Are Good”.

Since the publication of Livi and Grace, I’ve been invited to countless places to read the story to children. I never tire of the look on their faces the moment they connect with the story, which is often the love letters from the two sisters at the end. This is where they feel like my daughters are speaking directly to each child.

Love can be the easiest thing to give to a child. Open up your heart. Embrace their uniqueness. And remind them—and yourself—You Are Good.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

When I took the first steps to launch my new clothing brand, I took a leap of faith. My many fears included: Will buyers understand my message and mission? Will people like my design? Where will I get the money to buy the blanks and pay for screenprinting? What if nothing sells, and I’m stuck with thousands of shirts?

My goal was to create awareness for CASA of Travis County and sell a product that gave a percentage of the proceeds back to the organization. A total win-win for CASA!

My heart was indeed in it, and I believed my product fit many audiences, so I took the risk and moved forward. The prayers were quickly answered after placing my first order of 10,000 plus shirts. A writer for a local magazine, Rare, heard about me through the “talk of the town,” contacted me, and asked to do a story on my clothing line. Once the magazine hit the stands, orders started pouring in. This gave me the boost of confidence I needed. I contacted some big magazines like People and In Touch, which offered small businesses a space to advertise in the backs of their magazines, with credit card-sized spaces. The editors in charge of advertising heard my mission, went to my website, as I didn’t have any social media in 2008, and fell in love with the brand and the story. They loved it so much that they offered me a bigger space and ran the ads on the biggest weekends of the year. These ladies also connected me to producer and editor friends in New York. One of the friends was a producer for Isaac Mizrahi’s daytime show. The producer ordered a shirt in every color for the staff, and Isacc showcased the shirts on his show’s Mother’s Day segment. Well, the orders started flying in, and I was able to pay myself back, as I used money from my savings, and I was able to send money to CASA immediately.
Several months later, I was offered a space in a Dallas showroom for Market and soon sold clothes in every state, even Canada and Mexico. The message touched many people, and awareness began spreading like wildfire.

I’m not usually one to take risks, but my love and passion for CASA pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me realize that taking a little risk can turn into a significant, positive, glorious outcome!

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I took a chance and funded this business with my own money. I never borrowed one dime from family or friends. I feel it’s not good business to borrow from either; it’s risky, and I would want to avoid the stress of owing someone anything. If You Are Good tees had tanked, I would have only disappointed myself.

I also owned an event planning business at the time of this start-up, which was doing well. I took money from my savings and prayed it wasn’t a mistake. Also, I started small and was smart with my earnings and savings with the event planning company, as I knew my creative brain would want to dabble in something new, as it always does. Again, I keep doing it as someone who doesn’t like to take risks!

Contact Info:

• Website: jenniferlynchbcoks.com or youaregoodtees.com or liviandgracebooks.com
• Instagram: jenniferlynch.jenn