We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Prill. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

The biggest risk I’ve taken was opening my second business after suffering some major financial blows through my first try at small business ownership.  I was certain I’d never do it again.  There was just too much to lose, too many hours to work, and too much stress and responsibility that overwhelmed my personal life and freedom.  For years when I was asked how I felt about having been a small business owner during the crash of ’08, I’d recite all these factors and add, convincingly, that I was done.

My first business was a boutique gift shop/apothecary in a small Minnesota town.  I had been managing the enterprise for five years, and in early 2007, I bought the business and was off to the races.  Little did I know what lay ahead.  Things ran smoothly for the first year, but the next four were the most difficult of my life.  People all around me were losing their jobs and homes.  Longtime customers were dropping by to apologize that they were “just looking” this time around and wished they could buy like they used to, but the money wasn’t there.  I was not prepared to deal with this situation at all!  I tried sales and other special events and everything else I could think of, but nothing was working.  I was carrying a huge loan payment, and even though I had the best landlord I could ask for — who gave me a break on rent while we tried to weather the storm — I couldn’t keep up with the bills.  The phone began ringing day and night with calls from collection agencies, and soon “Store Closing” signs went up in my windows.  I felt like the world’s biggest failure.

Right after closing the shop, I transitioned into a really great job which, at first, reinforced my belief that being a business owner just wasn’t for me.  I liked the steady paycheck and the ability to “leave work at work”; I told myself I was never looking back.  But it turned out that I simply wasn’t cut out to work for others over the long haul.

And that remained my outlook for about four years.  Over those years, I traveled as a sales rep in the beads and stones industry.  I was a hobby jeweler and was learning silversmithing in my free time.  I took part in a few art shows and pop-ups from time to time…and my thinking began to change.  I started to entertain the idea of working for myself again, but the memories of my past failure still haunted me.  It wasn’t until I had my daughter that I decided to try to make my hobby my fulltime job.

Now, a newborn and starting a new career don’t necessarily make a good fit.  My first step was quitting my job as a traveling sales rep so that I could spend all my time at home with my daughter.  One day, while having coffee at a local shop, I found myself daydreaming about the empty storefront just across the hall from where I was sitting.  I imagined how I would decorate…where I would put my jewelry displays…how I would arrange the area.  It was such a sweet little space!  I had a conversation with one of the other business owners in the building whom I knew from the art world and who knew my history in business ownership.  I mentioned that it might be fun to do a pop-up for the holidays in that empty space.  My friend loved the idea and said she would love to help me get started.  The problem was I had ZERO dollars to turn the idea into reality.  So I reached out to other artists I knew, and we all pitched in to open “The Holiday Pop-Up Shop” (there was no time to come up with a more creative name).  So I and 10 other artists sold our creations that holiday season.  My three-month-old daughter was with me the whole time, and I found that, with a little planning, I could do things my way, on my terms.  And this was the start of a six-year journey into not just one business but three!

Today I have my own line of jewelry, Jessica Leigh Designs; my gallery, Fleur De Lis Gallery; and my newest undertaking (and probably the most risky), Good Day Coffee.  I opened Good Day with a friend during the pandemic, and it is located in the very space where I had sat, my newborn daughter in my arms, and daydreamed about doing a pop-up that first year.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jessica Prill, mom, artist, and entrepreneur.  As I mentioned, I currently own Good Day Coffee and the Fleur De Lis Gallery, as well as my jewelry line, Jessica Leigh Designs.  My gallery is just across the hall from my coffee shop in a space vacated by a cupcake shop that closed because of COVID-19.  I became concerned that not having the former baked-goods space filled would hurt my gallery foot traffic, so the joint concept was born.  I tell people I opened the gallery to sell my jewelry, and then I opened a coffee shop to draw people into my gallery to buy my jewelry…-)!

I believe that what sets my businesses and me apart is that my shops offer friendly, genuine service along with truly unique products, many of which I’ve designed myself.  I suppose that makes me something of an entrepreneur, but with a twist:  I bring to my work a passion for originality in a world of too many “cookie-cutter” options.  True, you can buy handmade jewelry online, but with an online purchase,  you cannot get it custom-designed; or hold the stones which will be fashioned into the final piece; or meet the artist face-to-face, leading to a great conversation and personal connection.  That difference is what I love to provide.

I run my coffee shop along with my friend Cathy Collison, an incredible glass artist in her own right who has her own line of torch-blown glass ornaments (which I also carry in my gallery — forgive the shameless plug).  Cathy and I specialize in giving our customers the best coffee and baked goods possible.  We use top-quality ingredients, some of which Cathy grows in her garden.  In-season menu items are locally sourced — strawberry rhubarb is my favorite!

I chose the name Good Day Coffee because I wanted to create a warm, uplifting environment in a region that often contends with cold, harsh weather.  Our goal is to be a bright spot in our customers’ day, because they certainly are a bright spot in ours!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Customer growth for all three of my businesses has been 100% word-of-mouth.  I have used social media to some extent because it is a great way to stay connected to current customers.  But every day I have new customers stop in because they were told about us by a friend.  That’s the best type of advertising, and it’s totally free!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I had to unlearn was more something I had to let go of — the experience of a business failure which created a great insecurity in me about being successful on my own.  In order to do what I am doing now, I really had to let go of my fears and take a leap of faith…in myself.  That may sound cheesy, but that is what I had to do.  My new businesses definitely have given me their share of stressful moments — a worldwide pandemic, typically rough Minnesota winters, and now looming talk of coming economic hardships.  But we have weathered all the storms so far, and we have done it because of the amazing community which has supported us and which we try to strengthen in return.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fleurdelisgallery.com
• Instagram: jessica_leigh_designs
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gooddaycoffee
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/fleurdelisgallerymn/