We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Soderman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
At The Hub we believe retail is much more than a sale. We have the ability to inspire each person who walks through our doors in so many ways. Our goal is to have each customer feel welcomed and inspired. Compared to industry standards, we purchase and merchandise our products in a fresh and curated way. When we build a collection we focus on what we want the customer to feel when they walk into the space. With that focus, we build our product line very intentionally. We also change up our displays every 3-4 weeks to keep it fresh and new.
Unfortunately, most retailers purchase to just build a collection without a care on how it will make the customer feel when they walk into the space. When you go to market to purchase your products or even purchase online with wholesale accounts, they put together many collections to choose from. When we are ready to buy for our collections we pull from many brands to make it happen. We never just buy the bulk of the collection that a retailer has already put together.
By curating what we offer, along with displaying them in a way that offers our customers the ability to see how they would be used in their own home, it helps the customer feel a sense of home and comfort overall.
When people walk into our store whether it’s the first time or their 20th time, we hear things like “Wow, it is so beautiful in here”, “I love how calm it is in here”, “I could buy everything!”, “There is just something different about this shop and I just love it”, “There needs to be more stores like yours!”, “I love how you have such unique offerings. So many stores carry the same stuff”
We also take time to connect with our customers. We believe life can be a crazy ride and it is important to be there for each other. We ask questions that help us meet our customers where they are at in their life. We have learned and connected with so many in our community. The way we have created a space that allows people to be vulnerable in a way that makes them feel seen and heard is something you don’t get when you go to big box stores. We have had the honor of hearing about the highs and lows of the community we serve. So many of our customers have become regulars and we can’t wait to see them again to grab a hug and catch up.
The way we have been able to embrace this environment is to be vulnerable and real ourselves. Between sharing on social media, elaborating in our newsletter, or making our product displays an opportunity to share our heart, our customers have gotten to know who we are and what we are about. We truly believe that has been one of the biggest things our customers have grown to love.
We have been honored to be able to create what we have and to have it be so well received by the community.
Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am 37 years old and have been married for almost 17 years to my amazing husband, Jordan Soderman. We have 2 sons, Hunter -14 and Caleb-11. I followed my husband’s military career for the first 5 years of our marriage, all while working in the retail world. I worked for a few different bigger brands in management roles and have always loved creating visual displays, the team aspect, and being with the community. I didn’t like not being able to have control over the inventory we brought in.
After we brought our second son home from the hospital we decided I would stay home with our boys. I cherished that time with them. In the midst of staying home with them I had dabbled in a direct sales brand. In those years I was able to really rely on my own ability to make things happen for my business. It showed me that I truly had it in me to make whatever I set my mind to happen. It also allowed me to grow in public speaking, self discipline, and goal setting.
In 2017 I opened my first business, which was a craft workshop structure. It was such an amazing experience and to this day I am still so thankful for that opportunity. I ended up choosing to close the business Sept. 2019 due to some health issues I was having, along with the tough decision of our lease terms. Little did I know that it was a blessing to make such a huge decision when I did. A month after I closed I was diagnosed and knew a surgery and long healing was ahead of me. Little did I know Covid would happen a few months after that. I had such peace in my heart about closing, however it was incredibly hard to close that chapter of my journey. This was a moment in my life I truly realized how important it was to lean into God and what his plans are vs. my own.
Fast forward to me being healed and excited to get back out into the community. I had an itch to start my next chapter. I had an opportunity to take over a lease Fall of 2021, however the more I tried to make the pieces fall into place, the less peace I had about the timeline of it all to make it happen. The time frame had switched a bit and I would need to open June/July vs. in the Fall. I had to back out of the offer and it was so hard to know it wasn’t the right time. Again, to my surprise, there really is a reason for everything. My dad ended up taking his life that July and I was completely broken. The sadness that can take over is something words won’t ever be able to express.
September of that year I reached out to another local small business about a job. I never thought I would work for someone else again, but I knew I had to be in the community and doing something I love to help me get through this hard season. I will forever be grateful for the time there and the ability to gain my happiness and ambition for life back.
I walked through the location of The Hub February 2022. It was a complete shell of a building for sale. My husband entertained the idea of a walk through and when we walked into the space I thought there was no way Jordan would think it was at all something we would take on, even with all of my past projects and renovations I have helped do in others homes. He took a walk around the building, stopped in front of me and said “Babe, I know you can make this look great. Let’s go home and crunch some numbers and have you get out your sketchbook.”. I was in absolute shock if I am being honest.
From there things happened fast. I worked on building an entire business plan for a boutique that would be so much more than a store. We lined up funding and a general contractor and got to work. We closed on our building on May 31st, 2022 and opened our doors on September 24th, 2022. It was a whirlwind. The way everything came together, in the time frame that it did was truly remarkable. I had a fire in my heart that I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to get back. The people in my life that cheered me on and helped make it all happen are too many to name. But one thing for certain is God was in every step and still is.
At The Hub we focus on keeping life simple and loving well. We fill our shelves with products that will inspire you and lift you up. We are intentional in connecting with our customers and provide a space for them to gather and connect as well. The upstairs of our building is our event space. We are able to partner with other small businesses and have them share their talents with the community in different workshops/classes. I say “We” because without my team this wouldn’t be possible. I am honored to have the team I do. Linda Gilbertson is so incredibly talented. Her vision and kind heart coincide with mine and we are a powerhouse of a team when it comes to execution and meaning behind what we do. I have the pleasure of having my mom, Barb McCallum, working with me as well. Her attention to detail and ability to help keep my thoughts straight, help keep everything running so smoothly. We have so many wonderful women on our team. I wish I could take time to share about each of them! We have created something special and we all cherish what we do together. I am so thankful for the healthy team aspect we have.
I can honestly say I am the most proud of what The Hub has become with the engagement of our community. The shop is filled with God’s love. Between the products on the shelf, to the conversations happening every day, there isn’t a day we go home without saying “Wow, what an amazing day. How are we this lucky?”. To be able to create a space and product selection that showcases our style and simplistic living, along with intentional gifting options, plus an atmosphere where the community feels safe to share their own life trials or celebrations, is truly special and something we don’t take for granted.
We will continue to focus on bringing a curated home decor collection, with purposeful gift giving options, bundled up with God’s love at the center of it all. Being kind and showing compassion is something you can’t purchase, but is something The Hub will always have full stock of.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2019 when I closed my craft workshop business that was a major pivot for me for life and a business direction. It was hard to choose to close a business that was working and working well. However, due to health issues, I knew sustaining the business at the rate it was growing wasn’t realistic when I was the sole person running everything. After I had my surgery for endometriosis and adenomyosis in June 2020 I was truly forced to slow down. I was the type of person who was always doing something. I didn’t realize how unhealthy it was until I was forced to stop. It allowed me to realize I was living on high anxiety non stop and now what calm felt like in my body. It showed me how important it was to take care of myself mentally and emotionally. Even though I love showing up for others, I need to show up for myself first.
Taking the time to heal in all areas was a game changer when it came time to rethink what I wanted out of my next business. It forced me to get out of my comfort zone of “I will do it on my own”, to, “I need a team to support me.” It made me put a focus on my schedule overall, so I could be sure to still show up as a wife and mom.
Having the know-how to run a business isn’t everything you need. A healthy business is supported by many factors. For me it was the importance of team support. For the size of business I knew I would be creating I knew being the sole employee wasn’t feasible. I had to look at my talents as a whole and figure out what areas I needed to hire for to be able to delegate so I wouldn’t overfill my schedule again.
After loosing my dad to suicide and working through the incredible grief, I have had an even larger desire to meet people where they are. Being forced to slow down the year prior and then the heavy sadness that I was experiencing made me want to love the people who crossed my path that much more. Yes a business needs to be run well to succeed, but if you forget to connect with the people who help make it run, then you are missing the point. Life is short and unexpected. We have been blessed in the fact that what we are doing is working really well, but if it were all to close tomorrow I would walk away knowing we touched the hearts of the community and it was a job well done.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
When we decided to lock in funding to make The Hub happen I first reached out to MCCD’s, Open for Business program. They offer no cost business consulting and offer trusted business advisors to help you find resources you may need. This was a huge benefit for me to kick everything off as fast as I needed to.
They helped advise me on a few questions I had for my business plan. They also guided me to the bank we used for our Small Business Loan. Because they help so many small businesses every day, they truly had the right resources for me to use and help propel me forward in the right direction.
We ended up working with Dan at Northeast Bank in Coon Rapids. It was a very smooth process and still is to this day. We met with Dan to show him our business plan and vision boards. We talked through every portion of the business from purchase price of the building, build out costs, costs for fixtures and inventory, and our 2 year projections for sales/costs.
Because of the size loan we were going to need, MCCD also had a smaller loan option for us to try for. We were able to lock in a loan with them and it helped us keep our SBL at a lower amount, saving us a substantial amount of money in different fees.
My husband works incredibly hard for our family and has been the main provider for many years. We had what we needed for our down payment to lock in the loan thanks to him.
The biggest thing I can share when it comes to funding and being able to make it happen, is to truly do the work with the numbers. Writing out a detailed business plan is a true way to help set yourself up for success. It allows you to see if the area you are putting your business in can truly sustain the numbers you hope to meet. It helps you realize how much payroll you may need to keep things running smooth and feel supported. It gives you a clear indication of what your bottom line is each month. It will help ease your mind when you are talking bigger numbers overall. If you don’t have the answer, someone out there does, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thehubanoka.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehubanoka/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehubanoka