We recently connected with Joann Grasser and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Joann thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Over the last couple of years Kenosha WI has been hit hard due to the riots in 2019 and then complete shut down in 2020 from covid. Many people switched to web sales/services and lost their storefronts/studios/businesses. I myself worked the entire time as an administrative assistant but wanted to do more for the community in Kenosha. Kenosha is my home town, and I was very much a theatre kid/artist growing up. I wanted to give a space for people to start new with their dreams, and I opened JJ’s Boutique & Studios to do just that. The Boutique is a storefront filled with women’s clothing and accessories that is vintage or fashioned after vintage styles of the 1970’s and earlier. 98% is consignment. I now have over 10 different vendors (mostly local) who are able to clear out their closets and make a little extra cash. The Studios portion of JJ’s space is open space for rent. Fitness/dance instructors, models/photographers, diy crafters/teachers, small business vendors (pop up vendor events), event coordinators, pretty much anyone who needs space to do what they want are welcome to rent. This gives them the space to start building their face to face business to hopefully bring them to the point of finding their own storefront/studio space.
Joann, 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?
Born and raised in Kenosha, I actually started my first job in 6th grade with a paper route. I kept that until I was a Sophomore in High School and as soon as I could got a job at the local grocery store as a bagger. I have worked in all types of jobs since then, from the bakery at the grocery store, an office person for a local storage company, hostess for restaurant, all levels of management in different retail stores, a commercial/residential painter, a pole dance instructor, different seasonal roles/jobs at the local Renaissance Faire, to finally 10 plus years as an administrative assistant for different companies. Through all of this I realized that I mostly enjoyed tasks that allowed me to be creative and organizational, and was done with the mundane “trained monkey” feeling that working for someone else was giving me. JJ’s is set to be open and inviting to everyone with an idea who just needs the space to complete it. Whether it be just to get more room in their closets (while making a little $) or instructing others in something they love.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I was still working at my 40 hour a week job as an admin assistant and was wasting time on a break looking at storefronts available, when I happened across the space I am in now. I truly thought is was a scam because it was listed for a great price, but reached out to the landlord anyway. To my surprise he responded back and I was able to get into the space for a first look over within a week. He was very open with me about having another interested client and that it was offered to them already. I gave him my thanks for at least showing it to me, and told him to keep me in mind if they fell through. Well 2 weeks later he contacted me asking if I was still interested. OH YES! Only I did not have anything saved or set aside to start this venture. As most I live paycheck to paycheck, and I was in the middle of refinancing my home. So I reached out to my friends through social media asking for funding to at least cover the security deposit which was due at the time of signing the lease. I was shocked and humbled by the response. I received the funding I needed! Everything since then has been through grants and a small business loan. I will suggest that anyone wanting to start a business not put the cart before the horse like I did. Make sure you have funding before committing to a space.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
JJ’s has only been open to the public since August 2021, and even though the Boutique is running well and as expected the Studios has not picked up and being rented out as I thought it would be. In 2022 I have had a few personal losses: my mother lost her short battle to cancer the day before Mother’s Day, I had to put my 10 year old dog (my momma’s boy and youngest of my pets) down due in June to a rapid decline in health, and then my 11 year old cat (oldest of my pets) pasted away in her sleep in September. I am the youngest of 3 siblings and the only one who lives close to our parents, so I am the one who “watches over” our father now. And during this last summer I still held my seasonal job at the Renaissance Faire, which included painting the exterior of a 2 story building. I have gone through many sleepless nights wondering what the heck am I doing, but the answer is always “Moving forward, no matter what it takes.” In 2023 I will be looking at finding a secondary/part time job to help supplement income, but also start organizing more Vendor Pop Up events at JJ’s and some photoshoot events in hopes to bring more Studio clientele.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjsboutique_studios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JJsBnS