We recently connected with Megan Goudeau and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan , thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

A name is huge, right? A lot comes with a name no matter if it’s a person or a business. When you hear it you almost immediately form an impression. When coming up with the name for the company I struggled, no lie. It was so hard, much harder than I thought it would be. I remember writing down so many things and just thinking “this doesn’t feel right.” It took a lot of thought and a lot of prayer before I landed on our actual name. One of the names I was fond of and the business was almost named, was Red Cape Boutique. A little back story on that, growing up I always had a deep love for fashion. When I was in junior high, capes became popular for women to wear as an alternative to a coat. I loved them, I just thought the ladies who wore them were so beautiful and fashionable. My Gram (grandmother) wore one one day and I just couldn’t get over how wonderful it was, in my little girl mind she was a fashion star.. little girl me was the sweetest little dreamer. I told everyone how much I loved that cape! Well, she made me my very own… and yes, I still have it to this day. I wore it so proud – I was even teased over it at school, because what other junior high girl is walking around in a red fashion cape instead of a jacket? I didn’t let the teasing dampen my spirit and that red cape taught me a lot, especially that it’s okay to be different. Red Cape Boutique didn’t stick because I realized my attachment to the story is why I loved it so much and it just didn’t feel quite right. This store needed a name that stuck, that was simple and that I could build a brand on. JM. My initials are JM and when I said it for the first time to my husband I wasn’t even being serious and he replied, “I really like that, it’s simple but good.” I really liked it myself. From that day forward the business was named. Although it’s my initials it’s not about me. JM is its own. JM is her own self, her own brand. I’m just so happy to be the one who is behind it. My goal for JM has always been for people to be proud to wear it, for them to love the brand. To create not only a store front but a brand that loves people and people love it back. We are happy to be known as JM.

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.

I am a mom to two wonderful little boys and married to my best friend. I am also a licensed cosmetologist and was in the industry for six years before leaving to run JM full time. I feel like the beauty and fashion industry go hand in hand and complement each other so well. It was almost like being in the cosmetology industry fanned my flame for fashion. I always talked about wanting to open and run my own storefront but it was something I would never act on, even though my husband was telling me to do it. I am a dreamer, always have been so I would dream up what my store would look like and talk about it but never take action. Today I can say I am much more of an action taker. God plays a huge role in where I am today, all things work beautifully in his timing and he decided it was time. The salon I worked for at the time was relocating, the building we were moving to had a unit available next door. While taking care of things for my station at the hair salon one day my husband wandered over to the empty space. He checked it all out and conveniently that empty unit had a door that connected right next to the chair where I was doing hair. He started on me that day and never let up! He was convinced that this was it, the perfect place and God’s plan for me to get started. I was so hesitant and still said no. He got us an appointment to look at it, and it really was perfect. Let me also add – I’m very pregnant with our youngest at this time so I can’t imagine starting a new business. The man that owned the space couldn’t have been more of a sweetheart, he had so much belief in us he went as far as to take the “for lease” sign down, saying “I feel like this is your space.” Fast forward a couple of weeks, we are getting ready to be induced with our son and I can’t stop thinking about the space but don’t have enough belief in myself to take action. My husband and I were getting things ready to leave for the hospital and I get a call, it was from the man that owned the space. He called saying someone came to him wanting the space immediately, and he asked us to please make a decision in the moment, one way or the other. He said “I want to see you open here but the decision is yours.” My heart was pounding, a girl with a heart full of dreams that wanted it so bad but was so scared of failure – hours away from having a new baby. My husband didn’t give me time to say a word, he leaned forward and said, “we’ll take it!”

From that moment on I’ve never looked back. I’ve learned to keep my eyes forward, to work hard and to pray even harder than I work. We opened that first space in July of 2019, the sweetest store and I did hair and ran the store. I had two girls that would help me in the evenings. In a matter of 6 months, I had to leave the salon to devote all of my time to our store front. Not long after we had to expand into the other unit next to us. The growth our storefront experienced was such a blessing and a reassurance that I was on the path for me. I am so thankful that my husband pushed me to follow my dreams, I joke all of the time that it was a sink or swim moment because it felt like a literal push off of a cliff but it’s exactly what I needed.

JM Boutique is a lifestyle boutique. We carry women’s clothing ranging from casual to dressy and we specialize in making sure you feel wonderful when you leave. We focus on classic, well styled pieces that hit the trends but things that you’ll also be able to hold onto for the years to come. We have a great gift selection, the candle lines that we carry are my favorite; so many to choose from. We are well known for our original JM sweatshirts. A JM sweatshirt is a staple in so many of our customer’s closets – we’ve heard some try to collect every style and color we release – that makes my heart so happy. JM apparel is one of the things that I’m most proud of. I feel like it’s a big deal when people want to wear and represent the brand you’ve built. I always want people to be proud and love JM, and I hope the merch only continues to grow. The growth in our team is another thing that makes my heart so incredibly happy, to have a team that loves the brand like I do is huge. Our team has grown over the years and we now have some important key players that our business couldn’t function the way it does without.

I am so proud of how far we have come in a little over 4 years. JM has undergone 3 remodels and 2 expansions in our current building. Our website outreach has grown and been up and running for over 2 years now. We have a team that loves and cares for everyone that comes in. I feel like this is one of the things that sets us apart, our customer service and love for people. JM is a place where you should always feel welcomed. We love the community and value community involvement. It also makes me so proud that JM has such a broad age range of customers, we can dress women across generations.

Like I have said before, I am such a dreamer; my mind never stops and I can’t wait to see more blossom in JM. I am also huge in my faith and I know without God and his plan JM wouldn’t be where it is today. There are always hard days that come in business and on those days I work hard and pray harder. I am and will always be forever thankful for my husband who gave me the push I needed.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Compassion, authenticity, and consistency. These three are big key players for me. I have a huge heart and my compassion for JM and people is real. I truly care what you feel like when you leave. I want you to leave feeling amazing about yourself and your outfit. I care about JM as a whole also, what’s going out and what’s coming in leading into consistency. Consistency is key within building a reputation especially within a brand. Customers can expect that JM will deliver quality pieces, hand picked to be the best. They know that if they have something they need, they can find it with us or reach out to me if we don’t have it and it’s something I will work on getting for them. Authenticity is the biggest key. being a real authentic person. I am someone that people have learned they can trust, they know what they are getting with me – I’m so much more than the face behind the JM brand.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is scary and huge, let’s just be honest and it’s growing every single second of the day. I started by just posting! Stay active and don’t get caught up trying to figure out the algorithm. Stay within your brand and know what you are posting about and people will enjoy it. I always think about it like this; “would I find this useful or helpful?” or “would I enjoy this?” If so… I’ll post it! Don’t get stuck on the like count or who commented on it. I feel like a lot of people enjoy engaging with other people who are real – get out there and be yourself! You aren’t going to grow trying to do things like others on social media. Think about it, they already exist… so be different. There is only one you and you are unique and perfect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopjmboutiquela.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopjmboutique/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.jannise.5

Image Credits
@morganleighbrands