We were lucky to catch up with Meghan Hogrefe recently and have shared our conversation below.
Meghan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
One of the most unexpected issues/problems is that you must prepare for the unexpected. When I launched my clothing line, it happened to coincide with my husband and me launching multiple businesses in another state. While we didn’t initially expect that we would be so entrenched and involved in as many businesses as we came to launch, it just made sense to keep the ball rolling or bouncing! This unexpected endeavor taught me to be able to embrace the process of change and to relinquish my expectations. Especially in regard to everything operational, I had to realize that my dreams may always be there yet sometimes, you will have setbacks or delays. I began to embrace the idea that it is ok to not do it all, all at once, It is easy to get pulled into so many directions and feel torn between what you dream to do ( my clothing line) and what makes sense to do. It doesn’t mean you don’t have passion or love for what you are currently involved in, it just means that sometimes, you have to make choices that require more of your focus today. My clothing line was never my primary income, so it made sense to pivot and focus on our other endeavors. The real lesson of unexpected issues is that life in itself is an issue that is unexpected . You have to embrace the process and the pivot. If you cannot do that, you cannot move forward. The unexpected is the high! If you can navigate the unexpected you will always be successful. I always laugh, the word unexpected is silly. Everyday is unexpected otherwise you would never authentically represent yourself. We are not robots. Yet.
Meghan , 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?
I am a clothing designer and created a clothing line called Work in Process in 2015 which launched in 2018. Created because I was going into a corporate office after running and surfing and needed clothing that would hold up to getting dressed out of my car, wet from the ocean, salt and seaweed from the surf! The elements that may be frowned upon when entering into a corporate office. While we do live in San Diego, we aren’t THAT laidback. Blazers and skirts, dresses and dress shirts are the dress code that says, I have a serious professional job! Well, my wardrobe was always somewhat stifled because I wasn’t willing to give up my work life balance or basically my love for surfing. The only time I could go surfing was in the wee early morning hours ( dawn patrol) and I wasn’t giving that up! Well all this to say, I couldn’t find a clothing brand that was resistant to my car dressing room and the ocean environment, so I created one. I blended neoprene into dresses and skirts appropriate for boardroom when coming from the board! I wanted a style that would still be professional enough during the daytime and cute enough for date night! When I finally launched, I knew it was what I had been looking for. In effect, I had solved my own problem. The only challenge was the timing of my launch, as I have already mentioned, my husband and I launched several businesses in his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio. These endeavors took us away from the sand and sea and I had to let my line take a back seat. I have never been too far away from Work in Process, I just haven’t been able to focus solely on it. To do it right, you must be able to work on it with laser focus, fashion is fluid, even with staple pieces. So just as my clothing name states, my clothing designs and business venture continue to be a Work in Process. I am very proud of this line, it defines to me what a person is daily, Named for all of us that are a Work in Process. We don’t always have it all figured out and nor should we. Life is fluid, fashion is fluid, we are all a Work in Process!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When the word resilience is said, so many thoughts go through my mind. I think about how my clothing line didn’t materialize in a way that I wanted, yet I am never to far away from expanding on my line however I know in time I will be able to focus. The resilience for me is knowing that with all the endeavors that my husband and I are involved in, and there are many, I keep coming back to my love of functional fashion. I know that I will keep pursuing fashion in one way or another. My line will evolve as my life does. I have thought about different ways to incorporate my line into what we are currently doing now. We own a Center that has a beautiful restaurant attached to a high end retail bait shop, an axe throwing bar w/ a craft beer bar, a property management company of commercial and residential spaces , the opportunity for a creative mind is endless within my own portfolio. Resilience is always coming up with new ideas!
How’d you meet your business partner?
I love this question! I met my business partner , at a meeting at the end of 2014, at his own biotech company Trilink Biotechnologies. We met in this historic, little did I know, business meeting when my company (an HR solutions company) was trying to working with his company. I know what your thinking, juicy story, dating your client, and you are right, it was all the things a romance story should contain, a fun and exciting courtship, a really cool time vibing with an incredible man ( I don’t know what you call it in todays terms, vibe, courtship ). Spoiler alert, we didn’t ultimately work together, and once that was determined, we formed a different partnership, friendship and love! Like any love story that has many more chapters, we married in 2016, the same year he would sell his own biotech company. He was way too young to officially retire and we started investing in older buildings in his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio. One building led to 11 buildings. Within this portfolio of demolition, renovation, restoration, innovation, we began several businesses in these buildings, all while having my clothing line still in the wings! My husband helped me launch my line. While the line is solely my endeavor, he is still my business partner in life and all our endeavors!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.workinprocessshop.com
- Instagram: workinprocessstyle
- Facebook: Work in Process
- Linkedin: Meghan Hogrefe
- Other: If you want to see what else I am up to here is our main website www.h2property.com
Image Credits
@thegeraldharrison Image Theory Photoworks