How to RETURN TO WORK after being a stay-at-home mom

#entrepreneurship #franchisebusiness #artofdrawers #podcast 

On the Built for Profit Podcast, hosts interview Jennifer Lyons, Art of Drawers franchisee in Dallas, about building a mobile, home-based business retrofitting custom pullout drawers into existing cabinetry. Jennifer shares her path from startup experience to an eight-year career break as a stay-at-home mom, and then using a franchise consultant to evaluate options and choose Art of Drawers for ownership and flexibility. 

She discusses overcoming imposter syndrome in an unfamiliar industry, relying on franchisor and franchisee community support, handling early setbacks like a no-show installer on her first job, and developing habits like a positive mindset. Key lessons include learning the business yourself before hiring a team and defining “profits for purpose” as both financial success and schedule control to be present for family. 

 👉 Subscribe to learn the playbooks, sharpen your strategy, and build the business (and life) you actually want.  

Get to know Art of Drawers: https://www.instagram.com/artofdrawersdallas/

• Subscribe: @Built4ProfitPodcast 
• Find IQ4Profit on LinkedIn: /iq4profit/
• Find Elizabeth on LinkedIn: /elizabethrosenbergmm
• Find Sha on LinkedIn: /shagrondin
• Follow us on Instagram:   /iq4profit 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When I walked into it, I knew nothing about drawers or even carpentry and contracting work. Like, how am I gonna pull this off? And it happens so easily. Like you can jump into any industry, and if it's something you're passionate and care about it, you will quickly become the expert in that industry and you'll know more than the next guy. No surprising how little time it takes to feel confident.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Welcome to Built for Profit Podcast, where entreprene share real stories and strategies that actually work.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

We're here to inspire, challenge, and give you the playbook to profit with purpose. Let's get into it. Let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Now we have to think about what you're gonna get me for like my birthday, like maybe a kitchen organization thing.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Yeah, I'm getting some new cabinet organization going on because this is what happened when I started doing my research. As I was looking at the website for Art of Drawers, it made me want to organize my kitchen. And you know how you feel when you have an organized space, you want to use it more. And that's one of the reasons that we're so excited to talk to our guest and hear more about this brand today. So we have Jennifer Lyons with us from Art of Drawers. She's in Dallas. So, Jennifer, welcome to the Belt for Profit podcast. Thank you. I'm glad you guys had me. Thank you. Okay, I know that I mentioned this a little bit, but tell for anyone who's listening and they haven't heard of Art of Drawers what it is and the beautification that it can do because I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Yes. So Art of Drawers, we make custom pull-out drawers and they're retrofitted into existing cabinets. So think in your kitchen, your cabin tree, you have to get on your hands and knees, dig in the back. Everything is then organized. So what we do is we come in and retrofit custom drawers to make your kitchen cabinets more functional, more organized. Everything's easily accessible just to make your daily use much easier and more friendly.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

There's some show on Netflix where she would go into homes and organize and declutter, essentially. And that is a real thing happening now that people are like, I want to declutter, I want to be organized. Tell us about this shift that you have seen. It's not just me feeling this way.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

No, I still feel it daily. I think people realize their day-to-day life goes a lot smoother if they have systems in place. For me in our household, we all hang out in the kitchen. It's where the kids come, it's where we hang out, we eat, it's where the memories are made. And I started to realize if the kitchen didn't have a system, if it wasn't organized, people just would stop hanging out in there. And you can take that to different aspects in your life in different rooms, whether it be work or at home. But if your belongings around you are chaotic, then your day is chaotic. And this is just a small piece that can help with that.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

So is it really true, messy desk, messy mind, or whatever you hear about things like that?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

And I tell you this from a very type B person. Like I am not like the cleanest, most organized, but I obviously have these custom drawers all throughout my house. And I love it because everything is easy and I remember what I have and everything has a spot, and my husband can remember where to put things and it's great.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Sold right there. I can see where that would have value. Yeah. Finding things. And there is something mentally that happens when your brain associates your house as a little bit of a part of you. And so when you're taking care of it and you're organizing it, that is why it makes us feel good. Our brain internalizes that a little bit differently, and it's like, I am put together. I'm organized.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

It does feel good. Like we put our drawers in our kitchen, gosh, over two years ago now. But every day I'm in there. Every time I pull one out, I'm like, ah, it feels good.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

So, Jennifer, I'm gonna back up a little bit. Is this B personality you say that you are? How did you come to be a franchisee?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Yeah, it wasn't out of the blue. I had a business background. I worked for a small startup where we wore multiple hats and got a taste of customer service, account management, sales, you name it, and knew from the get-go, I just had a very intriguing thoughts about running a business in general. But I actually took a career break for quite a while when I met my now husband. He had a job that took us traveling. And so I quit the job I loved and we started having kids. So I raised my little ones and had an eight-year career break. And all throughout that whole eight years, when I was a stay-at-home mom and kind of managing everyone's lives, starting a business was always in the back of your head. But it was like, who am I? I'm a stay-at home mom. What am I gonna do? Start a business. You know, you have those thoughts. It was something that just kept nagging on me that thought. And I wanted to re-enter the work world just to prove myself almost. I ended up getting a corporate job and it only lasted six months. Not because I didn't like it, I actually really did enjoy it. But by coincidence, my husband ran into a franchise consultant and it was like that sign I needed. So the whole six months I was working at a corporate job, we were evaluating franchises and I was pulled in immediately because I had realized all those years before it was put on hold, but I was always had this general interest in running a business. So it wasn't necessarily organizing homes and kitchens that pulled me. It was just wanting something that was mine that I can control all aspects of the business and see if I can execute it, see if I can do it. And that was my entry back into the workforce.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

And that's such an encouragement because all the skills you learn managing a household. Yeah. Yeah, that's a three-ring circus, or mine was. Maybe I didn't manage it that well.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

No, it is that they're all young and little and it's 24-7. I mean, I have the most respect for stay-home moms. You have to be very resilient. And I think when the kids get a little older, you can have thoughts of well, what's next? Never thought I would have the guts to do something like this, but so glad I did because it introduced the next chapter in my life.

SPEAKER_01 5:19

So we really appreciate the consultants, the advisors. It's like match.com for a person with a business or something they're passionate about, they like, because there's so many opportunities out there. We learn about new ones all the time. So tell us a little about the process and how you landed on that one.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Yeah, they are very helpful. And matchmaker is a good show. They ask you a ton of questions from your personal life, but also what your goals are in your professional life as well, and try to marry the two. They get down to the detail of what industry do you want to be in, what do you want your day-to-day look like. Lots of things you don't even think of to evaluate yourself. And once they do that preliminary kind of questionnaire, they go and do their research, their homework. They find out what territories are open with what brands, and then they come back and present to you different options. You go through all these evaluation steps, eventually you narrow it down. Or at least that's how it was for us.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Talk a little bit about so many women, and I'm just gonna say women because they're usually the ones leaving the workforce to focus on the kids and then coming back. And lots of times either they feel like they need to do whatever they got their degree in or they had been doing. And so just to start something new sounds freeing and also terrifying at the point in time. Talk a little bit about either your thought process through that, Jennifer, or what you would share with someone else who is in a similar spot.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah, I mentioned I went back to the corporate world first. And for other moms who took a career break, you feel like you have to prove yourself because you have this career gap. And there's a little bit of a feeling of starting over, and that can get frustrating, where starting your own business is so scary, but it really was freeing, and I knew it was something that would be mine that I could prove myself, catch up, if you will, of all that time I'd taken off. It's scary because again, I had this inner thought of I've just been a stay-at-home mom. Who am I doing? I can open my own business. Thankfully, I had my husband encouraging me to do it because it is a risk. It was really scary, but the thought that gets you there was the freeing part you mentioned. I was commuting to Dallas. I was spending a lot of time in the car. I was sitting at a desk away from home every single day, Monday through Friday. So this was a way I could like free myself from that, control my own schedule, pick and choose when I want to be there with my kids, all while knowing I can work really hard and turn this business into whatever I want it to be. So it gave me the control back, which honestly I was used to having before. So I think you nailed it. It's very scary, but it's very freeing at the same time. You just have to get yourself to that point. Sounds so easy, didn't it? It was a process. Anyone can do it. When I walked into it, I knew nothing about drawers or even carpentry and contracting work. Like I didn't specialize in that. I even remember telling kind of the home office at the time, if I do this, I will have imposture syndrome. Like, how am I gonna pull this off? And it happens so easily. Like you can jump into any industry, and if it's something you're passionate and care about it, you will quickly become the expert in that industry and you'll know more than the next guy. It was surprising how little time it takes to feel confident.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Land on that for a moment because that's powerful. And people don't realize that. Passion really is probably 80%, and then to the other 20% figuring it out, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:22

It is. And the only way I got the passion was starting something that was my own. It was really hard to give that passion to a large corporation where I was just one of many, you know, doing kind of minor tasks. The passion, when it's your own, it carries you and it forces you to just jump in and learn. And maybe I did have imposture syndrome in the beginning, but I was gonna work real hard to get rid of it. And eventually I did. What does Dolly Parton say? Fake it till you make it. Fake it till you make it.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Yeah, we have to have a little bit of that syndrome. It sounds like this is a mobile-based business.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Meaning there's no brick and mortar. Because you're working from home. And a lot of people go into business. The most common reasons we see is they want more time and money.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

We have a warehouse that we work out of, but generally speaking, I can work from home. Sometimes I'm out and about. My day-to-day looks different, which also has a sense of freeing as well.

SPEAKER_02 9:05

I keep telling her we can do these things in Hawaii. They would love it, I'm sure. Jennifer, would you say was a surprise or didn't go as you expected? Because that happens at somewhere and everyone. And spoiler alert, if it didn't, yeah, it is gone.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Oh no, it happens over and over again. I remember my first like challenge or something that didn't go right was literally our first installation. My very first customer, we just had to get it over with. I had an installer, so a contractor just didn't show up to a job. And so I had to deal with my first unhappy customer. And on day one, what felt like day one, job one, customer number one, I was like, it's over. Art of Dora's Dallas is shutting down. We're done. There's no way I can come back from this. I literally just thought it was the end of the world. And now I look back and it's it's very funny because any business you own, you're gonna have your obstacles. No businesses run perfect with zero mistakes. That's just not realistic. So now, you know, mistakes are made or you have to deal with obstacles or challenges, and that's just part of the business. It's just part of doing business, is how you navigate those and you move through it and you're on to the next. And you're right, there will be another one. But the further I get into it, I'm more equipped with how to handle problems. But they always say the challenges just keep getting bigger.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

And the universe has a sense of humor goes, You did well with that one. Try this one on.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

I think that's one thing. Like I looked back and learned, like, again, there's no perfect business. There's always going to be a problem or something that went wrong. There's things that are outside your control, but you are the one to deal with it. And it used to weigh me down heavily because I thought it was like a direct correlation of how I was doing, how I was running the business. And it's not the case at all. The further you get along, or the better you get at just handling problems and realizing they're a part of running a business, you bounce back and it projects you forward.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

I'm curious, Jennifer. Obviously, you've got experience on your side now. You know, you're not at day one, customer one, all of that. But it's clear that you've got a strong perspective on things and you have a strong business outlook. So how did you get there?

SPEAKER_00 10:57

I just jumped in. If something was uncomfortable, I just forced myself to do it anyways. But also in the franchise world, you get a community aspect. You've got people who are doing the same exact thing as you in other cities. You've got a home office that's supporting you. So while I'm the only one here in Dallas going through this and trying to figure it out, I do have this support system where I can call up anyone and be like, hey, have you run into this? And it's only this small group of people that can relate to exactly what I'm going through. So we can figure things out together a little bit. So it was a lot of why I chose a franchise because there's people with you doing it at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Because you're in it together to win it, but you're not in direct competition.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, we all want the brand to grow. We all have the same goal in mind, and we're just trying to do our part in our own city. Okay, silly question. You do more than just kitchen drawers, correct? Yes. Anywhere there's cabinets, so bathrooms, we do a lot of pantry redesigns, which are super fun, laundry rooms, really anywhere there's existing cabinets. So we don't build cabinet brand new, which gives us like a fun niche to be in because a lot of people will live in their homes for a long time and they just want to make updates. So anywhere there's cabinet, we come in and can retrofit anything. And then we also do cabinet refacing as well. So if people want to change the outside look of their cabinets, we can do that too.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

My older son, I guess, outfitted his garage, but he customizes little cabinets. His cabinets, you open it up and he has these little plastic. I'm sorry, son, that I'm ratting you out. But he was his little things you screw in the wall that has like what the screws are and the nails and stuff like that. So he like made his own.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

But he had the need, he had the same need that we see often. So maybe we'll class him up. Yeah, exactly. Maybe we'll get that upgrade with art of drawers. I'm curious, Jennifer, because you have such a great story that so many people can relate to of starting from scratch in an industry, right? It's not like a plumber who has been a plumber for trade and is now going into a plumbing franchise. You're learning it all. And surprisingly, that's how a lot of franchisees are. I think maybe we thought it was a little bit different, but that seems to be a majority. So, what sort of habits did you instill either like in those first couple months that served you so well that you were like, this was a game changer?

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Let's see, positive mindset. You guys probably hear that all the time, but in the beginning, it's gonna be hard. You're learning an entire business overnight, is what it feels like. And you're trying to like drum up brand recognition and get your name out there and you have an investment tied into it. It's like a piece of you. So it can be really easy just to ruminate on the negative of what if it doesn't work? There's a financial side, but also there's like a public failure side to it. All your friends know you're doing this, and then you could get into the details of different things that aren't going right or things that are going wrong, and it's really easy to get caught up on that. And it kind of goes along with what I was saying earlier. I know how the business needs to run. No one can do it overnight. It takes time, and you're putting these pieces into play over time to get it running optimally to where you want it. So I had to change my mindset of focusing on the positive.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

And Jennifer, I appreciate your just being authentic about it because I just don't think everyone understands there is a moment you probably have the choice to focus on because if you focus on the negative, you just bring more of it to you.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

I had to learn that the hard way too, I think.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Probably people told you like they told me, and I still did it. So maybe they can just collapse that curve we're learning here today. Jennifer just told you, don't do it, just skip that lesson. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

You can at least shorten the learning curve. I feel like that's what I'm telling new people all the time of you're gonna forgot the problems that you're gonna laugh a year from now, whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

There's such a strong social component to that, and not even in an ego way, but I think as we all say, I'm gonna do this or I'm doing that, you surely want to come through and do it. And I've heard you're not usually actually embarrassed to be seen starting, you're embarrassed to be seen starting small. And that's so true. But how else do you start? Yeah, start small.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Yeah, there is like a public social part of it where everyone's looking at you. It's out there, everyone knows what you're doing, and you want it to be successful. Like that stays in the back of your head a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

I'm glad we never stepped out there and did anything outside of our comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

You're really putting it out there.

SPEAKER_02 14:54

Okay, one of the things that's really important to us and really why we started some of the work that we do is because of our focus on profits for purpose. And profits mean financial profits, but people have different reasons that they're starting a business. Like the monetary aspect is definitely important. That's how we stay running. But for a lot of people, there's other things that they're really after there. And so we want to hear from you. What does that mean for you when we talk about either success or profits for purpose?

SPEAKER_00 15:19

I said I wanted to grow something that was mine and Art of Drawers is a very new brand. So I knew going into it, I didn't really know what to expect, but I also knew there was no cap or ceiling. So I guess to kind of reiterate what you said, yeah, there is a monetary like goal in mine, but also to be able to eventually run something that gives me the freedom at home to give us the life we want, I think is a big in profit in itself where I can have something that's successful, but also not miss my kids' performance at school or whatever it may be. So yeah, there's a monetary and then there's like what you want in your personal life, and both of those are like equally big benefits.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

So many moms and dads struggle with geez, I gotta be at work and I can't always make the other things. It's that balance. And a lot of people go into business for themselves. Not that they have to work less, but they do it to have the quality of life.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Exactly. Like you said, you're not working less. I still work really hard. In the grand scheme, it's a baby business trying to take off, but I get to choose when. So I get to draw the line of when I need to go be mom versus when I get to go work on the business. And I'm able to just weave in and out of those two things in the way that makes sense for me. Jennifer, you're just a breath of fresh air.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Appreciate you're being authentic in your story because you're being a little vulnerable, and I appreciate that because sometimes we try to be role modic. They're like, we gotta figure it out, and that was easy. And I think people relate more to the other part of the story. Thinking back, what great advice would you call your past self and say?

SPEAKER_00 16:40

A real random one is coming to mind. But when I first started, I immediately put everything into hiring a team to go out and design and sell and be the face of it. And we didn't do that great. We actually did pretty poor. And I realized I hadn't even learned it myself. I just got caught up with, I'm gonna hire the team and they're gonna go do it. And I'm checking off these boxes that I'm supposed to be doing. And I hadn't put my own sweat equity in it yet. I had to learn the hard way. It was very hard to train someone to go be good at this when I myself wasn't good at it yet. Probably six months or so being into building a business, I stopped that and took it all back and forced myself to kind of roll up the sleeves, learn our product I already knew, but learn how to sell, who's our customer, learn how to do it and get good at it and really have it be ingrained in me. And then I could reset and go higher and train and actually build a team the right way. And that's exactly what I did all of that tip time, but it probably delayed me a little bit because was missing like the biggest piece, which is I need to be an expert in my own company before I can expect someone else to go do it better than me.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

Some of the best advice that you could have given, because we have seen it. I'm not saying we've made any of those mistakes, but I think it's important to state it actually doesn't matter, even if you've done a business before, because I think especially seasoned business owners can come into a new business and guess what? It's the exact same for them. It's a new baby.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Well, we can't wait to see as your baby gets bigger and grows and the things you're going to do. Really enjoyed the conversation. I know our listeners will as well. And if they want more information about you and your services in the art of jars in the Dallas area, they can click on the show notes and see the link and learn more about Jennifer and the Art of Jores.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Yeah, thanks so much for joining us. Remember, we're on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube now. So you can listen or watch on any of those platforms. Jennifer, it was such a pleasure. You're making me want to go organize things. So that means you're doing a great job with your sales. So thanks so much. Thanks. It was very fun to talk to you.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

One of the heaviest loads business owners carry are taxes and expenses. They can make or break your bottom line.

SPEAKER_02 18:41

Yes, we see it every day. And that is why we have partnered with Lightening the Load, expert tax strategists and CPAs. And they help you get a deep dive on those numbers, uncover different strategies, and keep more of what you've actually earned.

SPEAKER_01 18:54

They don't just file returns, they lighten the load for you with confidence. And that way you can grow and scale your business.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

So check out it's in the show notes below. We got a 30 minute free consultation for you with lightening the load, and you're talking to a CPA. Unbelievable. So click on the link below and take advantage of it. We'll see you in the next episode.