Hey there! We figured it was about time we take a moment to meet the Founder of HUSH Baby. Jacyee, the HUSH Founder, has an incredible story we can't wait to share with you. So lets get right to the Q&A -
Tell us a quick "about yourself."
I am originally from Utah and then moved to Virginia. I then moved back to Utah and have been here for about 12 years. I am a single mom with two kids and one happy pup. Work is pretty much my life! I was a stay at home mom and didn't attend school. I was always just going to be a mom. Then when I came up for the idea for HUSH I just ran full speed into it. I had no background in business but it just all came together.
How did you start HUSH Baby? Where did the idea come from?
I had my baby Teagan and my three year old Jaxon. Jaxon was an amazing sleeper but EVERYTHING woke Teagan up. Even the dogs next door would wake her up. One night at three AM I was Googling and just trying to find something to solve this problem. I searched everywhere but couldn't find anything.
When Teagan was 6 months old, I ended up getting divorced and became the breadwinner of the family. Having no background in business, I just had to run with it and try to create my idea into a real product. It took five years and HUSH Baby was like my light at the end of a tunnel. Until HUSH Baby came to be, I just had a bunch of random odds and end jobs. I lived with parents, friends, and grandparents to make it all work. I did all of that so HUSH Baby could always get some attention. People kind of thought I should give up on the idea for HUSH because it was a long shot but I just kept pushing.
I remember one night specifically I was sitting in our house and our power had been turned off. It was three am and I just called my best friend and all she said to me was "I think you need to move to Arizona and live with us. Move to Arizona and we will start this business with you." So literally two weeks later I moved to Arizona. We had four girls in the house and it was completely crazy. I lived there for about nine months while we got all the prototypes up and rolling. And from there, HUSH was born.
What was the hardest part about starting a business?
Ah! There were so many hard parts! I think everything about it is hard. If you want to start a business, you have to go into it with the mindset that you won't quit no matter what. Everything is harder / takes longer than you think it is going to. Also, creating the hat I saw in my imagination and bringing it to real life was such a challenge!
What has been your favorite part of owning a business?
Being my own boss! I could never go back to having a boss. It is also so fun to come up with a product and then see it so well received in the public.
What is your #1 piece of advice for someone who is trying to start a business?
Don't set any expectation on the timing of things. You need to love your idea so much that nothing that comes along the way that will deter you.
Tell us about the journey of getting HUSH Hats into to big brand stores like Target!
It all started as a huge joke. We had a group text with our team and we would always use the hashtag #target2016 like we were going to get into Target sometime in the year 2016. We ended up hiring an amazing consultant that brings brands to market. We attended a trade show and ended up picking up almost every account we met up with, Target being one of them.
What do you love to do when you aren't running HUSH Baby?
I totally go to bed every night at 8:30. So that tells you how many hobbies I have. I have a serious shopping addiction and I am 100% obsessed with my dog.