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These seven Knoxville women prove that following your passion can be fulfilling and economically rewarding. Their amazing stories of entrepreneurship leave us with one question: What recession?

During the last two years as the economy has tanked, starting a business may (rightly) be the last thing on your mind. But some have seen the recession as an opportunity. Unstable job situations make being your own boss enticing. Why put all your effort into someone else’s enterprise just to get laid off months later? However, working for yourself is always a risky proposition, no matter what state the economy is in, and it appears that recently, more women are willing to take that risk.

Despite the less-than-ideal current economic conditions, women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Currently, there are 10 million women-owned firms in America, more than twice as many as there were 20 years ago. Not to mention, women-owned firms have an economic impact of $3 trillion annually—which translates into the creation and/or maintenance of more than 23 million jobs. How’s that for girl power?

In middle Tennessee, there are now more than 39,000 women business owners. And the recession has a lot to do with why. More than 900,000 women have lost their jobs since 2007; half of them start their own business, according to Traci Ellis, ESQ, a legal and business advisor who specializes in guiding female entrepreneurs through launching a business. Even women who haven’t been laid off start side businesses in order to have something to fall back on in the event that they are, says Ellis.

And while that explains the financial incentive for women, the majority of females who decide to become entrepreneurs do so to pursue a passion. Because what’s better than waking up every morning and doing what you love?

With more than 7,000 women-owned or women-led businesses, the Knoxville Metro area is no different. On the following pages, seven Knoxville-based female entrepreneurs share the joys and the challenges of launching a business.  

Julianne Applegate
JulieApple Inc.
www.julieapplestore.com
A former fashion consultant and Vice President of Design and Development for LeSportsac, Julianne Applegate, 35, spent 10 years focused on designing for the mass-market, and two-and-a-half years ago, she decided she was ready to make a difference in her own way.

“I wanted to create products that would be good to every hand that touches them, from those creating the raw materials to the cutters and sewers, and ultimately to the customers and the environment.”

So she created JulieApple, a company that makes fun, functional handbags from sustainable, recycled materials. Though she is passionate about bags, Applegate admits that she is not the kind of girl who just loves bags; she analyzes and critiques them, too. She spends about 70 hours a week designing styles and prints and communicating with her vendors.

“I have always worked around the clock. Now I do it for myself,” she says. “I do not need anyone to push me. I love what I do!”


Holly Simmon
Ironic
www.ironichomedecor.com
After growing up watching her father, a dentist, “run the show,” 23-year-old Holly Simmon knew she wanted to own her own business. The question was simply what business? She dreamed about creating a children’s hair salon, an all-in-one wedding planning store and a dance clothing line. She never even had an inkling that she’d own a unique iron, home décor and gifts shop.

But she was working part-time at Ironic when the owner suddenly had to relocate, and she seized the opportunity. “It was just being at the right place at the right time,” she says. “The previous owner allowed me to be a major player in her business decisions. She trusted me with inventory and customer service; I learned my business sense from her.”

As if owning a store while fresh out of college wasn’t enough, Simmon decided the store needed “it’s next big thing,” and moved to a larger space across the street in September. “The landlord was unsure if I could be successful, being young, but I’ve been there two months now and it’s been fantastic!”

Yet Simmon’s age does have its challenges. “Things come up that I don’t know the answer to. People expect me to make a mistake because I’m young. I just take one thing at a time and try not to get too overwhelmed,” she says.


Jodi Bowlin and Renee Olaechea
Knoxville Soap, Candle & Gifts
www.knoxvillesoapfactory.com
Jodi Bowlin, owner of Knoxville Soap, Candle & Gifts, along with her business partner Renne Olaechea, is motivated by her customers. Working as many as 60 hours a week, Bowlin, 42, says she truly enjoys being involved in every aspect of the business. Like Simmon, Bowlin and Olaechea bought an already established shop and put their own twist on it. The once soap-and-candle-only store now features greeting cards, jewelry, hats, handbags, scarfs, blown glass, organic lotions and lip balms—many of which were handmade by local artists.

“I grew the business by earning my customers’ respect,” she says. “They trust [me] to offer quality, affordable, luxury, locally handcrafted gifts.”

With an optimistic attitude and a history in management and sales, Olaechea, 56, maintains that failure is not an option. “We are a family-oriented business and 90 percent of our customers are repeat business. … Our biggest success is opening and sharing our beautiful store with customers who love it as much as we do.”



Sheila Ramirez Hargis
Webster’s Deli
www.websters-deli.com
Sheila Ramirez Hargis, 41, remembers walking outside her childhood home in Puerto Rico and inhaling the wondrous scent of fresh bread. She also recalls neighborhood residents lining up down the block to buy this delicacy. After struggling to manage a career in broadcast journalism while raising two children, Hargis began to think about how she could make this memory come alive.

Though as a child she wanted to be a veterinarian or a marine biologist, she had always experimented with food, following in her mother’s catering footsteps. As an adult, Hargis frequently brought her own culinary creations to work, where her peers often suggested opening a restaurant. Finally willing to give it a go—albeit a calculated one—she started working as a sous chef at Seasons Café to gain experience in the industry. From there, she became a supervisor at Webster’s Deli and when the owner needed to sell, she jumped at the opportunity.

She currently works from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week, but she’s expanded the restaurant to include new menu items, additional desserts and a catering sector. “When you have something of your own that you care about and love, you put a lot more effort into it,” she says. “People treat you differently as a business owner. I even had a male customer tell me it’s nice to see a female entrepreneur!”

Only a few months in, Hargis is already thinking about starting a restaurant from scratch … just not quite yet.


Sharon Morton
Jubilee Banquet Facility
www.jubileebanquet.com
Sharon Morton had always wanted to open her own business, and after driving around town trying to plan multiple family events at once, she knew what she had to do. “I had taken care of everyone else for so long; it was time for me to take care of my dream,” she says.

One night, she found herself sketching a floor plan of an all-inclusive event facility on a piece of scratch paper. The next thing she knew, her husband, a contractor, was helping her build it. Her three children contributed color and theme ideas to the 12,000-square-foot, six-room space, and Jubilee Banquet Facility was created.

With two banquet rooms, a 250-person hall, a full-size gymnasium and two birthday party rooms (including one with retro décor), Jubilee has hosted everything from school dances and corporate luncheons to church services and even a wrestling match.

At 41 years old, Morton is working 60-hour weeks. “It has not been easy being a female owner. When I first started, it took a lot for people to give me respect. They would come in looking for the man in charge. I made time to sit and talk with them no matter what, and it won them over,” she says. “People say it’s difficult to tend to a family and work. I’ve managed to bring my family into my work—they help and support me and that’s a huge part of why I’ve been successful.”




Linn Slocum
Blue Slip Winery
www.blueslip.com

     On any given day, Linn Slocum can be found passing grapes through a window. The owner of Blue Slip Winery, the first winery in Knoxville and the first urban winery in Tennessee, Slocum began leasing space in the basement of the Hewgley Building in the historic part of town two years ago and opened Blue Slip in August. Most wineries have a loading dock to bring in materials, but Blue Slip does not—hence Slocum’s creativity in importing her wines’ ingredients by passing grapes in through a window.

A wine enthusiast who had been making wine at home for seven years (initially with D.I.Y. kits), Slocum’s hobby outgrew itself. “I’d always wanted to have some type of storefront. I thought it would be art-related or a boutique of some type, but since I became a wine maker and wine seemed to be something people enjoy, I thought I’d give [the winery] a try,” she says.

She kept her job with the Public Building Authority and began making and selling homegrown, handcrafted wine on the side. She works 40 hours a week for the PBA and then spends 35 at the winery. Since August 1, she has not had a single day off!

“Being the first winery in the city is a challenge. I’ve had to learn patience as I wait for each label to get approved,” she says. “But I’m an independent-type person, and I enjoy a good challenge. If you find something you love to do, then it won’t seem like work.”