February 14, 2025 • 20 mins
What if you could transform a simple Etsy shop into a multi six-figure business that secures your family's future? Join us as we welcome Dylan Jahraus, whose journey from a Minnesota farm to the bustling world of e-commerce giants like Zappos and Zulily set the stage for her successful entrepreneurial venture. Dylan's story is one of resilience and adaptability, where marrying a military officer led her to San Diego and ignited her transition from corporate e-commerce to a flourishing Etsy business. Discover how her upbringing and corporate experiences provided the foundation to thrive on platforms like Etsy, Amazon, and Shopify, starting with nothing more than a floral letter.
Balancing the chaos of entrepreneurship and family life can be daunting, especially for introverts in the digital product space. In our conversation, Dylan and I tackle the realities of work-life balance, emphasizing authenticity and the necessity of prioritizing different life aspects at different times. Together, we explore the power of small, manageable tasks and the unconventional morning routines that help us stay productive amid life's imperfections. We also delve into the empowering stories of female entrepreneurs, highlighting the critical role of SEO for Etsy sellers and the importance of sharing your journey. This episode is brimming with insights and inspiration for anyone aiming to succeed in the e-commerce world.
Thank you for tuning in to The Female Founder Show with host and entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick. If you like what you heard, please give us a review and let us know what you think?
Want to hear and see more great content to help you run your business more profitably? Go to ASBN.com.
If you want to watch the full video version of The Female Founder show, go to TheFemaleFounder.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voice Over (00:07):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hi everyone , Bridget Fitzpatrick here with
the Female Founder Show.
I'm really excited abouttoday's guest, Dylan Jahraus.
Now, Dylan is a multisix-figure Etsy seller who
turned her online shop into agame changer for her family's
future.
But her story goes beyond justsales.
She's a mother of two boys, amilitary spouse and someone who
used her deep background incorporate e-commerce, working
(00:41):
with brands like Zappos andZulily, to build real, lasting
wealth.
She's an expert in buying,product development, pricing
strategy and forecasting, andnow she's applying that
knowledge across Etsy, amazonand Shopify.
What I love about Dylan is thatshe keeps it real on social
media and with her Etsy course,with actionable strategies that
help other sellers createfinancial freedom for themselves
(01:03):
.
With that, Dylan, welcome tothe show.
Dylan Jahraus (01:06):
Thank you for having me, Bridget.
I'm so happy to be here.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:14):
Wonderful.
So let's take us back a littlebit now.
What was your upbringing like?
Did you always want to be anentrepreneur?
Dylan Jahraus (01:17):
Yes, so my parents were both entrepreneurs.
I grew up on a farm inMinnesota, not afraid of hard
work, and my dad had a fencingconstruction company and my mom
she had a private dentalpractice.
So I was just surrounded by itand I knew at some point I would
want to.
I thought, maybe by the timeI'm 40, at that point, okay,
(01:40):
I'll get some good experienceand then do something on my own.
But I would say that reallyaccelerated when I married
someone in the military and itkind of forced me into
entrepreneurship early.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:52):
Oh well, thank your husband for his
service for us.
We appreciate him very much.
Dylan Jahraus (01:56):
Yes, Thank you, I will.
So then you had you worked inthe corporate world, working for
big corporations like Zapposand Zulily.
Talk to us about some of thethings you took from those
companies into yourentrepreneurship world.
Yes.
So I learned so muchspecifically from Zappos about
(02:17):
the customer experience, thecustomer journey.
Delivering Happiness was TonyHsieh's book.
He was the CEO and I learned somuch about really the lifetime
value of the customer and whatthat meant in e-commerce but
also in like a service-basedbusiness, like what I do now, so
that you know I will alwaystake with me.
(02:39):
And then I moved up to Seattleand worked for Zulily, which is
a flash sale model, totallydifferent I would say very
unstable business, in comparisonto Zappos.
They ended up going throughbankruptcy later.
But I learned a lot about theother side of customer service,
(03:00):
which honestly it was a littlebit polar opposite to Zappos,
which honestly it was a littlebit polar opposite to Zappos,
and I saw just the leverage thatyou have in business
relationships when you reallyare looking out for each other.
It gives you, I would say, morestability long term.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:17):
That's good .
It probably made you morewell-rounded, going into
entrepreneurship to learn bothsides of it the way you did at
those corporations.
Dylan Jahraus (03:31):
Yeah, yeah, having a really great experience
and, you know, exemplifyingthose attributes as a company
and then kind of the opposite.
I saw both sides and I saw theresults of both sides.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:38):
And then transitioning from going from
corporate to your own.
Talk to us about thattransition.
How was that for you?
Dylan Jahraus (03:44):
Yes.
So it was totally by accidentand I was 25 when I met my
husband and we've been marriedalmost nine years now, but he is
in the military, he's on asubmarine, and I knew nothing
about this life.
I thought, oh, this is somysterious and cool.
But he found me actuallythrough my blog.
(04:07):
We were up in Seattle and I wasa blogger and he's like, oh, I
realized you lived in Seattle,just across the water.
So he invited me to a submarineofficer's ball, like blindly
emailed me, blindly emailed me,and yeah, it was quite the story
(04:31):
.
Basically, within that year, weended up getting engaged, moving
to San Diego and there's reallynot a lot of e-commerce here.
So I thought, oh, my goodness,has my career peaked.
I'm applying for all of thesejobs that are, like you know,
front desk admin, when I used tobe making six figures and it
(04:53):
really, really, I would say, hitmy self-esteem, because I
really tied my identity tocareer achievement before, and
so I was doing all these sidehustles, dog walking, house
sitting and putting things oneBay.
Etsy was one of those and thatwas the one that really took
hold.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:07):
Now, what was your first item that you
sold on Etsy?
What was the beginning like?
Dylan Jahraus (05:14):
Yeah.
So I was very casual in the wayI went about it.
I didn't really take itseriously, I didn't realize the
power of the platform and I justput up a floral letter.
So it was a wooden letter inthe shape of our last name
initial.
So a J and I put fake flowersall over it for our wedding.
I just took the photo from ourwedding, put one picture up on
(05:35):
Etsy, a few words, and the ideawas that this would be
customized, made to order.
They can pick their letter,their colors.
And it took two months but Ifinally got one sale and then I
realized, wow, there could besomething here.
And at that two-month mark Istarted applying pretty much
(05:55):
everything I learned incorporate e-com to the Etsy
platform and within eight weeksof that we're making over
$10,000 a month from that pointon.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (06:04):
That is such a great success story and I
know there's a lot of peoplewatching that may be thinking
about starting an e-commerceshop.
Was there one thing that youthink might have contributed to
that?
Probably many things, but whatsticks out the most?
I guess so probably many things,but what sticks out the most, I
guess?
Dylan Jahraus (06:22):
Yeah, yeah, you know I would say I started with
one product that was my own.
It was just one product.
It was something I liked.
I used it in the wedding.
But every other product I addedto the shop it was purely by
listening to my customer anddoing that market research.
So I was no longer sellingthings that I liked.
They're things I wouldn't putin my home, but I knew my
(06:44):
customer would love it.
And actually it was probably aprinciple that I learned as a
buyer for Zappos, Because when Istarted working for Zappos as a
buyer, I was in the surf skatecategory.
I'm not a skateboarding kind ofgirl, but I learned to really
look at the data, so you had tolisten to the customer.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I learned toreally look at the data to make
(07:07):
business decisions, and that'sexactly what I did with Etsy.
That made it so successful.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (07:13):
Great advice for any type of business
is to listen to the customer.
Now you saw incredible growthin the first year Um so much so
that you decided to start umcoaching.
People Talk to us about yourcoaching business.
Dylan Jahraus (07:30):
Yeah, so, uh, in the first roughly six years on
Etsy, we made over a million inprofit and, uh, it actually was
so much work, so long of days 16hour days that I ended up
actually getting vasculardisease in my legs.
Um, I don't share this often,but you know it's from standing
(07:53):
up so long.
Um, all day nurses, you knowthey wear compression stockings.
It was kind of the samesituation.
So I ended up getting surgeryand the doctor told me, like
this is going to happen again ifyou don't change your working
style.
So I was.
I basically hired outeverything for production for
Etsy and all these militaryspouses are asking like Dylan,
(08:15):
how are you making more moneythan your spouse?
This is crazy.
So I saw the need for theeducation, the real e-commerce
education.
So I started teaching it onYouTube.
Within a month I already hadlike 40 students who were
wanting coaching and we scaledto eight figures in the first 14
months.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:37):
That's great.
I mean such huge success soquickly.
And now you've reallytransitioned and so you've even
conducted a summit.
So you recently did a summitfor Etsy shop owners.
Can you talk to us about that?
I know what goes into hosting alive event like that.
I've done two of them myself,with my husband and our
(08:59):
companies, and it's no easy feat.
So talk to us about why youdecided to do the summit and
what that's going to look likein the future.
Dylan Jahraus (09:09):
Yeah, you know there were many reasons we
wanted to do the summit.
We've been around for about twoand a half years and we saw
really the meaning of communityfor these entrepreneurs, many of
them solopreneurs.
At home.
You know, they're just watchingme on videos and on Zoom calls,
but they didn't have thatconnection of someone who really
understood in person, and so wesaw a huge need for that.
(09:31):
Also, you know, in this kind ofonline digital product space,
sometimes you question doessomeone really know what they're
talking about or are they likeputting on this facade?
Did they really do e-commerceand I think, just for the brand
as well?
Honestly, getting out there andsaying you know, this is not me
(09:53):
by myself.
We have a team of 35 people,full coaching team and staff,
and even just what this is goingto do for the brand was
important, so it wasintimidating because I'm an
introvert.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:07):
Me too, so I get it yes.
Dylan Jahraus (10:10):
Yeah.
So you know all these peoplecoming and I do not like to be
the center of attention at all,I would much rather someone else
.
So it was.
I would say humbling was theword.
I was just so taken aback bythe stories.
You know people coming up to mecrying saying it changed their
life.
So it was a good first summit.
Nothing really went.
Employees You're a mother, wifehosting, you know working all
(10:46):
the time.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:47):
Talk to us about the work-life balance.
Sometimes people hate that, butit is a thing.
So talk.
I hate those words anyway, butit is a real thing.
Talk to us about how you manageall of that and stay motivated
and positive.
Dylan Jahraus (11:00):
Yes.
So one thing that I'm reallybig on is always looking ahead,
and I do not dwell on thingsthat go wrong.
I have to be very resilient.
I think that comes from maybe adifficult childhood as well, as
you know.
Looking ahead, what's in yourwheelhouse of controllables and
(11:21):
how can you improve thesituation, how can you make an
impact.
So always looking ahead keepsme really positive.
Um, you know, even when thingsare going wrong, I think, okay,
what can I, what can I do though?
Um, and then you know balance,kind of like what you were
alluding to.
I don't really believe inbalance, but there's definitely
(11:42):
chapters throughout a year ofdifferent priorities.
So certain time of year, it'slike, okay, my husband is really
going up against something bigand we got to prioritize what
he's doing career-wise.
Other times of year, it's likeI'm launching something.
Okay, he know he's, you know,doing more with the kids.
So it's it's like definitelywaves of priorities that always
(12:08):
shift.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (12:09):
Yeah, great way to put it.
And then you ride those wavesthat you have to when you have
to, right Totally.
So if there was one piece ofadvice you could give to
yourself when you were firststarting out, or give to those
women that are watching today,that are thinking about starting
a business, what advice wouldyou give them?
Dylan Jahraus (12:27):
I would say that honestly, like whether you have
a family or not, or whetheryou're married or not, there's
always different priorities.
Maybe you have parents orsiblings or friends who have
needs from you, so there'salways kind of you're being
pulled in different directions.
I would say one of the biggestthings that I've seen, I would
(12:52):
say, make me successful, butalso like our students
successful is when they learn tothrive in imperfect conditions.
And I think a lot of us think,okay, I'm just gonna like
survive these imperfectconditions but really thriving
and like stepping into the chaosa little bit, working in the
margins and not waiting for,like, perfect timing for
(13:13):
anything, not delaying decisionsas well because of timing
things, you know, in a way,that's, I do believe, not making
a decision, that's, you know,clear way to make a decision.
That I would rather be a littlemore intentional about, uh,
instead of just like lettingthings happen.
(13:34):
So, um, really just rememberingconditions will never be
perfect in your entrepreneurialjourney.
So embrace the imperfection andthe chaos and just work in the
margins.
You know, every 15 minutes,what could you do that would
have a positive ROI for you, andbreaking it down into that
small, tiny little level.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:55):
Oh, I like the way you said that, breaking
it down into small chunksinstead of thinking, oh my gosh,
what am I going to do?
Or like, what can I do in thenext 15 minutes.
That can help right, totally.
Yes, so a lot of high achieverssuch as yourself have, whether
it be a morning routine orsomething that they do daily to,
to keep them going.
Do you have a morning routineor something, some kind of
(14:16):
routine that you can tell usabout?
Dylan Jahraus (14:19):
So I have a three-year-old and a
seven-year-old and it is they'reboth boys and it is just wild
in the mornings.
So my 7 am to 8 am I actually Idon't look at Slack.
That's like the one hour a daywhere it's like you cannot get
ahold of me.
And there's, I would say, forme, like multitasking you could,
(14:42):
I can multitask almost all daylong, but there are certain
times where it's like I just gotto focus on the one thing,
otherwise I'm not going to doanything.
Well, um, so I would say,really protecting your energy.
Um, during certain times of theday having a very limited time
if you need to shut things offto do that, certain times of the
day having a very limited timeif you need to shut things off
(15:04):
to do that.
And you know, my very firstthing I do when I wake up at 6am
is I look at Slack and put outthe fires.
So you know not, I'm not reallyinto the woo, woo, I'm going to
get in like bath full of icecubes.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:19):
I don't do the ice cube thing either.
No, no, I've.
I don't know if I would be ableto do that.
Dylan Jahraus (15:26):
Yeah.
I mean yeah, my morning routineis just gets to work.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:30):
Yeah
Voice Over (15:30):
Right, I love it.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:32):
I love it and I love the honesty and just
that.
That's what you do.
That's great, yeah.
And with two small children,you sometimes you might not have
a choice.
What you do, it's there, it'sup to them.
What you're, that's great, yeah.
And with two small children,sometimes you might not have a
choice.
What you do, it's up to them.
What you're going to be doingin the morning, exactly right.
So you talked about being anintrovert.
I am as well, and leadership asan introvert I've struggled
(15:54):
with in the past, and you have ateam of, like you said, more
than 30 people.
Can you talk to me a little bitabout your leadership style,
especially as an introvert?
Dylan Jahraus (16:04):
Yes, this is so interesting.
I found, like you know, when Ihave five people, okay, it's
like I do well with fiveteammates in the group I can,
you know, pay attention andreally put energy into all that,
but once we got over maybe like15, I was just like, wow, now
all I do it's like peoplemanagement and this is
(16:26):
exhausting, like this is likedraining all of my energy and
I'm and it's um, like dynamicsof between people and
relationship management withinthe team versus thinking
expansively how can I grow andwhat's the vision for the
company to really lead them.
So what I've found works reallywell.
I actually was inspired by TonyShea at Zappos.
(16:49):
He was very quiet as a CEO,very, very quiet, soft-spoken,
not the loudest person in theroom and he built this huge
company.
So I realized I don't have tobe the loudest person in the
room and he built this hugecompany.
So I realized I don't have tobe the loudest person here.
So I started hiring people whoare actually extroverts and it
(17:09):
does so much for the culture ofthe company because they help
carry that and move it along,and so it's not weighing on me
to like build this vibrant, youknow, culture where I'm like
always on with each person, so Ibasically bring in strategic
hires who are more of anextrovert to help fill that.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (17:32):
Very smart, very smart, yes.
So let's talk about five 10years down the road.
Where do you see yourself inthe company?
So let's talk about five, 10years down the road.
Dylan Jahraus (17:40):
Where do you see yourself in the company, yes.
So this year it's a bigtransition year.
My husband has been in themilitary for 15 years and he's
actually not going to stay inuntil retirement.
So he's getting out in a coupleof months and he will be
stepping in.
He's already kind of stepped inas our COO, so working together
husband and wife really excitedfor that.
(18:01):
It will also involve a move outof California.
We don't want to be Californiaresidents with a business right
now, so we'll be making a moveand then really growth for the
company and stability.
We just launched a softwarecompany in October.
That is kind of complimentary,I would say it's for e-commerce
(18:26):
sellers.
So focusing on that, buildingthat up to be about equal in
size to the coaching business,is our plan.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:34):
Great, that's exciting.
So I work with my husband andit's amazing.
There we have our moments, butit really does work well.
I don't know if you're is yourhusband, extrovert or introvert.
Dylan Jahraus (18:46):
You know he has more endurance returning on his
extrovert side.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:51):
Yeah, mine's a total extrovert and so
that kind of helps helps me alittle bit, but it really is
nice, um, getting to work withhim every day.
I love creating and, you know,going into the office with him
every day and excited about your, the platform that you're
producing.
Maybe we can have you back onto talk about that when that
gets going and we can hear moreabout that.
Dylan Jahraus (19:11):
Awesome, yeah, and it is out there.
It's called Etsy E-T-S-E-Ocom,so it's out there and we're
growing it steadily in a healthyway.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (19:22):
So yeah, so is it seo for etsy is that what
yes, oh, awesome, okay, well,great, we can talk about it now.
No, that's exciting.
Congratulations lots, thank you, lots.
Going on in your world, um,keep killing it.
You're doing an amazing job andit's it's been fun to watch
your growth and I look forwardto continuing to watch your
growth.
Dylan Jahraus (19:41):
Oh, thank you for having me on.
This was really nice.
Yeah, thanks for joining us.
Voice Over (19:45):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hi everyone , Bridget Fitzpatrick here with
the Female Founder Show.
I'm really excited abouttoday's guest, Dylan Jahraus.
Now, Dylan is a multisix-figure Etsy seller who
turned her online shop into agame changer for her family's
future.
But her story goes beyond justsales.
She's a mother of two boys, amilitary spouse and someone who
used her deep background incorporate e-commerce, working
(00:41):
with brands like Zappos andZulily, to build real, lasting
wealth.
She's an expert in buying,product development, pricing
strategy and forecasting, andnow she's applying that
knowledge across Etsy, amazonand Shopify.
What I love about Dylan is thatshe keeps it real on social
media and with her Etsy course,with actionable strategies that
help other sellers createfinancial freedom for themselves
(01:03):
.
With that, Dylan, welcome tothe show.
Dylan Jahraus (01:06):
Thank you for having me, Bridget.
I'm so happy to be here.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:14):
Wonderful.
So let's take us back a littlebit now.
What was your upbringing like?
Did you always want to be anentrepreneur?
Dylan Jahraus (01:17):
Yes, so my parents were both entrepreneurs.
I grew up on a farm inMinnesota, not afraid of hard
work, and my dad had a fencingconstruction company and my mom
she had a private dentalpractice.
So I was just surrounded by itand I knew at some point I would
want to.
I thought, maybe by the timeI'm 40, at that point, okay,
(01:40):
I'll get some good experienceand then do something on my own.
But I would say that reallyaccelerated when I married
someone in the military and itkind of forced me into
entrepreneurship early.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (01:52):
Oh well, thank your husband for his
service for us.
We appreciate him very much.
Dylan Jahraus (01:56):
Yes, Thank you, I will.
So then you had you worked inthe corporate world, working for
big corporations like Zapposand Zulily.
Talk to us about some of thethings you took from those
companies into yourentrepreneurship world.
Yes.
So I learned so muchspecifically from Zappos about
(02:17):
the customer experience, thecustomer journey.
Delivering Happiness was TonyHsieh's book.
He was the CEO and I learned somuch about really the lifetime
value of the customer and whatthat meant in e-commerce but
also in like a service-basedbusiness, like what I do now, so
that you know I will alwaystake with me.
(02:39):
And then I moved up to Seattleand worked for Zulily, which is
a flash sale model, totallydifferent I would say very
unstable business, in comparisonto Zappos.
They ended up going throughbankruptcy later.
But I learned a lot about theother side of customer service,
(03:00):
which honestly it was a littlebit polar opposite to Zappos,
which honestly it was a littlebit polar opposite to Zappos,
and I saw just the leverage thatyou have in business
relationships when you reallyare looking out for each other.
It gives you, I would say, morestability long term.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:17):
That's good .
It probably made you morewell-rounded, going into
entrepreneurship to learn bothsides of it the way you did at
those corporations.
Dylan Jahraus (03:31):
Yeah, yeah, having a really great experience
and, you know, exemplifyingthose attributes as a company
and then kind of the opposite.
I saw both sides and I saw theresults of both sides.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (03:38):
And then transitioning from going from
corporate to your own.
Talk to us about thattransition.
How was that for you?
Dylan Jahraus (03:44):
Yes.
So it was totally by accidentand I was 25 when I met my
husband and we've been marriedalmost nine years now, but he is
in the military, he's on asubmarine, and I knew nothing
about this life.
I thought, oh, this is somysterious and cool.
But he found me actuallythrough my blog.
(04:07):
We were up in Seattle and I wasa blogger and he's like, oh, I
realized you lived in Seattle,just across the water.
So he invited me to a submarineofficer's ball, like blindly
emailed me, blindly emailed me,and yeah, it was quite the story
(04:31):
.
Basically, within that year, weended up getting engaged, moving
to San Diego and there's reallynot a lot of e-commerce here.
So I thought, oh, my goodness,has my career peaked.
I'm applying for all of thesejobs that are, like you know,
front desk admin, when I used tobe making six figures and it
(04:53):
really, really, I would say, hitmy self-esteem, because I
really tied my identity tocareer achievement before, and
so I was doing all these sidehustles, dog walking, house
sitting and putting things oneBay.
Etsy was one of those and thatwas the one that really took
hold.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:07):
Now, what was your first item that you
sold on Etsy?
What was the beginning like?
Dylan Jahraus (05:14):
Yeah.
So I was very casual in the wayI went about it.
I didn't really take itseriously, I didn't realize the
power of the platform and I justput up a floral letter.
So it was a wooden letter inthe shape of our last name
initial.
So a J and I put fake flowersall over it for our wedding.
I just took the photo from ourwedding, put one picture up on
(05:35):
Etsy, a few words, and the ideawas that this would be
customized, made to order.
They can pick their letter,their colors.
And it took two months but Ifinally got one sale and then I
realized, wow, there could besomething here.
And at that two-month mark Istarted applying pretty much
(05:55):
everything I learned incorporate e-com to the Etsy
platform and within eight weeksof that we're making over
$10,000 a month from that pointon.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (06:04):
That is such a great success story and I
know there's a lot of peoplewatching that may be thinking
about starting an e-commerceshop.
Was there one thing that youthink might have contributed to
that?
Probably many things, but whatsticks out the most?
I guess so probably many things,but what sticks out the most, I
guess?
Dylan Jahraus (06:22):
Yeah, yeah, you know I would say I started with
one product that was my own.
It was just one product.
It was something I liked.
I used it in the wedding.
But every other product I addedto the shop it was purely by
listening to my customer anddoing that market research.
So I was no longer sellingthings that I liked.
They're things I wouldn't putin my home, but I knew my
(06:44):
customer would love it.
And actually it was probably aprinciple that I learned as a
buyer for Zappos, Because when Istarted working for Zappos as a
buyer, I was in the surf skatecategory.
I'm not a skateboarding kind ofgirl, but I learned to really
look at the data, so you had tolisten to the customer.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I learned toreally look at the data to make
(07:07):
business decisions, and that'sexactly what I did with Etsy.
That made it so successful.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (07:13):
Great advice for any type of business
is to listen to the customer.
Now you saw incredible growthin the first year Um so much so
that you decided to start umcoaching.
People Talk to us about yourcoaching business.
Dylan Jahraus (07:30):
Yeah, so, uh, in the first roughly six years on
Etsy, we made over a million inprofit and, uh, it actually was
so much work, so long of days 16hour days that I ended up
actually getting vasculardisease in my legs.
Um, I don't share this often,but you know it's from standing
(07:53):
up so long.
Um, all day nurses, you knowthey wear compression stockings.
It was kind of the samesituation.
So I ended up getting surgeryand the doctor told me, like
this is going to happen again ifyou don't change your working
style.
So I was.
I basically hired outeverything for production for
Etsy and all these militaryspouses are asking like Dylan,
(08:15):
how are you making more moneythan your spouse?
This is crazy.
So I saw the need for theeducation, the real e-commerce
education.
So I started teaching it onYouTube.
Within a month I already hadlike 40 students who were
wanting coaching and we scaledto eight figures in the first 14
months.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (08:37):
That's great.
I mean such huge success soquickly.
And now you've reallytransitioned and so you've even
conducted a summit.
So you recently did a summitfor Etsy shop owners.
Can you talk to us about that?
I know what goes into hosting alive event like that.
I've done two of them myself,with my husband and our
(08:59):
companies, and it's no easy feat.
So talk to us about why youdecided to do the summit and
what that's going to look likein the future.
Dylan Jahraus (09:09):
Yeah, you know there were many reasons we
wanted to do the summit.
We've been around for about twoand a half years and we saw
really the meaning of communityfor these entrepreneurs, many of
them solopreneurs.
At home.
You know, they're just watchingme on videos and on Zoom calls,
but they didn't have thatconnection of someone who really
understood in person, and so wesaw a huge need for that.
(09:31):
Also, you know, in this kind ofonline digital product space,
sometimes you question doessomeone really know what they're
talking about or are they likeputting on this facade?
Did they really do e-commerceand I think, just for the brand
as well?
Honestly, getting out there andsaying you know, this is not me
(09:53):
by myself.
We have a team of 35 people,full coaching team and staff,
and even just what this is goingto do for the brand was
important, so it wasintimidating because I'm an
introvert.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:07):
Me too, so I get it yes.
Dylan Jahraus (10:10):
Yeah.
So you know all these peoplecoming and I do not like to be
the center of attention at all,I would much rather someone else
.
So it was.
I would say humbling was theword.
I was just so taken aback bythe stories.
You know people coming up to mecrying saying it changed their
life.
So it was a good first summit.
Nothing really went.
Employees You're a mother, wifehosting, you know working all
(10:46):
the time.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:47):
Talk to us about the work-life balance.
Sometimes people hate that, butit is a thing.
So talk.
I hate those words anyway, butit is a real thing.
Talk to us about how you manageall of that and stay motivated
and positive.
Dylan Jahraus (11:00):
Yes.
So one thing that I'm reallybig on is always looking ahead,
and I do not dwell on thingsthat go wrong.
I have to be very resilient.
I think that comes from maybe adifficult childhood as well, as
you know.
Looking ahead, what's in yourwheelhouse of controllables and
(11:21):
how can you improve thesituation, how can you make an
impact.
So always looking ahead keepsme really positive.
Um, you know, even when thingsare going wrong, I think, okay,
what can I, what can I do though?
Um, and then you know balance,kind of like what you were
alluding to.
I don't really believe inbalance, but there's definitely
(11:42):
chapters throughout a year ofdifferent priorities.
So certain time of year, it'slike, okay, my husband is really
going up against something bigand we got to prioritize what
he's doing career-wise.
Other times of year, it's likeI'm launching something.
Okay, he know he's, you know,doing more with the kids.
So it's it's like definitelywaves of priorities that always
(12:08):
shift.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (12:09):
Yeah, great way to put it.
And then you ride those wavesthat you have to when you have
to, right Totally.
So if there was one piece ofadvice you could give to
yourself when you were firststarting out, or give to those
women that are watching today,that are thinking about starting
a business, what advice wouldyou give them?
Dylan Jahraus (12:27):
I would say that honestly, like whether you have
a family or not, or whetheryou're married or not, there's
always different priorities.
Maybe you have parents orsiblings or friends who have
needs from you, so there'salways kind of you're being
pulled in different directions.
I would say one of the biggestthings that I've seen, I would
(12:52):
say, make me successful, butalso like our students
successful is when they learn tothrive in imperfect conditions.
And I think a lot of us think,okay, I'm just gonna like
survive these imperfectconditions but really thriving
and like stepping into the chaosa little bit, working in the
margins and not waiting for,like, perfect timing for
(13:13):
anything, not delaying decisionsas well because of timing
things, you know, in a way,that's, I do believe, not making
a decision, that's, you know,clear way to make a decision.
That I would rather be a littlemore intentional about, uh,
instead of just like lettingthings happen.
(13:34):
So, um, really just rememberingconditions will never be
perfect in your entrepreneurialjourney.
So embrace the imperfection andthe chaos and just work in the
margins.
You know, every 15 minutes,what could you do that would
have a positive ROI for you, andbreaking it down into that
small, tiny little level.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:55):
Oh, I like the way you said that, breaking
it down into small chunksinstead of thinking, oh my gosh,
what am I going to do?
Or like, what can I do in thenext 15 minutes.
That can help right, totally.
Yes, so a lot of high achieverssuch as yourself have, whether
it be a morning routine orsomething that they do daily to,
to keep them going.
Do you have a morning routineor something, some kind of
(14:16):
routine that you can tell usabout?
Dylan Jahraus (14:19):
So I have a three-year-old and a
seven-year-old and it is they'reboth boys and it is just wild
in the mornings.
So my 7 am to 8 am I actually Idon't look at Slack.
That's like the one hour a daywhere it's like you cannot get
ahold of me.
And there's, I would say, forme, like multitasking you could,
(14:42):
I can multitask almost all daylong, but there are certain
times where it's like I just gotto focus on the one thing,
otherwise I'm not going to doanything.
Well, um, so I would say,really protecting your energy.
Um, during certain times of theday having a very limited time
if you need to shut things offto do that, certain times of the
day having a very limited timeif you need to shut things off
(15:04):
to do that.
And you know, my very firstthing I do when I wake up at 6am
is I look at Slack and put outthe fires.
So you know not, I'm not reallyinto the woo, woo, I'm going to
get in like bath full of icecubes.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:19):
I don't do the ice cube thing either.
No, no, I've.
I don't know if I would be ableto do that.
Dylan Jahraus (15:26):
Yeah.
I mean yeah, my morning routineis just gets to work.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:30):
Yeah
Voice Over (15:30):
Right, I love it.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (15:32):
I love it and I love the honesty and just
that.
That's what you do.
That's great, yeah.
And with two small children,you sometimes you might not have
a choice.
What you do, it's there, it'sup to them.
What you're, that's great, yeah.
And with two small children,sometimes you might not have a
choice.
What you do, it's up to them.
What you're going to be doingin the morning, exactly right.
So you talked about being anintrovert.
I am as well, and leadership asan introvert I've struggled
(15:54):
with in the past, and you have ateam of, like you said, more
than 30 people.
Can you talk to me a little bitabout your leadership style,
especially as an introvert?
Dylan Jahraus (16:04):
Yes, this is so interesting.
I found, like you know, when Ihave five people, okay, it's
like I do well with fiveteammates in the group I can,
you know, pay attention andreally put energy into all that,
but once we got over maybe like15, I was just like, wow, now
all I do it's like peoplemanagement and this is
(16:26):
exhausting, like this is likedraining all of my energy and
I'm and it's um, like dynamicsof between people and
relationship management withinthe team versus thinking
expansively how can I grow andwhat's the vision for the
company to really lead them.
So what I've found works reallywell.
I actually was inspired by TonyShea at Zappos.
(16:49):
He was very quiet as a CEO,very, very quiet, soft-spoken,
not the loudest person in theroom and he built this huge
company.
So I realized I don't have tobe the loudest person in the
room and he built this hugecompany.
So I realized I don't have tobe the loudest person here.
So I started hiring people whoare actually extroverts and it
(17:09):
does so much for the culture ofthe company because they help
carry that and move it along,and so it's not weighing on me
to like build this vibrant, youknow, culture where I'm like
always on with each person, so Ibasically bring in strategic
hires who are more of anextrovert to help fill that.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (17:32):
Very smart, very smart, yes.
So let's talk about five 10years down the road.
Where do you see yourself inthe company?
So let's talk about five, 10years down the road.
Dylan Jahraus (17:40):
Where do you see yourself in the company, yes.
So this year it's a bigtransition year.
My husband has been in themilitary for 15 years and he's
actually not going to stay inuntil retirement.
So he's getting out in a coupleof months and he will be
stepping in.
He's already kind of stepped inas our COO, so working together
husband and wife really excitedfor that.
(18:01):
It will also involve a move outof California.
We don't want to be Californiaresidents with a business right
now, so we'll be making a moveand then really growth for the
company and stability.
We just launched a softwarecompany in October.
That is kind of complimentary,I would say it's for e-commerce
(18:26):
sellers.
So focusing on that, buildingthat up to be about equal in
size to the coaching business,is our plan.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:34):
Great, that's exciting.
So I work with my husband andit's amazing.
There we have our moments, butit really does work well.
I don't know if you're is yourhusband, extrovert or introvert.
Dylan Jahraus (18:46):
You know he has more endurance returning on his
extrovert side.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:51):
Yeah, mine's a total extrovert and so
that kind of helps helps me alittle bit, but it really is
nice, um, getting to work withhim every day.
I love creating and, you know,going into the office with him
every day and excited about your, the platform that you're
producing.
Maybe we can have you back onto talk about that when that
gets going and we can hear moreabout that.
Dylan Jahraus (19:11):
Awesome, yeah, and it is out there.
It's called Etsy E-T-S-E-Ocom,so it's out there and we're
growing it steadily in a healthyway.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (19:22):
So yeah, so is it seo for etsy is that what
yes, oh, awesome, okay, well,great, we can talk about it now.
No, that's exciting.
Congratulations lots, thank you, lots.
Going on in your world, um,keep killing it.
You're doing an amazing job andit's it's been fun to watch
your growth and I look forwardto continuing to watch your
growth.
Dylan Jahraus (19:41):
Oh, thank you for having me on.
This was really nice.
Yeah, thanks for joining us.
Voice Over (19:45):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
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