TWO Moms Who Made It Happen
Kristin Krause & Michelle Hall
Hometown: Kristin grew up in the Chicago Area and Michelle grew up in Nashville, TN. Both currently reside in the Northern end of Pittsburgh.
Tell Us about your business and why you created it.
"About the Just Between Friends Franchise System: In 1997, Just Between Friends was created in a living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma when Shannon Wilburn, a mother of two young children, and her friend Daven Tackett hosted a sale, while inviting 17 friends to be consignors. Promoted only in their neighborhood, the gross sales reached approximately $2,000. That’s when the idea caught on. Each season, a new, larger event was held. In 2003, Wilburn and Tackett formed Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc., and began developing and selling franchises. Currently, Wilburn, now sole owner of Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc., has 121 franchises in 23 states.
About JBF Pittsburgh North: When Kristin visited the Reading, Pennsylvania sale in the Spring of 2009, the excitement that her sister, Tracy, and Tracy's partner, Beth, had as new JBF Owners was contagious! The event was unbelievable and something that the Pittsburgh Area was definitely missing out on! As full-time moms and part-time bargain shoppers, JBF seemed to be the perfect fit for both of us. JBF allows us the flexibility to remain active moms while working to benefit others in our community. In this economy, JBF makes perfect sense! We hope that members of our community experience our excitement, earn some money and walk away with a bargain, of course! Once they experience a JBF Sale, we hope they will be hooked, like us!"
Tell us about your families
"Kristin is married to Todd and is the proud mom to two wonderful young children! She met her husband at Penn State, where they married a year after graduation. They are busy parents, fitting in soccer, basketball, golf, dance, piano, church and lots of school activities! Prior to becoming a ""Mom"", Kristin was involved in Sales and Recruiting with a Technical Staffing Firm. Prior to her work with JBF, she was a full-time Mom and loved every minute! In her spare time, Kristin enjoys the outdoors. Running, hiking, and tennis are her favorite stress relievers! As a family, they love sports. They are particularly loyal to the Penn State Nittany Lions and those Pittsburgh Steelers, of course!
Michelle is married to Pat and has also been blessed with two wonderful children. She is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio where she graduated with a business degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing. Michelle has spent the majority of her professional career working in Human Resources Software Systems and is excited to now be working with JBF to help support the community, charitable organizations, and recycling at its best! Michelle’s personal interests include being active at church and at her kids' schools, learning about new technology, traveling and exploring new places with her family."
Tell us about your background/ education.
"Kristin graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Health Policy Administration and Business and started her career working with Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, IL doing Human Resources Consulting. Several years later she had a career change into Sales and Recruiting for TEKSystems in Chicago and Columbia, MD. She has been a full-time 'Mom' since September 2001, after the birth of her 1st child.
Michelle graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing. She spent 5 years working for Ernst and Young in Management Consulting and then moved to an insurance company where she spent 8 years working in Human Resources Software Systems."
What Advice do you have for other moms looking to make it happen at home? Looking to have it all!?
"We would suggest to definitely finding something that you love and are passionate about. If you love what you do, you will want to do it 100%, and will have fun doing it, too!
Be realistic! If you're investing in something, be realistic in what it might take to get a return on your investment. Also be realistic about what you can accomplish with the time you have available and be sure you have the time to dedicate to starting up and running your own business."
What do you love about having your own business?
"We love the flexibility of owning our own business. We can be active in the lives of our children at school and in their activities, while feeling fulfilled with the challenges of running owning something that we are 100% accountable for."
When did you know it was going to WORK!?
"Each Sale has grown, so we are excited that the concept of Just Between Friends is 'catching on' in the Pittsburgh Area! With ours being an event based business, we feel that with each event we take a leap of faith. To date, it has all come together in the end!"
What challenge(s) did you find most prevalent as a mom running a business?
"We both feel that the hardest challenge is definitely trying to balance personal time and work time. Working out of our own homes, the "office" is never closed!"
Did you ever want to quit, throw in the towel!? What kept you going?
"Absolutely! We have definitely felt frustrated and burned-out many occasions. With the support from our franchise system and support from each other, we have persevered from one event to the next. The feedback we continually receive about how some of our shoppers and consignors rely on our event to help make ends meet, helps us to know that what we are doing is truly benefiting the community. That feedback is motivating to continue to grow JBF and reach even more families in our area.
"Absolutely! We have definitely felt frustrated and burned-out many occasions. With the support from our franchise system and support from each other, we have persevered from one event to the next. The feedback we continually receive about how some of our shoppers and consignors rely on our event to help make ends meet, helps us to know that what we are doing is truly benefiting the community. That feedback is motivating to continue to grow JBF and reach even more families in our area.
When you run your own business, you learn that the pay may not match the effort expended. Finding ways to be motivated in other ways, such as knowing the positive impact we are making in the lives of local families, definitely drives us to continue working hard on a daily basis!"
Any other information you' d like to share. Is there a part of your story we missed? Tell it here!
"Our Goals... This year, we’d like to have the participation of even more shoppers, more consignors and more volunteers while continuing to support and benefit our local charity partner, Focus On Renewal.
By the end of 2012, we hope that thousands of families in Pittsburgh have benefited from our first 7 sales events in the area! In addition to providing a great value to families in the area, we like to make our sales FUN and show our volunteers, consignors and shoppers how much we value their participation in the JBF event! We hope to have meaningful relationships with charitable organizations that JBF will continually support, sale after sale. Over the next few years, we hope to make JBF a household name in the Pittsburgh Area, with shoppers, consignors, and volunteers excited to experience the excitement of a JBF Sale, season after season!
Some additional fun facts about the 2 of us!... When we first met, as newly relocated neighbors to the Pittsburgh area, it wasn’t long before we discovered how much we had in common! With boys and girls the same age and grade, 2 female chocolate labs, and the same birthday and wedding anniversary months, we knew we had an instant connection! Both passionate about giving back to our community and helping others, we now share a JBF partnership! We have been organizing the JBF Pittsburgh North Sales events since the Fall of 2009.
To wrap it up... We want to benefit as many families as possible with our upcoming Fall 2012 event! We welcome volunteers, consignors, shoppers, and local businesses that cater to families to partner with us to make the Fall 2012 event the best one yet!"
The Fall JBF Pittsburgh North Event is planned for September 21-23 at the RMU Island Sports Center Golf Dome ~ 7600 Grand Ave., 15225. For the upcoming event details, visit: www.pittsburghnorth.jbfsale.com. For all of the latest information, follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JBFPitt.
I have aligned myself with the "JBF" girls, as we fondly call them, since the beginning of Macaroni Kid here in Pittsburgh. I have stood by in awe watching them grow this incredible idea in front of all the eyes of Pittsburgh. They are detail oriented business women who have nothing but success in their path. We are proud to sponsor JBF each year not only for it's purpose but to support these two moms-- who are making it happen!
Debby P Editor, Macaroni Kid of Pittsburgh LLC
I have aligned myself with the "JBF" girls, as we fondly call them, since the beginning of Macaroni Kid here in Pittsburgh. I have stood by in awe watching them grow this incredible idea in front of all the eyes of Pittsburgh. They are detail oriented business women who have nothing but success in their path. We are proud to sponsor JBF each year not only for it's purpose but to support these two moms-- who are making it happen!
Debby P Editor, Macaroni Kid of Pittsburgh LLC
