If you’re going to do something, then do it the best you can. This is the idea behind Lisa Vaupel’s work ethic.
Vaupel has always needed a creative outlet and for ten years, that outlet came in the form of newspaper advertising design. While she enjoyed that work, she aspired to do something different, so when the opportunity came to purchase the business formerly known as Chosen Valley Threads in Chatfield, Minn., it was time to take a leap of faith.
Lisa and her husband Mat took over as owners in May 2012 and changed the name to Threads Custom Apparel, which she operates. The business changed locations to its present spot in October of 2012.
Vaupel grew up in Chatfield and graduated from Chatfield High School and says, “I was familiar with Threads and knew it had a great history,” so when they got the idea to buy the business, it had to be taken seriously.
“At the time it wasn’t necessarily something I knew I wanted to do but it was a moment where we said, now is the time, let’s give it a shot” and so they went forward with the purchase.
“It was absolutely terrifying” to take over a business, states Vaupel, although she didn’t “start” the business, merely “stepped in to continue a business,” she says.
“For the first six months, I’m not sure I slept a full night,” states Vaupel, explaining, “I had these ideas in my head, but with no true experience on how to do it,” then adds, “and that’s not even talking about payroll, taxes, insurance,” and everything else that goes along with running a business.
“Doing embroidery was a totally foreign thing to me,” explains Vaupel, saying that in the beginning when she was being trained, “many nights I went home going ‘what have I done?’ and ‘why did I make this decision?’”
“Now here we are over four years later,” comments Vaupel, saying, “now there is not as much fear – not as many unknowns” as there was in the beginning, but stressful situations do come about from time to time.
“You always want to do every single job to the best of your ability and you want everybody to walk out of the store feeling confident and feeling they have received good service,” states Vaupel, and when something goes wrong (and something is always bound to go wrong) “it’s all in how you handle it,” she says.
The Vaupel’s have two children, Layne, 15 and Nick, 11, who attend school in Stewartville, Minn. When asked how she balances work and home life, she laughs and says “I don’t!” adding, “it’s very imbalanced!” as are many people’s schedules and lives.
“Every day is a balancing act,” expresses Vaupel, saying, “each day I don’t necessarily know how the day will end,” because something could come up at any minute.
The couple’s kids and their activities are a priority and Vaupel states she is thankful for her husband, who is usually “awesome” to help out with things, but along with a full-time position for a company, he is also a cattle and crop farmer, so he is in the field this time of year.
Vaupel says, “Anyone who is tackling being a single parent – I have the utmost respect for them” for being able to handle it on their own.
The best part of Vaupel’s work is “the variety,” she says, and how she is “able to be creative” in different ways. What is fun for her is “when someone comes in with this project and either they totally know what they want or have no clue what they want it’s getting to that end point,” states Vaupel.
When asked any advice she would give women who want to run a business, Vaupel states that although college was not an option for her years ago, “Some days I wish I had more business schooling – standard accounting and business knowledge – if I could go back I would consider making that a priority – to learn payroll, QuickBooks, things like that,” and adds, “I could still benefit from doing something along those lines” even now.
Beyond that, “you have to have friends and family support,” if for no other reason than to have someone to talk to.
It is also very important “to have good employees,” as they can be “someone you can lean on a little bit,” says Vaupel. She is fortunate to have three terrific employees at this time and she doesn’t feel as if they work “for” her as much as they work “with” her.
One last piece of advice for you to remember, whether starting a business or stepping in to a business, is “your actions and your work speak for you,” says Vaupel.
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