An American dream story about the girl next door
A flash of exasperation led to a brainstorm
Philadelphia Business Journal - by Adam Stone Special to the Business Journal
Curt Hudson
Jen Groover knows that promoting herself helps her promote her handbags.
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BROOMALL -- Pay attention. One day this story will be legend.
Jen Groover's purse annoyed her. With stuff laying on top of stuff, nothing could be seen.
In a fit of pique, as they say, she yanked the dish rack out of her dishwasher and shoved it
in her bag. There was all her stuff, standing in plain view, in neat little compartments.
Of such moments is entrepreneurial history made.
In 2006, two years after her kitchen-appliance breakthrough, Groover launched Butler
Bag. Not just a bag but a brand, Groover's brainchild has been raising eyebrows in the
accessories community. With 20 employees, Butler Bag is on target to do $15 million in
sales this year.
Groover has spent as much time selling herself as she has hawking her handbags. She is,
herself, the Butler Bag brand. Hers is the face on the Web site, hers the story that drives
the enterprise.
"My story connects with people, my story is the American dream about the girl next door
who saw a problem and did something about it," she said. "People want to connect with
the human side of a brand. They will have more loyalty to a brand that has a human side
to it."
There can be a down side to being the personal face of a brand. At trade shows, for
instance, Groover is the one working the floor. "It is up to me to be up there pitching
consistently and executing every time," she said.
"It also means I can't pull a Lindsey Lohan," she quipped, referring to the imploding
young star. "But that is something I can actually control."
Before getting into her current line, Groover studied education and psychology at
Kutztown University. She went on to a life of hardcore aerobics instruction until her body
"shut down," as she recalled. "I thought I was Super Woman."
The enforced downtime "gave me a moment to really reflect on who I was and what I
was doing," Groover said. She emerged a full-fledged entrepreneur.
To launch her business Groover has relied heavily on viral marketing. To get people
talking she has given away some 1,000 bags as gifts to the media, celebrities, community
influencers and trend-setters.
"People who have our bags run around and show them to people and then -- this is the
important part -- then they tell them about this girl who did this thing. Those third-party
endorsers have been vital."
Equally important has been Groover's own vitality and creativity, said Merry Miller. A
former vice president of programming for the Learning Annex, she recruited Groover to
teach courses on entrepreneurship.
"She thinks of things that don't exist in the market, things that people need, things that fill
voids in the marketplace," Miller said. "And with the Butler Bag she didn't just do it, she
did it in a smart way. She invented a product that works."
Getting there has been no easy road, though. It's one thing to have a good idea, but
something else entirely to turn that idea into a tangible product. Hardest part? You have
to find someone who can make the thing.
"I knew nothing about leathers, let alone how to find a factory or how to get them made,"
Groover said. "It turns out manufacturers are very specific as to what they do. A belt
manufacturer does not manufacture handbags."
Sourcing agents are supposed to make it easier, connecting people like Groover with
those who own the means of production.
"But they would mess up production runs, they would offer the wrong leathers, things
would take far longer than promised," Groover said. "I went through three sourcing
agents and God only knows how many factories."
Her best solution so far has been to contract with multiple factories in several nations.
"You never put all your eggs in one basket. You diversify your manufacturers so that you
do not become hostage to any one," she said.
With production now relatively stable, Butler Bags can be found in some 1,000
boutiques, and Groover expects to have low-cost versions of the product in mass retail
stores and on QVC by the fourth quarter.
The bags typically retail for between $125 and $165. Groover plans a low-price version
for mass consumption in order to get the jump on those who would steal her design. "The
rule of thumb is, you will get knocked of," she said.
As the golden road unfolds before her, Groover reflects on her single biggest mistake:
Not having done more, sooner.
"There were a lot of projects and ideas that I didn't execute because I was afraid of
failing. Then I would see someone else bring them to market, and what I learned from
that is that I hated the feeling of regret more than I disliked the fear of failing."