271. From Basement Startup to Multimillion-dollar Brand with Mabel’s Labels Julie Cole

This episode is for you if you are a growth minded entrepreneurial women who is looking for a dose of inspiration for grit and greatness as we will learn about the founder story of Julie Cole. 

Julie Cole is a recovered lawyer, speaker, mom of six and co-founder of Mabel’s Labels. Julie is an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author and media personality having appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, CNN, and numerous websites, magazines and podcasts.

Things we talked about:

• Self double vs going all in when first launching a business
• lowest points in the journey, and how did you push through 
• When feel like giving up what kept you going
• the big break or turning point that helped beyond the basement
• mindset shift going from solopreneur to CEO of a multimillion-dollar brand
• How to stay grounded and focused when stakes get higher
• What does success look like now
• How has confidence played a role in journey
• Best tip to make a bold move

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FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Hello, hello, beautiful souls. This episode is for you. If you are a growth minded entrepreneurial woman who is looking for a dose of inspiration for grit and greatness, as we will learn about the founder story of Julie Cole.

Hello, Lucy, thanks so much for having me. 

I’m so excited to have you because the last time we’ve seen each other, we were having so much fun on a rooftop party. 

We sure were not bad.

Palm Springs, right?

Alt Summit. Good times.

Awesome. Well, Julie is a recovered lawyer, speaker, mom of six and co founder of Mabel’s Labels. And Julie is also award winning entrepreneur, best selling author, media personality having appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, numerous websites, magazines, podcasts, you name it.

She is remarkable. 

Well, I get around a bit.

I’m tired. Let’s just say I’m tired. 

Well, in case someone listening does not know Mabel’s label is like the go to personalized, durable, waterproof label for kids. So let’s go back a little bit to the beginning.

When you first started your company 22 years ago, were you in self doubt mode? Or was there actually a moment when you were like, your thoughts were, oh, this is it. I’m going all in.

Oh, it’s so funny, because I think that changes for entrepreneurs. I think that can change not just day to day, but minute to minute, depending on your mood, if you’ve had any sleep, if your children are driving you crazy, if you’ve left your job, how your finances are all that sort of stuff. But for us, you know, I started Mabel’s Labels 22 years ago in the basement.

It was my sister’s basement. I started with three other women. And there were two reasons why this this business started.

As you mentioned, I was a recovered lawyer. But at the time, my eldest of my six children was just three and he was diagnosed with autism. And I didn’t feel that the traditional workforce would suit the life that I wanted, which was a life with a little more flexibility.

I wanted to be able to take him to meetings, appointments, advocate for him, all that sort of stuff. So there that was reason number one. Reason number two was we had a good idea along, like I said, with my sister and two of our good friends.

We were like, why are we losing stuff? Why are we using masking tape and permanent marker? Surely there’s something out there.

And there wasn’t. So we did fill a gap in the marketplace. And as you mentioned, our very first product was a personalized dishwasher microwave safe label.

So it was a peel and stick and it would go on the bottles and the sippy cups and the wipes containers and the snack containers. And it would go through the dishwasher and stay there, stay put. That was our secret sauce that our product did what it said it would do.

And over the years, you know, we’ve launched several, several new products for, you know, all of all of your labeling needs. I am going to say, though, it was tough 22 years ago, because remember, these were the times before social media, before podcasts, before we could connect online with other entrepreneurs. And I think for a lot of solo entrepreneurs, particularly, and especially like we were in the mom space.

So the mom entrepreneurs, it could be very lonely, right? Doing starting a business alone in your basement, and raising your kids alone, I often find that work life and parenting life can often kind of resemble each other. So for us, I think a real advantage to having the four co-founders was when one of us was thinking, what have we done?

What did we think we were capable of? The three others would be shut it, we got this, we can do this. And also it helped very much in that early division of labor.

And in that early getting the word out there, the word of mom. So it was quite helpful to have co-founders at that time, for sure.

What would you say was a low point in your journey? And how did you push through?

Um, I think as far as, you know, the business itself, I mean, we were always juggling things like, you know, more kids and kids illnesses, and because we were all kind of doing the mom thing and the entrepreneurship thing. So we were managing that again, having the four of us was really great, because we could cover for each other. I don’t know that we had any really low points in that, you know, we did have early growth, we were able to bootstrap, we never had to look for funding, we we had some very good early signs of success.

But I think it was tough, like some of those challenges were, although it was a benefit having four, sometimes having four men, a lot of opinions up the table, a lot of feisty ideas and conversation. And sometimes we had to make sure we managed that. And we did get a sort of a business coach who we kind of called our marriage counselor, to make sure that we were navigating our relationships with each other and our communication well.

So that was something we always had to really be mindful of. I think also, whenever you know, there was a change, we hadn’t had to navigate that, right? Like parenting, soon as you think you know what you’re doing, I know babies, you have a toddler, I know toddlers, you have a preschooler.

And that’s the same with business, you know, I can do a basement startup, but holy, now we need to make some hires, I don’t know anything about HR, what do we do about that? So you know, you’re always soon as you think you know what you’re doing, you don’t. So getting used to that, but that’s kind of the fun in the sport of entrepreneurship as well.

So, you know, remaining innovative and bringing in new technologies and staying connected to our customers has always just made it all worth it.

Was there any point that you thought you guys might have to give up or just when things get tough? What kept you going?

Yeah, I think because, you know, again, having each other was very helpful around sort of that, you know, mental health piece to it. And mental health can really impact entrepreneurs. And I think it’s something to be very mindful of, because again, it can be very isolating.

And if you’re working alone, your brain gremlins can tell you you’re not good enough, you’re not worth it, you’re going to fail. So making sure you’re connecting with networks, I always say your net worth, so make sure that you’re speaking to people about what your challenges are, so it can quiet those gremlins down. A lot of entrepreneurs, it’s very important, yes, to have a mentor, to have a therapist, all of those things.

I think having that in your back pocket is what’s going to get you through those really difficult times and making sure that you’re just staying connected. Because isolation can do funny things to your brain.

Totally, totally. So what was like a big breaking point or turning point that you got out of the basement?

So I’m going to say a couple of things. The first one, we had a couple nice little early press hits, which were great, you know, like it was like, back to school and a journalist was like, you know, this is back in the day of print magazine, and everybody ordered parenting magazine and stuff. But, you know, companies like ours, we couldn’t afford advertisements.

My goodness, those big glossy magazines, we were in a basement, for goodness sake. So, you know, we did get a few nice little hits where somebody would be like, oh, my favorite top five products for back to school, Mabel’s Labels. So we had some nice hits like that.

But I think the one that really was a bit of a game changer for us, and I don’t know, this probably was before your time, there was a newsletter that went out every day called Daily Candy. And once a week, they would do Daily Candy Kids, and they would showcase a product that one of the readers had just submitted. So we go on to our little laptop that day to see our few orders for the day.

And it was like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. We were like that small business going, what’s going on? Why are we getting all these orders?

And where we said, how did you hear? It said Daily Candy Kids. We’re like, what is Daily Candy Kids?

So we learned quickly what Daily Candy Kids was. And it was remarkable for us, because what had happened is somebody, you know, somebody had seen us, one of those journalists, like had covered us and then sent labels to her cousin in LA, and the cousin had submitted us. So we were able to figure out where it all came from.

But the beautiful thing about our product is that once people see it, they want it. And you know, we talk about products we love and hate like it’s our full-time job. And in those early days, we didn’t have mom blogs yet.

We didn’t have moms owning TikTok or Instagram or Facebook or anything like that, right? So people would see our products and talk about our products in real life. So we often found if we had a nice little hit like Daily Candy Kids, we would have a huge spike and things would settle down a little bit, but they would never go back to where we started.

And then a couple weeks later, we’d get another spike because all of our labels that were bought in the first spike were out in the wild. They were at daycare, they were at ballet, they were at camp, they were at all the schools, and other parents were seeing them saying, what is that label that when it goes through the dishwasher microwave, so that would, you know, lead to our next little spike, and it just kind of kept going from there.

I love the reminder that it’s a surprise, right? It’s kind of like a ripple effect. You never know where your clients are coming from, but you got to do the work in the first place to get there.

And you know what? I love that you said that, Lucy, because I know in those early days, there were things that I did. I’m like, oh, was that a waste of my time?

Especially, you know, I was juggling all those little kids and stuff, and I remember doing this one baby show, and I was like, oh, I don’t think it’s really our demographic. And I spent all day on my feet at this booth wearing a baby, and I was like, eh, nothing’s coming out of that. Well, of course, then six months later, I get a call from somebody who saw us at that show, and they worked for the school board, and they wanted to get our labels out to the entire school board.

And I remember thinking, huh, that was the event I regretted going to. So you need to keep turning up. Nothing’s a waste of time.

You just got to, you know, it’s going to feel frustrating at times. You’re going to be like, is this meaningful or not? And you do have to pick and choose where you go.

You know, you have to be strategic about it, for sure. And obviously, you know, at that time, I was feeling frustrated because I was a tired young mom. But I did get in front of people who would use Mabel’s labels, which we found out six months later, there was some success there.

Beautifully said. What kind of mindset shift do you think you made going from the basement to the CEO of a multi-million dollar brand?

Yeah, it can be tough. For entrepreneurs, I think the transition is particularly tricky because in those early days, you’re kind of doing everything right, and you’re in the weeds. Like we were making labels, we were like answering the phone, we were doing it all.

And so you really felt like you had a finger on the pulse. And often entrepreneurs can be a little bit control freaky, especially about their businesses, because we’re really invested, right? Like there’s a lot of money, sweat equity that we’ve put into these businesses.

So they are like another child, another baby. So we didn’t have such a problem when we did those early hires, like some customer service reps, some people that actually make the labels and pack them up. We were okay with that.

Our problem was when we hired management, and that’s because we had to let go of the reins and we had to give other people decision-making ability, hiring ability. We had to give them room to make mistakes because if you micromanage your leadership team, they’re not going to stick around. And if you micromanage them, then you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

If you’re still working in the business, who’s working on the business? You can get people to work in the business, but you need to be the one working on the business. So my advice to entrepreneurs out there is that when you get to the point where you have to make hires, make the hires, hire people that are smarter than you, that have skills that you don’t have, leave your ego at the door.

Good leaders make leaders. They don’t want followers. They want more leaders and don’t micromanage them because then they’ll stick around and then they’ll be more entrepreneurial, which is good for your business and good for your bottom line.

So how do you stay grounded now and focus and stay focused when the stake is getting higher now?

Yeah, well, you know what? I think it’s just, you know, you have to do a lot of planning. I mean, we’re meeting in two weeks to do a three-day, full three-day strategic plan to take it through to the next five years.

You have to be smart about it. You have to get the right people at your table. You have to plan.

You have to set goals. You have to make sure those goals are trickling down to your team and they’re seeing everybody is working towards the same goals, whatever those may be. You have to be flexible enough to be able to shift.

If the market changes, you might have to change too. COVID could happen and shut you all down. What are you going to do then, right?

So with that entrepreneurial spirit, you have to remain the most innovative and you have to always be, always be planning.

Oh, I love that so much. You guys hear that? She’s spending three days planning for the next five years.

How much time are you spending planning your life and business, right?

It’s true. And you know what? It’s one of those things where people are like, I’m too busy to do this.

And if you don’t carve out the time, then you’re going to be busy and you’re not going to be accomplishing much because where you want to be in five years, then you’re going to buy. Okay. That means in four and a half years, we’re here in four years, we’re here.

Then we have to do this kind of higher. Cause if we’re going to be there, we need to have somebody who is skilled in that it capability or whatever. So you do need to really start planning backwards from there.

And you know, it’s like, I can remember once my dad was so sick and I’m like, we have to get to the doctor. He’s like, I’m too sick for the doctor. And I’m like, really, dad feels counterintuitive.

And that’s, that’s entrepreneurs saying I’m too busy to plan or to be strategic. If that’s the case, time to get yourself a virtual assistant, time to stop doing your own taxes, time to, you know, contractors are an entrepreneur’s best friend. You know, you don’t have to hire somebody full-time in HR.

You can get a contractor to come in and do a good hire for you or to create some policy for you. Okay. Don’t, you don’t have to do the whole thing.

I know that’s overwhelming because you’re like, I can’t afford a full-time HR person, but you can afford somebody who’s going to come in and do the job right. So that you don’t have to do it again and pay again, or you don’t have to do it yourself and do it wrong, or it takes too long. Cause it’s not your area of expertise.

Everybody stay in their zone of genius.

Beautifully said. And I’ve totally, totally heard that dad saying for it.

Oh yeah. We all have the same dad, don’t we?

If you could go back, Jolie, and talk to your past self, younger self at the start of this journey, what would you say to her?

Um, I’d say stay the path Jules, you know, like you’re a great kid. You’re doing lots of really interesting things. You feel good about yourself.

You get out there, you’re kind, you have a lovely family. You’re, you know, having a lot of fun at school, at college, at law school. I will say, you know, when I finished law school and, you know, my son was diagnosed and I ended up switching in labels, I did have that moment of like, why did I do that?

Like, why did I bother going through all the hassle of law school and articles and working to be a label maker who’s changing a lot of diapers? And, you know, I have learned, you know, I think people hear this, whatever you did was not a waste of time. It was all for something.

You know what? I’m better at negotiating. I can create a shareholders agreement.

I can negotiate with my six kids. I can, law school wasn’t a waste of time. It was very useful.

So whatever you skills you bring from your past life, don’t have that moment that I did where it’s like, oh, maybe I shouldn’t have bothered because you should bother all of your experiences, bring you to where you are now. And they will they will come in handy. No regrets.

Absolutely. So I know now success look a lot different to you probably from when you first started, right? So what does success look like to you now?

Um, so success for me, I mean, it’s really quite simple. I mean, I want to meet our goals for our business. We want to make meet our sales goals.

We want to meet our community goals. We want to make sure we’re living by our core values. We’re hiring, firing by them that we are state and remaining true to things that are important to us and that we have a beautiful work culture.

That sort of that to me is success at work for me also that I’m getting out there, that I’m meeting people that I’m sharing what I know. Um, that gives me a lot of energy speaking. I just had a, I just met with a mentee just before this podcast to help her along with her, her business.

So just making sure I’m getting out there and being visible, because I think that’s even more important now because being visible creates some credibility and loyalty. And I think that’s what our customers want to see. So making sure that I’m meeting those goals as well.

Um, and honestly, like now as a mom, whose youngest child is turning 16 tomorrow, I’m hoping nobody crashes any cars every day. I, you know, I’ve got four in college for me, the success with them is that they feel good about themselves. I don’t care if they get B’s, I don’t even care if they get D’s, if that’s the best they can do for me, the priority is that they want to be here, that they feel loved.

They feel supported. They feel good about themselves because I find that the kids who have self-confidence and have supportive parents who accept them for who they are, not for who you wanted them to maybe be are the happiest kids and do go on to do great things and have fulfilling lives. So that’s what my hope is.

As another mom of a teen. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, my goodness. Yes. I always tell my daughter, you know, it’s not about the grade, even though she gets straight A’s.

I’m like, I’m proud of you for working hard. I’m proud of you for being confident and kind to your friends. So that’s what we care about.

Right?

It is funny, though, because like, you know, I’ve got six. So I do see how some put this pressure like your daughter on and I’m like, I don’t know why you’re like that, because I don’t do that to you. And like, she’ll be like, No, I know that.

And then some I’m like, you know, you could be a little more motivated. It is funny how they’re all so different. And yet, the same lessons have been taught the same role modeling is a riot around here.

Honestly, it just it’s a crapshoot every day.

How has confidence played a role in your own journey?

Yeah, I think you know, I really see confidence as something of a privilege. I feel people, you know, think, Oh, Julie, you’re so brave. Look what you did.

And I’m like, was it really that brave? I mean, I had a law degree, I have parents who like loved me and supported me. And I have siblings who are my best friends.

And I was raised and encouraged to do the best I could and celebrated for just being me. So that gave me confidence. And it made me do those things early on.

You know, I was kid who ran student politics. I was that kid who was high school valedictorian. I did, because I just always put myself out there.

And I did all the stuff. And I think when you have you do that, then that kind of builds upon itself. And like, look, I’m really I’m really not that special.

And I always think about what my grandma said to me, I talked about this in the book, my book as well. And you know, she said this to all of us. And it made us very confident, but also kept us humble.

And she say, Julie, you’re as good as the rest of them. And better than none.

You are remarkable, Julie, I love your energy. I love your presence, you light up the room when you walk in. So I love everything about you.

Thank you so much for sharing all your wisdom. One last tip for everyone who is wanting to make a bold move in life and they’re feeling scared. What’s your advice?

Well, I had a sign we had a sign up at our on our wallet Mabel’s labels in the early days. And I said, if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space. So I think you need to know yourself, you need to know what your appetite for risk is, you know, if you’re a little risk averse, that’s okay.

Give yourself some little manageable chunks, some little steps, say visibility is one of the things you want to do, but you’re not exactly comfortable saying, Lucy, I want to come on your podcast, then you know what, maybe this month, you’re going to say, I’m going to ask two people if I could be a podcast guest, or I’m going to ask somebody, if I can do an insta live with them, or I’m going to turn up at that networking event, take a deep breath and walk in, you know, so maybe set little manageable chunks of goals around things that make you uncomfortable. And then just do it. Because you know what, do it hard.

Do it hard. Do it scared.

Beautifully said. What’s a favorite quote you resort to?

Yeah, good one. Okay, I’m sure I’ve got another grandma quote somewhere in here. Too many, right?

There are I do think I just laugh. I gotta tell you this one. It’s not a good quote.

It’s probably like you’re gonna get burned out quote. But on my wall in the early days of Mabel’s Labels, you know, I, you know, we were starting this business, we had all these children, I had a child who was neuro spicy, and, you know, all this jazz. And I had a sign on my wall that said, Don’t tell me I’m burning the candle at both ends.

Get me some more wax. But, but in saying that, I do think something I did well was asked for help. I did say I need more wax.

You know, when I would have a baby, people say, What can I do? I’d say you can bring the toddlers to the park for the afternoon. You can drop dinner off for me on this day.

You can get somebody to come in and clean my house. Come help me fold laundry. Even now somebody will say if I’m having a dinner party, can I bring something?

I’m like, Yes, bring a salad. Yes, I’d love you to bring dessert. If somebody’s ever asked me, can I do something for you?

Can I bring something? I always say yes. And if I did get a baby gift, I would take it and I would say thank you.

Now look into my eyes. I’m saying thank you, because you’re not going to be getting a thank you note. I don’t have the capacity for that.

But I very much appreciate this. And then I didn’t send a note.

Oh, that is beautiful. That’s such a great tip for anyone who’s just prioritizing themselves.

Yeah, you got to have some boundaries, right? Or we got to let it we got to get done in a day.

So you know, you can you can say no. Awesome. Okay, well, it was a pleasure to have you.

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and journey with us. Julie connect with Julie. All her links are linked below and you will feel inspired by following her.

Thanks so much for having me Lucy.