Episode #203: Jenny Doan

Today on the show we’re talking about building a quilting empire with my guest Jenny Doan.

Jenny Doan is the smiling face of Missouri Star Quilt Company. Stitching together simplified quilts full of love and laughter, she makes quilting easier, more accessible, and friendlier than ever before. Watching her tutorials feels like coming home again. With over 750,000 YouTube subscribers and more than 230 million views to date, Jenny has sparked enthusiasm for quilting and warmed her viewer’s hearts across the globe.

When she moved with her growing family to Missouri over 20 years ago, she never imagined that someday they’d have a successful quilting business. Like many small towns across America, employment was scarce, so in November 2008, on a modest budget, the Doan family bought a building in Hamilton and started Missouri Star Quilt Company. At first they offered basic quilting supplies and machine quilting services, but business picked up when they started posting videos of Jenny teaching quilting tutorials online. From that time on her life changed forever.

Almost 13 years later, Jenny now teaches quilting tutorials on YouTube once a week and continues to share her story everywhere she goes. It’s a labor of love and a dream come true for her. Hamilton, Missouri, has become a quilter’s paradise, attracting visitors from around the world. With the help of Jenny’s husband, Ron, her seven children, and 25 grandchildren, this family business has grown to include an entire community.

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This episode is sponsored by Divine Social. Divine Social is a marketing agency that helps eCommerce stores who sell to makers, creators, crafters, artists & DIY enthusiasts.  They are behind some of the biggest brands in the creative industry, responsible for strategies to move your online traffic from prospects to buyers to raving fans.  Just in time for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush, the team at Divine Social is offering a customized review of your shop to help you uncover what’s keeping you from selling more. Go to divinesocial.com/cia for more details. 

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To get the full show notes for this episode visit Craft Industry Alliance where you can learn more about becoming a member of our supportive trade association. Strengthen your creative business, stay up to date on industry news, and build connections with forward-thinking craft professionals. Join today.