All Julie Dean wanted was to help her bullied daughter go to a better school. She worked together with her own mom to design and sell satchels so they could pay for private school fees. Julie was inspired to make satchels because she thought the usual cheap school bags were ugly.
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“I [was] outraged, properly outraged, because the satchel is the most British bag you can ever imagine, everybody had a satchel at school. Nobody was making them. Nobody was making satchels in Britain!”
What she didn’t know was that her $775 investment would balloon into a life-changing business venture — and teach one rude manufacturer the true meaning of karma!
Cambridge Satchel Company
Julie made her first satchel bag design out of cardboard and taught herself coding over only two days to build her website. Her business, known as the Cambridge Satchel Company, became officially incorporated in late 2008.
At first, it was only family and friends wearing the bags. However, Julie lucked out when she convinced a few fashionistas to wear her designs to New York Fashion Week. The next thing the British mom knew, she was hit with 16,000 orders!
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Things were going great — until she learned that the local firm she was working with couldn’t meet the influx of orders. Even worse, the manufacturer was selling knock-offs of her bag behind her back!
When confronted, the manufacturer insisted that she had no choice but to work with him anyway. But in Julie’s own words, it was what he said next that really made her blood boil.
“The next line was the real kicker: ‘Because you’re a stupid woman and you don’t know about manufacturing.’ And he was so pleased with himself. He turned on his heel and went out the back.”
A “stupid woman,” huh?
Julie wasn’t about to take such a backward insult lying down. She turned to the man’s entire staff, who witnessed the ugly scene, and informed them she’d be opening a factory nearby. If they wanted a job, they could email her.
All but two people showed up to work for Julie.
Cambridge Satchel Company
And it got even better.
By 2014, the Cambridge Satchel Company was worth about $65 million. A plethora of celebrities, from Zooey Deschanel to Taylor Swift have worn Julie’s bags.
Cambridge Satchel Company
It may have all started with a desire for a better school experience for her children, but Julie’s business ended up being an inspiration to women entrepreneurs around the world. We can only hope somebody makes a movie!
You can learn more about Julie’s amazing business venture in the video below. Don’t forget to share this inspiring story today!
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