KLG & Hoda: Jessica Herrin CEO Stella And Dot
If you have ever thought of starting your own business, listen up. Jessica Herrin, the founder and CEO of Stella And Dot, a company that creates flexible business opportunities for women, and Sharon Epperson, a personal finance correspondent for CNBC, came to provide some insight and inspiration to anyone who is thinking of taking a chance on opening up a business.
Today Show: How Passion Helps A Small Business

Stella And Dot CEO Jessica Herrin gave us tips on starting your own business, no matter the circumstances.
Stella And Dot started really small and eventually blew up, and Jessica said that this came from the fact that it wasn’t just an idea, but a really big passion of hers, as well. A passion is what fuels you to take an idea and make it a reality. The good news is that you don’t need the perfect plan from the get go. The perfect plan is something that comes from experience you accrue over time and goes through multiple iterations. This perfect plan is on the other end of a road paved with mistakes, so don’t be afraid to make them.
Kathie Lee & Hoda: How To Start A Business While Holding A Job
For people who have a job that allows for very little time to make this business happen, Sharon Epperson said that you should stay in that job and build yourself an amount of savings that will eventually allow you to fully pursue and build your business.
It takes working two jobs at once to get a business off the ground. Jessica Herrin said that she worked two jobs for over a year while she worked on the concept of Stella And Dot. She even worked nights and weekends for years to get another business off the ground, all while she had children. No excuses!
Today Show: How To Save Money To Start A Business
Saving up to to start turning a passion into a job is no easy task, but one easy (easy is used loosely here) way to do it is to take 10 percent of your time and 10 percent of your money and put it towards your passion. Over time, it will add up. This smaller amount of time and money allows you to have an exit plan should the business not pan out, leaving you with plenty of extra funds to recover from the loss.
KLG & Hoda: Listen To Your Detractors
Jessica Herrin said said that no matter what idea you have, there will be detractors and naysayers. Jessica suggest you take the kernel of truth from all the naysayers and use it to make your idea better. Some good old fashioned hope will also go a long way, because if you believe in your idea, it will go further than you ever could have imagined.
One thing that Kathie Lee felt helped Jessica’s company go so far was their attitude of sharing, because it will show people that you are genuine, and when you start helping people, that will only make more people flock to your business than if you were selfish about your idea.
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