Our guest speaker this Tuesday was Erin Elliott; co-owner of specialty retailer Maude Specklebelly’s located in downtown Monmouth, IL (see: http://www.maudespecklebellys.com/).

The story of Erin’s entrepreneurial venture is indeed special in many ways; starting with the very beginnings of the business. Below, Midwest Entrepreneurs class member Kierra Russell provides further details of the special story of Erin Elliott and Maude Specklebelly’s.

Prof. Gabel

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On Tuesday January 31, we had the pleasure of meeting Erin, one of the owners of a small boutique located in downtown Monmouth called Maude Specklebelly’s. I found this business very interesting in many ways, including how it came about.

The fact that this business is extremely successful but that neither one of the two owners had any plans on building a business—or being entrepreneurs—right up until the start of Maude’s is amazing. Erin and her business partner—longtime friend Jaime Ballard—had never thought of running a business until about four years ago when an amazing opportunity presented itself. This opportunity was the City of Monmouth’s Retail Business Competition. The two decided to enter and crafted a business plan in just six days. They went for it and came out on top; winning a package of incentives to get the business up and running. Maude’s recently finished its third very successful holiday season and year of business.

I think that when starting a business it is important to make sure that you find a partner that has opposite strengths as you. Erin talked about how she was good with managing the business finances but her partner—a graphic design expert—wasn’t. If both of them were bad at managing money this business would have failed within its first year. Surprisingly, this company was more successful than expected.

I think that Maude Specklebelly’s is successful because the business partners actually took the time out to think about what was in high demand for the area. A lot of times I don’t think that people think that out. The fact that they are a unique boutique that carries items that you can’t find nearby is what keeps them going.

I think that these women had a well thought out business plan when they started up and this is what helps them keep being so successful. They have learned from their mistakes and are very smart with the decisions they make for their business. I would recommend stopping by Maude’s sometime soon because like Erin said, “We have something for everyone!”

Kierra Russell