[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 40 (Thursday, March 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING JILL'S HOMESTEAD

 Ms. ERNST. Madam President, as ranking member of the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each week I recognize 
an outstanding Iowa small business that exemplifies the American 
entrepreneurial spirit. This week it is my privilege to recognize 
Jill's Homestead of Chariton, IA, as the Senate Small Business of the 
Week for the week of March 6, 2023.
  Jill's Homestead is an example of the American entrepreneurial spirit 
at its finest. Before starting her own business, Jill Godby had a 
longstanding passion for leather crafting, and she had a special knack 
for creating trendy leather earrings that she often wore herself. Over 
time, her hobby grew as friends and family wanted their own leather 
earrings. Prompted by the demand from her family and friends, in 2018 
Jill started to list some of her earrings on Facebook; shortly 
thereafter, interest in her products took off, and her hobby turned 
into a side hustle. Given her products' popularity online, Jill started 
to sell her earrings at local farmer's markets and at any trade shows 
she could find. Eventually, her hobby-turned-side-hustle led her to 
quit her day job and turn her passion into a small business. However, 
Jill did not foresee the once-in-a-generation pandemic that was right 
around the corner. When disaster struck and businesses were forced to 
close, Jill refused to become discouraged. She doubled down on her 
products and ideas and worked long nights to grow the business. Today, 
that hard work has paid off; Jill has been able to scale up the company 
to employ a small, all-female, workshop crew. Furthermore, she now has 
her own workshop to make her leather goods on the town square in 
Chariton.
  In a world that emphasizes the mass production of goods, Jill's 
Homestead wants to craft products built to last a lifetime. They work 
to achieve this goal through using high-quality leather, experienced 
craftswomen, and an online shop to find customers that share their 
mutual values of sustainability, self-sufficiency, and natural living. 
Each member of her team of seven craftswomen are dedicated to creating 
the highest quality product possible. The business primarily sells 
their products online on their website created through the ecommerce 
platform Shopify. Additionally, they open their workshop once a month 
as they pride themselves on providing great customer service and thus 
want to form and maintain genuine connections with their customers in 
person. In fact, their commitment to customer relations is what 
initially grew the company, with Jill hosting weekly auctions on 
Wednesday nights of her products through Facebook Live. Jill's 
Homestead has grown from only selling earrings to now offering luxury 
handbags, accessories, and home goods inspired by the lifestyle of 
rural Iowa.
  As a small business, Jill's Homestead recognizes the need to give 
back to the Chariton community. They are part of the Chariton Area 
Chamber/Main Street which is committed to revitalizing the community 
through economic and cultural endeavors. Through the chamber, Jill's 
Homestead was able to give a significant donation to the Chariton 
Downtown Square Sidewalk Project in order to restore the historic town 
square. Additionally, the small business is very generous in offering 
their products to be used as prizes for fundraisers. Jill's Homestead 
donated close to 10 items for the Hops for Hospice raffle fundraiser; 
the money raised went to an assistance fund to provide hospice care for 
those who cannot cover the cost. Additionally, they recently 
contributed a number of their handbags for the Designer Bag Bingo night 
fundraiser, the proceeds of which benefit the volunteer services at 
Lucas County Health Center which provides free and low-cost services to 
the community.
  As a small business that will soon turn 6 years old, Jill's Homestead 
has been able to achieve massive success, despite extraordinary 
challenges. Even after she faced unprecedented challenges at the very 
start of her business, Jill refused to give up hope and shifted her 
business to online selling. Through perseverance and grit, Jill grew 
her business during an uncertain economy, and her hard work has more 
than paid off. Not only has Jill achieved impressive growth, her 
business has been featured on Iowa news segments, and Jill was invited 
to our Nation's Capital to tell her story and discuss the issues facing 
women business owners. Since the beginning of their operation, Jill's 
Homestead has been motivated to offer the highest quality leather goods 
to their customers and consistently serve them with ``Iowa Nice'' 
customer service. I want to congratulate Jill Godby and the entire team 
at Jill's Homestead and commend them for their continued commitment to 
excellence in their work both locally in Iowa and throughout the world. 
I look forward to seeing their continued growth and success in 
Iowa.

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