The Woman Behind The Business

Ten and a half years ago, a self-made business woman began the journey of turning her
innovative creation into a well sought-after product.

By Ashley Smart

SOUTH JORDAN, UT—When looking for a solution to an everyday problem, Betsy Mikesell
came up with an ingenious idea for a product that would soon bring her from hairdresser to
business woman. That product idea would later be known as Beddy’s.

Betsy’s idea for easy-to-make bedding was spurred by the inability to make her sons’ bunk beds,
an almost impossible task. Thinking she may find help online, she made a quick google search,
but came up empty-handed. Mikesell was soon hit with the realization that she couldn’t possibly
be the only one out there frustrated by the idea of making a bunk bed. Wanting to do something
about that, she turned to the drawing board. Soon after, her plans for Beddy’s were created, and
her dream became her reality.

Once deciding on this business, the idea took off right away. With plans to audition for Shark
Tank, Mikesell needed to create a business profile on facebook for Beddy’s. Within one night, an
accidental post had received three-thousand views. Within the first weekend, the post had
fifteen-thousand views. Along with those views, that first weekend brought in over
three-thousand emails from people wanting their bedding. “Every year we look at the numbers
and I feel surprised all over again!” Mikesell responds when asked about the success that her
business has received over the years.

Though it may seem the journey was all smooth sailing, that’s not exactly how it happened. Not
unlike most hard things in life, it is easy to get to a low place when a future doesn’t seem
achievable. “There were a lot of times when things would happen where I would think to myself,
‘Wait, are we ever going to make it?’ It was so up and down, especially in the beginning. It just
never felt secure.”

Everyone has an individual step-by-step solution that has helped bring themselves out of a hard
time. When asked what got her through those hard times, Mikesell had this to say: “I recall my
mom coming over and saying, ‘Betsy, you will have many ups and downs, but you have a really
good idea and you just have to remember to stick to it.’ I remember thinking, ‘Mom, this is so
cool, I’m going on my first business trip, why are you telling me I’m going to have these ups and
downs?’” As the trials happened, Betsy mentioned that thinking back on that memory helped her
get through them. “Along with that, it was so nice having my business partner… we just really
helped balance each other out.”

Owning a business created a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Mikesell’s. They were able to
take their children to China and witness the manufacturing process for the products that they sell.
Although these experiences are a benefit of business life, it is well known that with the good
comes the bad. “I have to be in the office so I can’t go on fieldtrips, and I have to rush in the
mornings so I no longer have time to make the kids lunches.” The positive outcome to these
daily experiences is that her children get to see what it looks like to truly work hard for
something you want.

It is hard to balance life and work, and it may take a while until that balance is found. A
suggestion Betsy had was to “… give yourself some grace. There is no such thing as a perfect
work life balance. Even though you can’t always be there for your kids… they will appreciate
times that you can be there more.”

There can be much achieved from owning a business, and to each its own for what that
achievement is. In Betsy’s case, “it’s something that I never thought I could do, so I’m doing it to
prove that I can.”