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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
A Mixed Bag
By Sara Peak Wallace
How these women deal with both motherhood
and their entrepreneurial endeavor.
What began as three young moms sitting
around a living room floor has now grown
into B’s Purses, a successful and high
profit national business, keeping the
co-founders busy Louisville women.
B’s Purses allows women to design their own
handbags online, host a house party, or
become a B’s representative.
When the three women started the company
out of their homes four years ago, their goal
was to have 30 reps by the end of the year
and $200,000 in sales. In the first year alone,
the company had grown to include over 400
reps and over a million dollars in sales.
Currently, there are 2,300 reps nationwide and
$2 million in revenue.
The idea came from a passion for fashion and the desire to give women an opportunity to
make money.
“There are so many women out there who stay at home and want to do something,” says
co-founder, Lisa Henderson. “We realized we could come together and do something no
one else is doing. Who doesn’t want to be Kate Spade?” she laughs.
The three women founders each bring different skills to the company. Lisa spends most of
her time with marketing, while Sandra Masters’s focus is operational. Their other partner,
who doesn’t live in Louisville, Susan Guillen, is largely responsible for design.
“We created something sassy and chic,” Lisa says. “This is something people actually
want to go to a party for. Purses are the number one women’s accessory and we make
ours affordable.”
Both Sandra and Lisa are busy working moms. Due to the huge success of their business,
they have moved out of their home offices and spend a lot of time traveling across the
country, giving speeches and providing support to their B’s Purses’ representatives.
“All three of our husbands are so wonderful about us traveling,” Lisa says. “There is just no
way we could do it without them.” Lisa also says she gets a lot of support from her mom,
and isn’t ashamed to get help.
“We all had nannies when the kids were young,” she said. “And I have a cleaning lady, too.
I could either spend my time at home, cleaning, or enjoy it with my family. I don’t cook. We
usually eat out. When I’m home I just want to spend time with my family.”
Lisa says she tries not to allow herself to feel the guilt that other working mom’s sometimes
feel. “As women, we try to be it all. We try wearing every hat, but sometimes you just can’t
do it. So we just juggle it…and sometimes balls drop!”
As far as the kids are concerned, the business never gets in the way of family time. “I have
the most secure kid,” she says. “Things have worked out really well. It’s quality, not
quantity. When I’m home, it’s kisses and hugs every second.”
When Lisa does feel the pressure of trying to do it all, she leans on her other partners.
She says all three women are usually going through the same feelings and emotions, which
is a great level of support. “Sandra has the kids, and the business, and the husband too,”
she says. “I lean on her sometimes.”
“Motherhood, in itself, is challenging,” Sandra says, who is mother to a 5-year-old and an
almost-1-year-old baby. “I was never good at being a stay-at-home mom because I didn’t
have the patience. Now I separate the two and we are all very happy.”
Sandra says being a working mom helps teach your children to be understanding of your
needs, too.
“My son, Connor, will spot a bag while we are out somewhere and say “Look Mommy, it’s
your bag!” she laughs.
Not only does Sandra have the support from her 5-year-old son, Connor, but her husband
as well. In fact, he helped write the business plan for the company when it began. “He helps
out a lot,” she said. “He is definitely Mr. Mom, sometimes,” she admits.
Both Sandra and Lisa have a passion not only for their own business, but for empowering
women to reach their goals and dreams.
Lisa’s suggestion for other women considering starting their own business is simple. “If it’s
a good idea, just do it!”
She does suggest, however, that it’s important to find your niche and passion.
“So many women have great ideas. It doesn’t mean you have to have a multi-million dollar
business. You just have to dive in.”
Lisa said when they started the business, they didn’t let negativity get in the way of their
passion. “Sometimes men will hear what we do and say “Oh how cute...purses.” Then they
find out our sales and profit margin,” she laughs.
“Take the leap,” Sandra adds. “Don’t have guilt! So many people have Mommy-wars. But it
could be a part of your life that needs to be fulfilled,” she suggests. “It’s important for
women to understand they can have both.”
To help empower women, Lisa and Sandra are involved in Project Women, a Louisville
organization that shares in their mission to empower women. B’s purses donates bags, a
percentage of their profits, and most importantly, their time, to improving the lives of
women. Project Women focuses on helping the homeless by providing them not only with
housing, but with an opportunity to receive a college degree.
“Our goal is to break that cycle,” Sandra says about Project Women. “Not just get them
housing, but the opportunity for a career. These women go on to be nurses, attorneys,
doctors, anything they want.”
Their passion and involvement flows through to the entire city of Louisville, in which they
are proud to be headquartered.
“I love how we didn’t have to move to L.A or New York to start this business,” Lisa says.
“And it is really giving young women I meet around the country a reason to come to our city
and find out how nice it is.”
“Louisville is such a unique city with so much to offer,” Sandra says. “We’re grounded here
and are really proud of that. We are bringing jobs to Kentucky, and I think that says
something about how we run our business.”
Both women agree that the joy of running their own business comes from a deep passion
for what they do.
“It’s just not about a paycheck,” Sandra explains. “I love what I do, and I get to empower
other women to do it, too. The more you love your job, the better you are at it. A lot of
women don’t know what they want and might even be scared.”
“When you own your own business, you enjoy it more. It’s not the same as working for
someone else,” Lisa adds. “You don’t set anything aside — emotionally or physically.”
The business has seen substantial growth, and Sandra and Lisa expect it to continue.
“Each season just gets better and better,” Sandra smiled. “We are already working on our
Fall line which we are really excited about.”
Designing your own bag or piece of luggage is as simple as visiting the website and
creating your own fashion masterpiece. And with each bag being personally customized,
you’ll be certain to create a bag as unique as your own individual style.
If you are interested in becoming a part of their organization, or want to shop for this
season’s newest handbags, visit their website at www.bspurses.com
Lisa and Sandra’s children are on the cover of Today’s Family magazine — April/May
edition. Like their mothers, these two children are fashionable and multi-talented.
Besides being a freelance writer, Sara Wallace is a wealth management advisor at Stock
Yards Bank and Trust. She lives in Louisville with her husband, Britton. Sara can be
reached at sarawallace@iamtodayswoman.com.
By Sara Peak Wallace
How these women deal with both motherhood
and their entrepreneurial endeavor.
What began as three young moms sitting
around a living room floor has now grown
into B’s Purses, a successful and high
profit national business, keeping the
co-founders busy Louisville women.
B’s Purses allows women to design their own
handbags online, host a house party, or
become a B’s representative.
When the three women started the company
out of their homes four years ago, their goal
was to have 30 reps by the end of the year
and $200,000 in sales. In the first year alone,
the company had grown to include over 400
reps and over a million dollars in sales.
Currently, there are 2,300 reps nationwide and
$2 million in revenue.
The idea came from a passion for fashion and the desire to give women an opportunity to
make money.
“There are so many women out there who stay at home and want to do something,” says
co-founder, Lisa Henderson. “We realized we could come together and do something no
one else is doing. Who doesn’t want to be Kate Spade?” she laughs.
The three women founders each bring different skills to the company. Lisa spends most of
her time with marketing, while Sandra Masters’s focus is operational. Their other partner,
who doesn’t live in Louisville, Susan Guillen, is largely responsible for design.
“We created something sassy and chic,” Lisa says. “This is something people actually
want to go to a party for. Purses are the number one women’s accessory and we make
ours affordable.”
Both Sandra and Lisa are busy working moms. Due to the huge success of their business,
they have moved out of their home offices and spend a lot of time traveling across the
country, giving speeches and providing support to their B’s Purses’ representatives.
“All three of our husbands are so wonderful about us traveling,” Lisa says. “There is just no
way we could do it without them.” Lisa also says she gets a lot of support from her mom,
and isn’t ashamed to get help.
“We all had nannies when the kids were young,” she said. “And I have a cleaning lady, too.
I could either spend my time at home, cleaning, or enjoy it with my family. I don’t cook. We
usually eat out. When I’m home I just want to spend time with my family.”
Lisa says she tries not to allow herself to feel the guilt that other working mom’s sometimes
feel. “As women, we try to be it all. We try wearing every hat, but sometimes you just can’t
do it. So we just juggle it…and sometimes balls drop!”
As far as the kids are concerned, the business never gets in the way of family time. “I have
the most secure kid,” she says. “Things have worked out really well. It’s quality, not
quantity. When I’m home, it’s kisses and hugs every second.”
When Lisa does feel the pressure of trying to do it all, she leans on her other partners.
She says all three women are usually going through the same feelings and emotions, which
is a great level of support. “Sandra has the kids, and the business, and the husband too,”
she says. “I lean on her sometimes.”
“Motherhood, in itself, is challenging,” Sandra says, who is mother to a 5-year-old and an
almost-1-year-old baby. “I was never good at being a stay-at-home mom because I didn’t
have the patience. Now I separate the two and we are all very happy.”
Sandra says being a working mom helps teach your children to be understanding of your
needs, too.
“My son, Connor, will spot a bag while we are out somewhere and say “Look Mommy, it’s
your bag!” she laughs.
Not only does Sandra have the support from her 5-year-old son, Connor, but her husband
as well. In fact, he helped write the business plan for the company when it began. “He helps
out a lot,” she said. “He is definitely Mr. Mom, sometimes,” she admits.
Both Sandra and Lisa have a passion not only for their own business, but for empowering
women to reach their goals and dreams.
Lisa’s suggestion for other women considering starting their own business is simple. “If it’s
a good idea, just do it!”
She does suggest, however, that it’s important to find your niche and passion.
“So many women have great ideas. It doesn’t mean you have to have a multi-million dollar
business. You just have to dive in.”
Lisa said when they started the business, they didn’t let negativity get in the way of their
passion. “Sometimes men will hear what we do and say “Oh how cute...purses.” Then they
find out our sales and profit margin,” she laughs.
“Take the leap,” Sandra adds. “Don’t have guilt! So many people have Mommy-wars. But it
could be a part of your life that needs to be fulfilled,” she suggests. “It’s important for
women to understand they can have both.”
To help empower women, Lisa and Sandra are involved in Project Women, a Louisville
organization that shares in their mission to empower women. B’s purses donates bags, a
percentage of their profits, and most importantly, their time, to improving the lives of
women. Project Women focuses on helping the homeless by providing them not only with
housing, but with an opportunity to receive a college degree.
“Our goal is to break that cycle,” Sandra says about Project Women. “Not just get them
housing, but the opportunity for a career. These women go on to be nurses, attorneys,
doctors, anything they want.”
Their passion and involvement flows through to the entire city of Louisville, in which they
are proud to be headquartered.
“I love how we didn’t have to move to L.A or New York to start this business,” Lisa says.
“And it is really giving young women I meet around the country a reason to come to our city
and find out how nice it is.”
“Louisville is such a unique city with so much to offer,” Sandra says. “We’re grounded here
and are really proud of that. We are bringing jobs to Kentucky, and I think that says
something about how we run our business.”
Both women agree that the joy of running their own business comes from a deep passion
for what they do.
“It’s just not about a paycheck,” Sandra explains. “I love what I do, and I get to empower
other women to do it, too. The more you love your job, the better you are at it. A lot of
women don’t know what they want and might even be scared.”
“When you own your own business, you enjoy it more. It’s not the same as working for
someone else,” Lisa adds. “You don’t set anything aside — emotionally or physically.”
The business has seen substantial growth, and Sandra and Lisa expect it to continue.
“Each season just gets better and better,” Sandra smiled. “We are already working on our
Fall line which we are really excited about.”
Designing your own bag or piece of luggage is as simple as visiting the website and
creating your own fashion masterpiece. And with each bag being personally customized,
you’ll be certain to create a bag as unique as your own individual style.
If you are interested in becoming a part of their organization, or want to shop for this
season’s newest handbags, visit their website at www.bspurses.com
Lisa and Sandra’s children are on the cover of Today’s Family magazine — April/May
edition. Like their mothers, these two children are fashionable and multi-talented.
Besides being a freelance writer, Sara Wallace is a wealth management advisor at Stock
Yards Bank and Trust. She lives in Louisville with her husband, Britton. Sara can be
reached at sarawallace@iamtodayswoman.com.
