Client Spotlight

Jane Shekleton
Janey Lynn's Designs
New Hampton, IA

By Maureen Collins-Williams

Jane Shekleton exemplifies the tenacity, spirit and character we’ve come to associate with many successful entrepreneurs. Jane, by her own count has owned at least four businesses. Her first major foray into retailing was with a clothing store in Illinois. A year and a half into operation, Jane came in to open the store on the day before Christmas to find that the entire ceiling had caved in, soaking her inventory in water, insulation and wiring. Upon calling their insurance agent, they discovered he had passed away that morning from a brain aneurysm. Their landlord passed away later in the day from a heart attack. Throughout it all, Jane set an example for her family, employees and customers with a positive attitude, strong heart and an indomitable will to succeed.

A serial entrepreneur, Jane then opened an interior design business which she owned and operated for nearly 16 years until moving to New Hampton to be closer to family. She sold the company to a key employee. Upon their arrival in New Hampton, Jane decided to open a bakery in the central business district. She received a small grant from the local economic development corporation to seed the venture. Within a few months the Sarah Lee plant in New Hampton closed, followed closely by a Con Agra cheese plant. In all, nearly 1,000 jobs were lost in her county of 13,000 people in less than a year. When a MacDonald’s and a Subway opened at the highway interchange, Shekleton mustered the courage to close the bakery and return to interior decorating.

In 2002, Jane faced community skepticism when she launched Janey Lynn’s design. Only one person, the local economic developer who funded her bakery believed in her strong spirit. He offered her another $5,000 grant to launch the venture, in spite of the community criticism. His faith was well rewarded. Today the interior decorating firm is financially sound, growing and an integral part of the business district. Jane has several employees and her ‘can do’ approach to business problems has made her a role model for a number of early stage ventures in the region. Jane gives freely of her time to help other entrepreneurs: she has given motivational speeches at half a dozen Fast Trac classes in NE Iowa and has sat down with others one on one to offer encouragement. Her message is always the same. Don’t give up, don’t get down just believe and you can succeed.

JaneyLynn's Design
14 East Main St.
New Hampton, Iowa 50659
Phone: (641) 394-5335

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