1. How did Glow Baby begin?
Glow Baby began as an idea after the birth of my first daughter. She lost more than 10 percent of her birth weight in the hospital, and I had to keep track of all her breast feeds and supplemental feedings with formula. I felt overwhelmed and unprepared for this, and it was only after I started writing everything down that I felt I had some control back. It was during this period that I searched for a journal to do this in. I wasn’t able to find anything so I ended up creating an Excel spreadsheet and had a mess of papers all around my house. I put my idea on the back burner until after I had my second daughter. Remembering the details for both children was almost impossible so I decided to create a journal for moms to keep track of all the essential details in one easy-to-use and portable journal. The mission of Glow Baby is to provide beautiful and useful tools for today's busy parents. I have since added a note pad series to my line which includes a medicine pad, shopping list, and to-do list. Additional products will be announced in January 2010.
2. What is the biggest challenge in being a mom entrepreneur?
My biggest challenge is finding time for myself. I wish there was more time in the day to get everything done.
3. What are some of your greatest successes?
My greatest success to-date is having increased my retail network to 37 stores in five months across North America. I am very proud of the positive response I have had from retailers and their customers towards "Baby's First Journal". I’ve found it very rewarding to hear from other moms about how helpful they’ve found this journal.
4. How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?
I’m still working on this balance. Work-life balance is hard for everyone, but I think it is especially hard for those of us who work from home. I do my best to make sure that when my daughters are awake I focus on their needs. I do a lot of work at night, but I’ve gotten better at keeping my work on the weekends to a minimum so I can enjoy my time with my family.
5. What tips can you offer to other busy mom entrepreneurs?
My tip is to reach out to other mompreneurs for advice. I have found this to be very helpful as I am learning as I go. Reaching out to other mompreneurs and sharing information and tips has been invaluable.
6. Why do you think women are good entrepreneurs?
I think women are good entrepreneurs because they are used to juggling many things at once and are able to translate this into their business. Being an entrepreneur means that you look after all facets of business. You are the accountant, the PR person, and are responsible for marketing, shipping, product development, etc. When you’re a mom, you’re all things to your child(ren) at all times.