JH: Bow Allure is a Florida-based business that provides customers and retailers with a fun collection of unique and stylish hair accessories for infants, toddlers, children and teens.  Known for their durable yet fashionable craftsmanship, Bow Allure products are carefully handmade in the US with high quality materials. Exceptional care and construction is dedicated to each unique accessory, offering retailers the finest in affordable hair accessories.

The first thought for Bow Allure came in 2010 as my oldest daughter, Sophia (at that time 3 y/o), was transitioning from toddler into preschool outfits.  Like many Moms, the standard mass produced, super store hair accessories were the easiest option, but the styles and quality of the products didn’t meet my expectations.  I took a leap of faith and decided to make my own accessories for my girls.  I began researching every in-trend magazine I could find, differences in material qualities, and assembly options.  At first my intention was to simply develop unique accessories for my girls, but after receiving so many complements from people when we would take them shopping or to the park, I thought “hey, I might be on to something here.”  The rest, as they say, is history!

BS: Your business has grown so well.  Tell us how did you take it from a start-up to where you are today?

JH:  In one word, persistence.  Mistakes are ok (and should be expected), as long as you learn from them.  As with all start-up, small businesses, there are growing pains, but the passion and love for what we do is the driving force that has continued to propel us forward!

BS: What is a typical day like in the life of Juliet?

JH:  My first job and priority is my family.  As the Mother of two young girls (5 and 2 y/o), I have had to find a balance between my responsibility and time to care for my children (and my husband ?), as well as my customers.  Often times this means very early starts to my day (before the kids are awake) and late evenings when they are in bed, just to keep up.  Of course, a little cuban coffee to keep the mind functioning during these long work days never hurts!

BS: How have you managed to balance the role of mommy and business owner?

JH:  For me it is simple, setting priorities and expectations.  Thankfully, both of my girls are now entering the ages when establishing a somewhat regular schedule is becoming possible.  I quickly discovered that unless I create my own opportunities to focus on my business, there isn’t enough time in the day.  Getting my day (and Bow Allure‘s) started before the sun rises and long after it sets, has been essential.  For some reason, two year olds just don’t understand if you have an important deadline or project that needs to be finished ?

BS: What is your biggest support system and how has it helped you achieve your goals?

JH:  First and foremost, my husband.  He has been my rock from the beginning, lending encouraging words when times were tough and supporting all of my ideas and stretch goals along the way.  I absolutely could not have done this without Michael.

BS: What would you say has been your biggest hurdle?

JH:  Rejection.  It was very difficult to accept because in the beginning (and even now on occasion, it’s hard not to take it personal.  But this is a reality that all businesses will experience.  Learning to deal with this and to grow from it has been my own, personal biggest hurdle.  Even so, not sure that it ever gets easier.

BS: What advice would you give to other moms who wish to start their own business?

JH:  Find what you love and how you can make a niche in the competitive marketplace.  Ask yourself, what can I do to separate yourself from other businesses?  What do your (potential) customers need and want, and how can your product(s) meet these needs?  Develop and solid business plan and don’t be afraid to fail.  As Thomas Edison famously once said about inventing the light bulb, “I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”

BS: Do you have anything else you would like to add?

JH:  You have to have passion, discipline and patience to make your business successful.  But most importantly, have fun with it!

BS:   I want to thank you very much for being such a wonderful addition to the Baby Swags family.  Without companies and people such as yourself, Baby Swags just wouldn’t be the same.  If you want to find out more about Bow Allure or Juliet, please visit www.bowallure.com and tell her Baby Swags sent you!

As soon as I saw the Little Ella Bug Fingerprint Jewelry, I instantly thought it was a perfect keepsake item! I was especially excited to learn that I can have all three of my children ages 11, 8 & 5 make one. We received our kit and was amazed that it was pretty simple to do. We created our clay fingerprint mold and sent it back. A week later, I received my fingerprint charms on a necklace and was instantly brought to tears! It is something I will cherish forever! I’ve worn my necklace every day since and have had many wonderful compliments! It is the best piece of jewelry any mom/aunt/grandma could want!

Introducing new foods to your infant can be an exciting yet overwhelming event for new or experienced parents.  Glow Baby’s “Baby’s First Foods” journal is designed to help parents and caregivers introduce new foods in an organized manner that tracks the child’s reactions, allergens and food intolerances.  It also helps parents by keeping important information in one place so that it can easily be shared with caregivers and pediatricians.

Glow Baby’s, “Baby’s First Foods” journal…

• ·       Includes an allergy and food sensitivity page, which gives anyone caring for your child a quick snapshot of foods your child must not eat.  In the event your child consumes a food he shouldn’t, the caregiver will also know what to look for and how it should be treated.
• ·    Is divided into sections based on 6 food groupings.  Each section contains log pages that allow parents to track the first three tries of each new food.  They can document when the food was given, the amount of food that was consumed, the texture, temperature and most importantly, the child’s reaction (like, dislike or indifferent), and whether or not there was an allergic reaction.
• ·       Includes 12 weeks worth of menu planning pages.  Menu planning helps to promote variety in baby’s diet and ensure they are offered the appropriate amount of solid food as well as breast milk or formula.
• ·       Has a special recipe section for parents to jot down any favorite recipes their child might enjoy.
• ·       Includes an “Extra” section.  The Extra log pages can be useful if your child develops an allergy down the road and you need to figure out which food is the allergen.  This section also contains note and contact pages for important information.
• ·       Is printed on FSC mixed source paper with 50% post consumer product with a suggested retail price of $22.00 USD.

Founded in Toronto, Canada by Lindsay Harris, Glow Baby is dedicated to providing user-friendly scheduling tools for today’s busy parents at all stages of parenthood.  As a mother of two young daughters, Lindsay quickly came to appreciate the difficulties of juggling family needs. The first tool Lindsay developed was “Baby’s First Journal”, a tracking log for baby’s basic needs such as feeding, sleeping, diapering and bathing.  Glow Baby has also launched a Note Pad Series, which includes Babysitter Notes; a Medicine Pad for tracking family medication instruction and doses; a Shopping List and a To Do List.  For more information, please visit www.glowbaby.ca

Our first Mom-Entrepreneur is Lindsay. She is from Toronto, Canada and the mom of two beautiful daughters, ages 2.5 and 10 months. She had been a stay-at-home mom until she started her company, Glow Baby. Here is her own, personal story of how Glow Baby came to be and how she simply, gets it done.

BS: Hi Lindsay, please start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
LH: I had been a stay-at-home-mom up until recently when I started Glow Baby. Prior to having children I worked in Human Resources for a large Canadian Bank but once having my first daughter when it came time to go back to work I decided to stay at home for a few years. My life is very busy with raising my two girls and starting a company. For fun I love going on family outings. My girls are a wonder to me and I can’t get enough of them. For relaxation, I love to read and have a weakness for reality TV, Twitter and Facebook.

BS: What is the nature of your business?
LH: Glow Baby is dedicated to providing functional and sophisticated products for families. Our first product is “Baby’s First Journal” which is a baby care log book that is essential for parents of newborns.

BS: How did your business come to be?
LH: I decided to start Glow Baby after being frustrated by the lack of savvy organizational products for parents in today’s market. There are so many products out there for babies yet when I tried to find a functional baby care log book I was at a loss. The newborn stage is the most difficult for parents as they are trying to get to know their new baby at the same time sleep deprivation reduces your ability to remember the important details. I found tracking the feeding, sleeping and diapering of both my children to have been instrumental in easing my way into parenthood and feel very strongly that this product needs to be available to all parents.

BS: What are some of your successes? Toot your horn if you will!
LH: I am most proud of being able to get my company up and running while looking after my two daughters with minimal help. My biggest success to date it that “Baby’s First Journal” is now in 30 stores across North America and this has been accomplished in 3 short months. I am proud of myself that I have been able to take a concept and put it into a functional yet beautiful product that will be a wonderful keepsake of their child’s early months. I am also proud of the way this product has been embraced by other moms and the media. One of our stores featured “Baby’s First Journal” on their website and a mom commented that they had been hearing about the journal everywhere and that they thought it would be the “Baby Shower Gift of 2009/10″.

BS: How do you balance mom/work life? What is a typical day like?
LH: My typical day is non-stop start to finish. My first priority is my girls so business is done during nap times and after bed time. My typical day is get up, get the girls dressed after my husband feeds them breakfast (I have a wonderfully supportive husband who I could not do any of this without). Take Ainsley to nursery school then come home and put Juliet down for her nap. Work. Get Juliet up from her nap and give her a snack. I then play with Juliet until it is time to pick Ainsley up from school. Feed the girls lunch, play, put them down for their naps. Work until the girls get up from their nap. Then its snack time and play time until my husband gets home. Make dinner, have dinner, then my husband will play with the girls while I work for a bit. Then its bathtime and bedtime. Then I work again. I am the queen of multi-tasking. I use lists and spreadsheets to keep track of everything I am doing so I don’t forget anything. It also helps that I can type like a madwoman!

BS: How do you organize your time?
LH: I organize my time around what my girls need from me. I then prioritize based on urgency. Customers always come first and then everything else.

BS: What has been the one thing that you wish you could do differently with your business?
LH: I wish I had started my business sooner!!!

BS: What tips can you share with our readers about starting a business?
LH: The most important tip is to reach out to other mompreneurs and ask questions about anything you don’t know or can’t find information about. I have connected with a number of fabulous mompreneurs who have gone through what I am going through or are in the same boat as me and the knowledge sharing has been extremely helpful.

BS: If you have any employees or if you are considering hiring, how do you or how do you think you would handle delegating responsibilities?
LH: I wish I had it in the budget to hire help in things like accounting but right now I am a one woman show.

BS: What is in store for your business for 2010? Any new products launching, expos exhibiting at, etc…?
LH: In the next month I will be launching a medication pad for tracking medication and dosage information. This will allow parents (or anyone) to keep track of the medications they give their children and ensure that they are getting the appropriate amount of doses as prescribed and not miss any doses. I am also adding a shopping list to my line which will help parents plan their meals for the week and will be a great complement to “Baby’s First Foods”.

BS: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
LH: I am planning on launching “Baby’s First Foods” in 2010 as well as doing a second print run of “Baby’s First Journal” on eco-friendly papers. “Baby’s First Foods” will allow parents to keep track of what foods they are introducing to their children and if they like the food and whether there is an allergic reaction. It will also include a menu planner and pages to jot down recipes. This book is necessary for making sure that caregivers and both parents are on the same page with regards to what their child can and cannot eat. I will also be focusing on spreading the word about my product and I hope to add additional sales representatives to cover all of North America.

Thank you Lindsay for your time and answering our questions.
If you would like more information on Glow Baby, visit www.glowbaby.ca

Need to take little Johnny to Home Depot for that cordless drill you’ve needed for months? Now you can do it in complete Daddy style!

The Original Clean Shopper shopping cart cover is absolutely the best shopping cart cover value on the market! Nothing comes close to the quality, price and function of the Original! This amazing product retails for $29.95 and can be found at Babe Ease

Want dad to feel and look younger? Check out Arbonne’s anti aging facial system for men.

It features an exfoliating wash, shave gel, toner, and mosturizer with spf. Again all of Arbonne’s products are pure, safe and beneficial. Never tested on animals or use animal by-products. They are 100% Vegan, Green and on the PETA List. You can find these products at Arbonne and the set retail for approximately $106.00

For those dads wanting to show off their job well done, this is the perfect tee for them!

This is Kustom By Kris’ best-selling daddy-to-be t-shirt. Dads love exclaiming how they got her right on target. . . and now they’re expecting a new baby! This is a vintage-style melange ringer with a simple retro look. 70/30 cotton-poly blend. Baby rib contrasting collar. Durable double-stitched bottom hem and sleeves. Tailored fit. Imported. It retails for $30.00 and can be found here: Zazzle.com/krispykingdom

Dads with kids will appreciate the gift of caring!
Which father wouldn’t love to have a night out to himself or with his wife knowing the children are in good hands at home. Care4hire.com has been helping families reconnect. Care4hire.com is an online family and caregiver database providing babysitters, housekeepers, tutors, pet sitters, elder/companion care and other misc. services. They service the United States and Canada. For more information, please contact them at: www.care4hire.com

With any gift you give dad, the best thing he can here is “I love you”, so be sure to say that and no matter what, he will love it! Baby Swags wishes all the dads out there, celebrity or not, a very happy Father’s Day.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU]

I recently had the opportunity to work with Paula and Nathalie with Professor Pocket and thought they would be a great team to interview. Their company offers families with the opportunity to teach young children the Spanish language through a fun, kid friendly learning process. It isn’t only for young children, really any one can benefit from their CD. They are wonderful to work with and I hope that by sharing their story, you too will be inspired to follow your passion just as they did.

Interview with Nathalie, Professor Pocket.

1. How long have you been a WAHM?
I’ve been a WAHM on and off ever since my first child was born 6.5 years ago. I started Professor Pocket with my sister-in-law Paula in January ’05 and have been working “full-time” from home ever since.

2. Tell me a little bit about your business and how you came up with the idea.
Professor Pocket is a family-owned company created to help children develop a lifelong passion for language learning. We produce entertaining and engaging bilingual products that children and adults can enjoy together, whether new to the Spanish language or completely fluent.

As a multicultural family ourselves, we design all our products based on our own first hand experiences growing up and raising children in bilingual homes. Our lovable characters, silly stories and catchy songs get kids both young and old laughing and singing along.

My sister-in-law Paula and I started developing the idea for Professor Pocket back in January 2005. We live across the country from each other (I’m in Charlotte, NC and Paula lives in Long Beach, CA), but during a family gathering, we decided that we really wanted to start a business together and that modern technology would enable us to do so despite the physical distance between us. We immediately began brainstorming different business ideas. At one point, we even thought about launching a company to help the soon-to-be engaged man with everything from ring buying to planning the details of the proposal.

The more we talked about building a business together, however, the more we realized how much we both wanted to do something that reflects the value we place on multiculturalism. We discussed how fortunate Paula and my husband Carlos (Paula’s brother) were to have grown up in a bilingual home, and how I wanted the same experience for my kids. Not being a native Spanish speaker myself, I felt intimidated picking up Spanish children’s books and reading them to my kids for fear that I was pronouncing words incorrectly. We figured other parents and teachers might feel the same way and could benefit from high-quality, bilingual audio products that would be so entertaining that kids and adults would want to listen to them repeatedly.

3. What did you do prior to owning your own business?
I’ve had some pretty interesting jobs in my life, including being a claims adjuster for an insurance company that required I slide under cars, climb on roofs…even work on arson investigations.

I got hooked on being an entrepreneur back in 2000 during the dot-com bubble when I was living in Chicago newly married and kid-free. I decided to start a software business with a former colleague of mine. We raised a lot of money, hired employees, and set up shop. Unfortunately, the market tanked and so did our visions of grandeur. It was a humbling experience. The upside is that I learned a lot and vowed to do it differently the next go round.

A few days after 9/11, my first child Louis was born, and I decided to take a step back, relish my new role as a mom. Louis had other plans for me and was a bundle of colic for 9 months straight- another eye opening experience.

Right before Louis turned 1, my husband and I decided to move to NC, and I started exploring the possibility of starting a cooking business…even catered a holiday party when my now youngest child was 5 months old. It was then that I realized that I wanted to start a business that allowed me greater flexibility to spend time with my kids.

That’s when Paula and I started talking and the rest is history!

4. How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
Louis is 6 ½ and Sophie will be 4 in May.

5. How do you juggle work and family?
Good question. I often use the name “jugglingact” when I post on message boards because it’s so fitting. I definitely don’t have it figured out, and there are times when I’m overrun with guilt and/or exhaustion and feel like throwing in the “toalla”.

Thanks to a good friend who watches me juggle my career and my family, the following quote by Max Ehrmann is hanging on my wall “Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.”

I try to start each day with that in mind. I am fortunate to have an extremely supportive husband who brings me a giant cup of coffee every morning. I also have great neighbors who will help out with carpools or watch the kids if I am in a pinch. And although my mother-in-law lives all the way out in California, she’s been known to fly across the country to assist in times of need. Thank goodness for a good support system!

I also have a babysitter help me at least once a week since me youngest only goes to school 3 mornings a week. Since my son is usually home by 2 pm, the kids and I often spend afternoons together. We try to eat dinner together as a family almost every night, often conversing only in Spanish. I work almost every night after the kids are in bed and a good bit over the weekend when my husband is home.

6. What do you feel has brought the most success in promoting your business?
Other parents who experience our CD with their children!

Parents regularly email us that their children LOVE the CD, are mesmerized by it, and are singing in Spanish now because of it. Since Paula and I are self-funding this business and can’t compete with the likes of Disney or Nickelodeon who spend millions on advertising, word-of-mouth referrals are extremely important for the growth of our business. Parents and educators who blog or tell their friends about us make a big difference. That’s one of the reasons we so enjoy working with Baby Swags. Baby Swags helps us get our CD into the hands of some really influential parents. In fact, we recently received thank you notes from Coco Arquette and Kevin James’ family. Pretty cool!

7. What has been your biggest challenge?
Hmmm…I still joke about finding time to take a shower.

I’d say our biggest challenge is maintaining the emotional and physical stamina required to build a new business brick by brick, always looking at setbacks as opportunities for improvement rather than failures. I think the analogy of a roller coaster ride is really fitting, especially when your own money is on the line. Fortunately, I have a great business partner in Paula, and we keep each other sane.

8. What are your 2008 business goals?
We want to evolve from a one-product company to a multi-product company and expand our retail presence. Our debut CD Professor Pocket® Our Silly Farm Adventure isn’t really like anything else out there for children today, and we’re thrilled that it’s being as well
received as it is. We’re about to release a second CD, Professor Pocket® Our Hawaiian Hula Adventure, in May 2008 and plan to introduce picture books and finger puppets later in 2008.

9. Do you have any advice for other WAHM’s just starting out?
• Surround yourself with a good support system.
• Try not to be too hard on yourself when you make mistakes.
• Get comfortable with uncertainty.
• Take time for yourself.
• Stay flexible and be open to changing things up if something isn’t working.

10. What are you the most proud of?
I’m proud of my kids and to have created something that I hope will benefit them and other children for many years to come.

11. What do you feel is the number one pro & number one con of working for yourself?
Pro: I love what I do and feel very gratified professionally.
Con: Nobody is sending me a paycheck!

Nathalie Simmons Jorge
Professor Pocket, LLC
Sing Spanish. Speak Spanish.
Canta en Español. Habla en Español.
704.258.8888
nathalie@professorpocket.com
www.professorpocket.com