My name is Marina, a mum of one girl, Anna Lily. I’m from County Mayo in Ireland. I’m the founder of BabyBoss’ and creator of the patented, two-part baby vest, The Twosie. I wanted to share with you some of the trials and tribulations which are common to becoming a mother and to starting a new business!
The first thing is that no amount of reading, education or listening to others can prepare you for it. You simply cannot understand what it’s like to have a baby until you have one! No matter what your friends or siblings tell you, you won’t be prepared for how your life will change utterly.
It’s the same with starting a business. I am a qualified pastry chef and have worked primarily in the restaurant and catering business for years, owning and running two restaurants. I know (or I knew) nothing about baby clothes and baby products. I have always had business ideas and have notebooks full of them, but (until now!) I’ve never taken the plunge with a new product idea. A bit like being a mother, you figure it out as you go along. You’re constantly learning and it is completely all-consuming.
I’m not comfortable disclosing too much personal stuff…. but the genesis of the idea was that one day a few years ago, after picking up a tummy bug, poor Anna Lily had to be changed four times in just one hour – it was just the bottom part of her vest that was wet. This meant I had to remove all of her clothes each time. She was about 18 months old. In frustration, I searched online for something more practical…but found nothing. That’s when I came up with the idea for the Twosie.
Sometimes having the idea is portrayed as the hard bit. It’s not! The hard bit is turning an idea into a product and a business. It’s not like I was working in IT and came up with an idea for an app – I didn’t have the first idea about how to design what was in my head, who would make it, how would I sell it, package it, market it. I now know a little about everything – from our 100% compostable packaging, to our brand new website design, not to mention textile manufacturers in loads of different countries!
The second thing is the lack of certainty. Am I doing the right thing for my child? Is this route the right thing for my business. You can never be certain but you research what you can and do your best and try to make the best decision you can. You can’t do any more.
There are lots of books on being a parent and plenty of running a business, but they’ll never provide all the answers and each situation is often different.
Anyway, welcome to our new website and to our blog.
Marina
Marina