Startup Business

So, I'm a business woman now. It's funny; I worked in the high tech industry for 14 years, but I rarely felt I belonged. Even though I was highly successful, I felt a fraud the whole time. I certainly found my niche as an AP stay at home mom, but, as many moms find, after a while, I did need to do something more. Never mind that there already aren't enough hours in the day and that time is picking up speed. My birthday is coming up in a week and I could really swear that I just had one, what, a month or so ago. But I digress. Get used to it; it's fun!

So anyway, I, unbeknownst to me, planned to start my baby carrier business nearly 2 years ago. I know this because I was poking around my Palm Pilot and found a business plan, which, as it turns out, is pretty much as it happened. My plan was to sell some baby carriers while I was pregnant, sell more once the baby came along because then people would want what they saw me wearing, and then as she got older, get more serious about teaching others baby wearing and sell a lot more carriers. It is interesting that I mapped this all out because I don't remember doing it but it's exactly how it played out.

I really have enjoyed sharing the art of babywearing. I love when I see that light bulb go on for people - when they find their carrier - the one that works for them at that moment. It has to do with style, comfort, color, and the size of the baby. There is no one baby carrier for everyone, but there is often a best fit. Price shouldn't enter into it; settling for a baby carrier that you don't really want will only cause you to continue to hanker after the one you really want until you finally break down and get it. Of course, I don't generally tell people this as it sounds rather pushy. I do sometimes tell them what I see in their eyes - that they are not in the right carrier.

All this is a labor of love. As is, it turns out, all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. I really had no idea. I mean, okay, I knew I'd need a website and an accountant and money to buy inventory and a place to store it, and to advertise. But each step is taking about 100 times as long as I thought it would. I guess I expect too much of myself. I think I should be ahead of where I am at any given point and then I feel guilty. Working on that! The good news is I can definitely recognize that I am successful for only having been incorporated for 3 months or so and for having a website up for less than that. It's a miracle how anyone is even finding me online. I've tried and it's no small feat. It's one thing I'm working very hard on behind the scenes. It's something that I am putting a lot of effort into, on a daily basis, that won't show to the untrained eye at all, but the results will show, now that I know what to look for.

Well, back to it, then!