Out from Behind the Screen

On Tuesday I went to one of my stores, The Upper Breast Side, in NYC to put on a trunk show. It was a wonderful 3 hours for so many reasons. In this age of emails, blogs, facebooking, twittering and tweeting, it was great to finally meet Felina, after 5 months of virtually working together. She was incredible, so knowledgeable about all her products, and she knew just what each of her customers needed and how to handle them in their pre and postpartum states. She also provided a wonderful opportunity for me to showcase the nomie baby car seat covers, and talk directly to new and expecting moms face to face!

Not only did we have a terrific selling day for the nomie baby car seat covers, but talking to people, hearing their thoughts, and answering their questions was so helpful for me. I realized that having the covers displayed on the car seats made it much easier for people to "get it." I also heard how much people liked how soft and cozy they felt, but they didn't know that from the package or the website. This will be a challenge for me to convey virtually, since you still aren't able to reach through the computers - yet! Another interesting point that was brought up, was the fact that they assumed for such a reasonable price the quality would not be as good as it is! Hmmm, this is an interesting dilemma, since I don't want to raise the prices just to send a message that they are well made.

As wonderful as computers are for keeping in touch and doing business quickly and efficiently, there is still nothing that like face to face. All in all, getting out from behind this computer, meeting the store owners to hear their thoughts, issues and needs, as well as hearing from the consumers is something that I not only enjoy, but find invaluable and hope to do much more!

What's in a name?

Picking names has always been challenging. I remember when I was pregnant hearing a few helpful rules, or guidelines: 1. don't float ideas past friends and family, because if they hate a name and tell you, and then you pick it, you'll never forget it, 2. Don't pick a name that's too out there and creative, because your child will have to be really cool to pull it off, 3. don't spell things in a new funky way, because you will always be correcting people. I took these suggestions to heart when we were choosing the names for our children, but when it came time to think of a name for the new product I invented I was stuck.

I knew enough to know that "the removable, washable and waterproof car seat cover" wasn't exactly catchy, nor did it roll of the tongue, but where to go from there was leaving me drawing a blank. When I was speaking with my patent and trademark attorney he suggested I come up with a name that meant nothing. He said that many household names started that way, such as "crocs," "velcro," and "gibbitz," so it seemed like a good enough starting place to me. At that point, coming up with a name was easy. When my older daughter started talking there was a word that she used for anything that was soft, comfy or cozy, it was "nomie," and that stuck in our family. Friends even knew if a sweater or blankie was "nomie" it was a huge compliment, and something snugly! That's how nomie baby got it's name. I am hoping that the "nomie" word will continue to spread.

Now What Baby: Nomie Baby

Now What Baby: Nomie Baby

Is there ever too much?

I am new, very new, to blogging myself, but I have been getting to know about its reach in trying to spread the word about the nomie baby car seat cover.  I started by reaching out to mommy bloggers hoping they would "test drive" my new product, and then write a review on their blog, which I was told would lead people to the website to purchase one of their very own.  Many bloggers were receptive, and liked the idea of finding a new product, especially one that would make parents' lives easier.  It was, and still is exciting to read reviews real moms were writing.  Slowly I noticed that bloggers started contacting me, asking if they could review the newest "mommy-must-have."  I was thrilled and flattered that it was working.  People knew about the nomie baby car seat cover.  Word was getting out their through cyberspace.  I was thrilled!  Then I got an email yesterday from a friend, who' s wife is starting her own blog.  He asked if I would spread the word about it, and ask fellow moms with young children to sign up and spread the word.  I was happy to help her out, and asked if she would be willing to write about nomie baby.  I was pleasantly surprised, and disappointed by her response.  "Of course I've heard of the nomie, so I don't think that I can write about it."

Had all this out reach backfired?  Had nomie baby reached the point of being not being a new find, and therefore it was old news, not hip or cool?  If this is the case, had everything worked the way it was supposed to, or gone off the track?  One of my goals had been to make the nomie baby name as well known as Graco, Bugaboo, Baby Bjorn, which were all big question marks until moms and dads started talking about them.

I am still hopeful that all this social marketing and spreading the word will make nomie baby a recognizable baby product, and after all that won't work in the opposite direction.   I guess this is just another example of how important striking a balance always is.

Baked vs. Bought

Today was my littlest's birthday celebration at nursery school, which means we are allowed in the room for a treat, a special birthday necklace, books chosen and cupcakes!  What could be better?  Yesterday was spent talking about it a lot, and baking our first cupcakes together.  I pulled the stool up to counter, gave her her own spoon to help me stir, and she put the Dora paper cupcake holders in the pan.  Then we spent, what seemed like a long time waiting for them to cook AND cool while we discussed how to decorate them.  Of course they would have yellow frosting, since that's her favorite color, and sprinkles and polka dots all over.  When we were done they looked wonderfully homemade, and she was so excited to share them with all her friends and teachers.

We arrived at school with a box of cupcakes,which made it through the trip undamaged, and  "Spot's Birthday Party" to read to the class.  The door was opened, and my husband and I were shown to our little chairs on either side of the birthday girl.  The whole celebration was so sweet. Then it was cupcake time.  We all sat at the table, decorated our place and waited patiently for our treats.  When we were all served the cupcakes,  of the teachers leaned over and said, "Of all the birthday celebrations, this is the first time all year we've seen homemade cupcakes."  I was both shocked and sad, since it's not only so easy to make them, but it is so much fun, and a great way to spend time together.

Many say, "Well, I work, when am I supposed to do it?"  So do I.  It just doesn't take that much time, it is such a treat, and so much fun to spend the time together, not to mention the pride in my daughter's face as she saw everyone licking their fingers and enjoying every last sprinkle!

Accidental Beginning

As the saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention."  Therefore, when my little one spilled on her car seat, and I struggled to remove the cover only to read the care instructions, which said, "Do not machine wash," I thought there has to be a better way.  I searched for a solution, and when my search came up empty, I knew an idea was born. Solving a problems is what is was all about.

  

I didn't start out wanting to create a company, far from it.  I thought that I would make a few car seat cover, or bibs for the car seats, sell them to some friends, and it would be a fun.  That's how it all started, but it quickly spiraled when I started looking for the right fabric that did everything I wanted it to do - it had to be cozy, absorbent and leak proof.  I then learned about "fabric sourcing," which took me to trade shows where I met people from Turkey, Pakistan and China, and realized I was way out of my league.  I finally asked a friend of mine in the real estate business in the fashion district if he knew anyone who did fabric sourcing.  He had no idea what I was talking about, but he did lead me to a person who does a tremendous business in plus size clothing, and figured he must know people in the fabric world.

Luckily for me the fabric sourcing people were incredibly nice, and took me under their wing.  They weren't in the baby gear business, but took the project on anyway.  When I explained what I was looking for in a fabric, they helped me develop it.  They then explained manufacturing and minimums, which brings me to why I was not able to just sell to my friends!  With minimums of 1000 yards per color, I realized that I didn't have nearly enough friends, and to continue to pursue this idea of a car seat cover/bib would mean creating ways to sell to thousands, which brought me file for a patent, create a website, www.nomiebaby.com, since everyone told me that I had to have ecommerce, which became a whole new journey of web design, codes, and merchant accounts.  Then there was the challenge of finding sales reps to help with distribution, getting a warehouse to help store and ship all the orders... you're getting the picture.

I didn't set out to create a company, but it is a wonderful experience to build something from scratch, and most of all it shows me how much people are willing to help, and the encouragement and cheerleading I get really does keep me going.  I am now in the position to pay it forward, and help others with information I have learned in the process.  It was a happy accident.

Welcome

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many musings.  As a mom of 3 (15, 13 and almost 3) there are so many things that I have been able to draw on in starting my business, but mostly, I am so thankful for the encouragement and support from my entire family.  Just as no one told me how challenging being a mom would be, no one told me how difficult starting a business would be.  I remember hearing that having a baby would make me feel exhausted, but I figured that I had pulled all-nighters in college, so what could be so bad?  Well, getting up every few hours to feed a baby for months on end is much tougher, and I'm glad that I didn't know that going in.  Some times ignorance really is bliss. The same is true for starting nomie baby.  I am happy that I didn't know everything that would be involved in starting a business, or I most likely would have been too intimidated to give it a try.  I have found that while there are many areas that were completely new to me (creating a website, merchant accounts, manufacturing, shipping and the list goes on - you get it), there were just as many people who were more than willing to take the time to teach me what I needed to know.  I also found that I didn't need to know everything from the start.

Since we are told that we can be Super Moms, it is often hard to ask for help.  However, I have found that people are happy to help, especially when they are given a particular assignment.  Sometimes is tricky to figure out exactly what needs to be done, but once that is clear, finding people to teach, give advise, or support you becomes easier.  Now what I find rewarding is that I am able to share what I've learned with others.

Best, 

Katie Danziger

www.nomiebaby.com