Momtrends: Nomie Baby Carry Beaner and Discount Code

Here's is a post and review from Momtrends on the nomie baby carry beaner. With back-to-school shopping upon us, it's the helping hand we all need for all the extra bags we collect as the day goes on! Thank you for the great feedback!

Momtrends: Nomie Baby Carry Beaner and Discount Code

iParenting 2009 "Outstanding Product Award"

Months ago I submitted the nomie baby car seat cover to be considered for the Disney company, iParenting "Outstanding Product Award." I filled out all the necessary forms, sent off a few nomie baby car seat covers to be tested by their dedicated team, and then quite frankly moved on to the next thing.

Since then I have been working on all aspects of the business including getting the word out, contacting editors, bloggers, buyers, customers and getting as much press and pr as possible. A few days ago I was sitting with a friend, my Blackberry vibrated, telling me that an email had come in. I didn't rush to check it out, since I was having my time with a friend, but when I did check, I had to check twice, before believing what I was reading, and bravely reading it out loud, since I knew by doing so would make it real.

The subject of the email was "Congratulations!" I have gotten plenty of emails telling me that I am the lucky winner of the lottery, and if I would just send my contact information along with my bank account numbers, I will receive the millions that they are promising. Therefore, it's understandable that when I first saw the word "Congratulations!" I wasn't instantly jumping. I guess that's what has happen, instead of being excited by the word, I have become unphased, or at least cautious. I eventually did open the email and read it, bringing back the memory of submitting a while ago. "Congratulations your product has been selected to receive the "iParenting Outstanding Product Award" for 2009! Wohoo! Confirmation, with a seal and everything, that, as Sally Field said, "They liked it, they really liked it!"

Pink Car Seat Cover turns Big Bro's to yours

One of the many great things that I have learned about the nomie baby car seat covers, is their many uses that I hadn't originally intended. I have found, from listening to my customers that they are thrilled that they are able to quickly change their hideous pattern into one that is sleek and clean, or that their son's car seat easily becomes their daughters with a pink nomie baby car seat cover.

I remember when my first daughter was born after my son, I didn't buy anything blue for her for years. I was thrilled to be able to make her completely pink. Of course, now years later, her favorite color is blue, but that's her choice now! However, I know I would have saved a lot of money by being able to change the boyish items into more girly ones, if that had been an option, and that's exactly what my customers are discovering, and telling me.

While I came up with the idea out of a need to make cleanups less of a hassle, I am delighted by the other equally worthwhile uses: re-cycle and reuse, turn something for a son into something new for a daughter, or making a hand-me-down that is a little worse for the wear new again! I have even heard that the coziness has made the seats cooler, and in a couple of cases has eased carsickness. Of course that's not a claim I am willing to make, but it's might be a nice coincidence!!

Giving Back

For years, I have been involved in various volunteer positions at Mt. Sinai Hospital, always finding them worthwhile and interesting. However, when I ended up in the hospital myself, 10 weeks before my due date with my youngest, I got to see the hospital from the other side, and was overwhelmed by the care, concern and professionalism of everyone I encountered. When my baby was born, she spent over a month in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), and I was daily thankful for all that the doctors and nurses did for our whole family. It then became clear to me that this was the area where my heart was, and where I wanted to focus my energies.

When I started nomie baby, which happened by a happy accident, literally, since it resulted from a spill, I always knew that it would be more than a business. It was inspired by my littlest, and I knew that it would not only be a way to help parents solve their messy problems, but it would enable me to give back to the NICU. A percentage of all profits go to Mt. Sinai's NICU, which give me a larger mission, and make my desire to make it a real success even greater. Through much of my work, I have found that many women entrepreneurs use their businesses to help give back, which makes working with them feel as if we are going beyond simply the business at hand! Giving back has always been important, but now everything seems to have come full circle, and successes seem to have a larger impact.

Me, Myself & I

While it's certainly not easy running nomie baby with a staff of me, myself and I, it has provided me with insight into every aspect of the business, and allowed me to be in touch with everyone from manufacturing to pr to the customers. It's wonderful hearing the feedback from everyone, and being able to respond to it. I have also noticed that this is appreciated by everyone as well, since I am frequently hearing how happy they were that I answered their question quickly, or how I was able to respond to a pr request in time for the deadline. While I'm sure that when I grow, the people in these positions will be able to do the same, there is nothing like hearing things first hand. Receiving an email from a happy customer who wrote to say that she loved her nomie baby car seat cover, and she needed to order another one, because her kids were fighting over who got to sit in the "nomie" seat was a thrill, and so was getting an email saying that Sarah Jessica Parker loves her matching pink nomie baby car seat covers for her twin daughters!

Again, I'm sure I will love hearing those sorts of comments from people who will ultimately be in charge of those areas, but opening the emails first does make me smile!

Catch 22

Often I have found myself in a Catch-22 or chicken and the egg situation when it comes to sales, marketing and PR for nomie baby. It seems that stores, especially now, are hesitant to take inventory on anything that isn't going to fly off the shelves and sell itself. There are fewer sales people in stores explaining and selling new products; therefore, the products need to be well known and recognizable to the consumer. This recognition factor involves a tremendous amount of PR and marketing.

When trying to market a product or get press placement, I have found that it is helpful if the product is familiar to the editors, and doesn't need a lot of explaining so they know where to place it in stories they are currently planning, or they think of the product when deciding upcoming articles or features. Perhaps you see where I am going with this. Chicken or the egg comes to mind. Getting traction and familiarity takes a tremendous amount of time and persistence. Every once in awhile someone will take a chance on me or nomie baby, and that will open doors ever so slightly, which makes the next go around just that much easier.

There are a couple of accounts and press I have been trying to get for the nomie baby, which I have always thought were perfect matches, and others have mentioned them as well. Now I have been able to go back to them and say, "CBS Early Show" and "Pregnancy & Newborn" magazine both featured the nomie baby car seat cover as a "MUST" baby product, and now those accounts are interested! So it seems you need PR to get accounts, and the press wants to know where their viewer or readers can buy the great new product before running a story on it. And so it goes, slowly building until it reaches the "tipping point." It feels as if it's getting getting there. I hope we're tipsy!

CBS's "Neat Baby Product"

A couple of weeks ago Sabina at Collective-E called and suggested that I submit the nomie baby car seat cover to CBS's Morning Show for a segment they were doing on great new baby products. I was thrilled to hear that the producer has little kids, "got it" right away, and wanted to use it! Then I played hurry up and wait to find out that the segment was going to air on May 2nd, my anniversary! What a great present. I set the DVR, but didn't want to tell everyone I know to wake up for the 7:44AM Saturday piece, just in case a big news story like perhaps the Swine Flu outbreak preempted it. Well, much to my delight the segment ran on schedule! There was the nomie baby car seat cover along side a Bugaboo stroller, a changing pad, and a stylish diaper bags. It was such a thrill seeing it there for everyone else to see!

I have been spending a tremendous amount of time and energy on PR, since I know that if people know about the nomie baby car seat covers, they will understand why they are a mommy-must-have, and then people won't pass them by on the shelves. When I am in front of moms during demonstrations and trunk shows, they sell incredibly well, because they are reasonably priced, and solve many messy problems easily, and as the CBS producer said, people "get it!"

I know that it takes a long time to build a brand, but getting recognition just gives more fuel to keep plugging away, and getting encouragement from others has been a tremendous help.

Just in case you didn't happen to be up at 7:44AM this morning, I don't want you to miss the CBS segment, so here's the link! http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/050209

_baby.pdf