Press
June 2008
MinnesotaBusiness - June 2008
NewMom creates baby-friendly kits full of good stuff, and brings its founder some welcome success as well
Like many new mothers, Stacey Schneider was thrilled to bring her first baby home from the hospital, but soon stared feeling overwhelmed. From researching pediatricians to reading about local baby classess to browsing for products and services, there were so many choices she wasn’t sure where to turn. In other words, it was a perfect entrepreneurial opportunity.
“When I didn’t know where to start looking for information and products, I thought about starting a business,” she says. “It would focus on welcoming the birth of a new child while helping the family navigate these new waters. What could be better?”
Her idea, called NewMom, creates welcome baskets that included gift cards for services like haircuts, and facials, as well as products like diapers, sippy cups, and bath toys. The kits would be free for new moms, with the products and services provided by vendors, and Schneider would provide delivery.
The first NewMom delivery of 22 baskets came after a “basket party” with friends doing the assembly. The endeavor took off quickly, with local boutiques signing on with gift cards, and the number of baskets increasing rapidly. Within just a few months, friends were growing weary of doing the assembly, and more businesses were calling, so Schneider took some advice from the local SCORE office and contacted Opportunity Partners, which employs adults with disabilities, to help with the baskets. That leaves Schneider more time to do sales and advertising, and collect promotional items. She also had more hours available for another project: having two more children.
Beyond balancing family with a new company, she notes the largest challenge right now is logistics. Currently, the company is delivering between 500 and 650 baskets per month, to 27 different suburbs in the west and south metro, with more being added.
“It’s growing so quickly, that the most difficult thing has been how to et all the baskets out,” she says. Opportunity Partners stores the promotional items, but there’s the issue of how to run around to different boutiques and salons and collect the products in the first place, and have them all ready within a certain timeframe. Schneider is looking for ways to increase storage or have more efficient delivery systems. And in the meantime, she’s not ready to give up any growth opportunities quite yet.
The five-year business plan includes establishing a stronger regional presence, she notes, with a target of 2,500 welcome kits per month in three different states. She adds the idea is to have regional “anchor” clients represented by large store – for example, a big box retailer that provides diapers – and then include items from smaller, local businesses. NewMom can also grow into a way for companies to test new products that are intended for parents.
In the meantime, Schneider doesn’t anticipate any changes to her original vision. “We’re self-sustaining, and even profitable, and more than that, these baskets just make people happy,” she says. “That’s what I wanted, to create something that moms could use to sort through the clutter and find products that they love, and I think we’re succeeding doing that.” - MB