While I was at a party last weekend, the topic of changing careers and well, working naked, came up. Let’s just say that my blog name is a good conversation starter! The folks I talked with wanted to start a business but didn’t know what to do.
The Baby Dipper bowl
In my last “Naked Truth” post, I shared the stories behind a couple of businesses. Maybe a few more “how I got started” stories will motivate you (and those I spoke with last weekend) to strip away your anxiety about starting your own business.
Business: Baby Dipper, LLC, founded by Barbara Schantz, sells a triangular-shaped bowl called the Baby Dipper. The bowl allows one-handed feeding of infants and makes self-feeding easy for toddlers.
Motivation: Frustration. “As a stay-at-home mom of twin babies, I faced the daunting task of feeding them. Frustrated with the bowls I had already purchased, I investigated and bought other bowls, but still remained disappointed. I needed a bowl that required only one hand to successfully feed a baby, but why wasn’t there one on the market that satisfied this need?”
Outcome: “My husband and my father encouraged me to pursue this new bowl design and I managed to bring it to market in July 2008.”
Business: Mom Corps, founded by Allison O’Kelly, operates nationwide through its online job board and offers full service staffing in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, New York, and Washington, DC as well as franchise opportunities in select markets throughout the US.
Motivation: A need for life balance. “I graduated from the University of Georgia, passed the CPA exam, and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. During my career I took a position with Toys “R” Us and was placed on a fast-track management program. Then I had children. Unfortunately, in the corporate world I was unable to find a balance between career and family.”
Outcome: “I opted to start my own practice, serving small businesses with strategic planning, accounting, and tax services. Soon after, I hired five other women, all with families, to help serve my client base.”
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lisa Kanarek. Lisa Kanarek said: The Naked Truth: how 2 successful businesses got started. http://bit.ly/aIFZSM [...]