When Business Baby Meets Human Baby: The Parental Pivot

You can’t make this up…“In the fall of 2019, I started to question a lot of things in my business. I created my company Baby Jives Co. as a small handmade biz in 2010, to support me while I stayed at home with my kids. Over the years, it had grown—into production partners and studio assistants, and the energy I was putting into it wasn’t getting it where I wanted it to go. I felt drained and off balance, and the joy I once had running my company was gone.

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My heart lies in creating the designs, not managing the business. I hired consultants in the past to help me grow, but the results showcased their visions, not my own.

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So, I took a step back to learn what it is I truly wanted for Baby Jive Co. I dug into what I wanted to create, not what others thought I should create. I realized that ease, balance, creativity, and connection was what I craved.

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I wanted to stay small and have that all.

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I started cutting away at things that felt out of alignment—the parts that took up time, and didn’t take me to that ideal place. I licensed out more of my work, instead of producing and selling it myself. I worked to create space, so I could focus on the creative design that lights me up, rather than the time-consuming spreadsheets and production that also put me to sleep.

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I made many of these transitions in early 2020 and finally felt balanced again. Then, the pandemic hit.

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My two kids were suddenly my students. I was on my own, learning how to be a teacher, shipping orders, navigating supply chain shifts, and all the changes that the pandemic gave us. AND I WAS FINE. I was better than fine. I was thriving.

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I was thriving, because I took that much-needed step back, which gave me the perspective I needed. I was able to let go of what everyone told me “I had to do” and zoom in on what really excited me: the connection to my customers, the creativity of designing, and the freedom to work with production teams who supported me with ease.

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By tuning into my business vision, I had set myself up for success, and now, as I continue to grow, I make sure I stop and ask myself “Is this what I truly want?” – Jahje Ives, Founder of Baby Jives Co.

After my first human baby, I had to change the way I mothered my business baby.

Up until then, I was hands on–with everything. I used to track our PR samples like a private agent, because we couldn’t afford to lose samples. If anything got lost, or ended up on eBay, I would…not be happy, and spent hours and hours on a sample-tracking rollercoaster.?

Then, after I had a baby, I just had to let that go. My perspective changed—I remember thinking to myself, “Okay, if someone takes it, they’ll wear it. It’s in a better place. Maybe we’ll get some PR from it.”?

On the design side, it was much slower, but I reached a point where I became able to trust others with button and thread colors. Then, instead of traveling, I trusted my teammates to select the best in Italy and present the options back to me. It was a slow and gradual process, but stepping back from the micro details was essential for me. There was only so much I could control, and once I accepted that, it made things a lot easier.?

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This week, we hear how Jahje and Founder of Loulou LOLLIPOP Angel Kho recognized the need to step back, reevaluate, and figure out strategies that fit their own unique needs. Angel and her twin sister Eleanor found that surrounding themselves with experts was the key to making it work.?

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“Eleanor and I always wanted to have our own small business before starting LOULOU LOLLIPOP together. We are twin sisters born just 2 minutes apart. Our parents didn’t know they were having twins until the day we were born. There was no ultrasound then, so it was pretty wild.?

Eleanor and I spent the first six years of our lives living with relatives in different cities, since our parents had to work and there was no parental leave. Our dad was an entrepreneur, our grandfather was an entrepreneur, and our mom had a kiosk selling snacks by a ferry terminal for a couple of years.?

As kids, we helped out, so the entrepreneurial blood runs deep in the family. But, there is absolutely nothing small about a small business. It requires tremendous grit, immense dedication, and a huge heart for what we do. When we started 6.5 years ago, we did everything from sourcing, to making the products, to selling, to marketing, and sales, accounting, fulfillment, customer service, and tech support.?

We wore a million hats, had many late nights…or should I say early mornings. We had families, and young kids we needed to take care of, and quickly learned that we couldn’t do it all. We were burning out.

We recognized the need to hire for help–but not just any help; smart people with talents and skills in areas that we don’t share. It’s impossible for us to be experts in all aspects of our business, so we need to lean on experts to be our eyes and ears on the ground.?

Our VP of sales is one of those individuals. We met him at a trade fair in Las Vegas. He has the knowledge and connections that we don’t, and he’s been instrumental to the growth of our business. One of the many advantages of surrounding ourselves with experts, is we are encouraged to go out of our comfort zones and keep learning.?

Experts are literally at our doorstep, so we can ask questions knowing we are going to improve, and it also keeps our work exciting. But, the biggest advantage to hiring brilliant team members is it frees up our space and time, and allows us to focus on areas that we can deliver the most value, which is in designs.?

Eleanor and I are very passionate about our designs, and putting our time and effort into what we do best, and counting on others doing a better job than us in areas that we don’t excel in, is very freeing.” – Angel Kho, Co-Founder of Loulou LOLLIPOP

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The moment I decided to let go, was the moment I was able to breathe again. It didn’t happen overnight, but even the gradual process felt freeing, amazing, and necessary.

Feeling it out and testing what’s right for you is essential to keep your business strong, and your body and mind stronger. I have to remind myself of this as well, but in this new year, wouldn’t it be lovely to *actually* listen to our needs and take care of them?

Cheers to making that happen.