How to Run a Home Business in Suburbia . . . Without Full-time Childcare
Elise makes and sells personalized baby items online. She works from home in Lehi, UT while also raising two children without childcare other than part-time preschool. In this interview, she explains how she manages the juggle that ensues when home is also her workplace. Although conventional wisdom focuses on urban areas as incubators of business, her story shows how her suburban neighborhood helps both her family and business thrive.
Tell me about your business.
I sell personalized baby items online, particularly for newborns, baby showers and hospital pictures. I make everything from personalized name blankets to leggings to hats to baby photo backdrops. I am a one-man shop. I do everything from design to cutting to sewing to shipping to managing the website. It’s a lot of work.
How did you decide to start your own business?
I graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a major in Home and Family Living and a minor in business. After I graduated, I worked in marketing, particularly with search engine optimization (SEO). That experience introduced me to a lot of things I use for my business now.
I started my business in 2013 while I was pregnant with my first child and searching for a new work opportunity. I was making pregnancy files — it was a trend at the time — and decided to put one online and see if anyone would buy it. I remember one sold, and I was freaking out. I was like, “What? I sold something!” That was a really cool experience. It fired me up and made me think that I could use my creativity to make something that other people were looking for.
So I started my business. I had always wanted to work from home once we had kids. I absolutely love it.
What is a typical day like?
I try to spend all the time I can with my kids, and sometimes it’s definitely a juggle. My critical work hours are before they wake up, naps, during preschool and at night. We do not have any childcare outside of preschool, which is two days a week for two hours. So four hours a week.
What I do during work times depends on what orders I have. I want to send things out to my customers as soon as possible. I often go straight to sewing, because it’s loud and I don’t want to wake the kids up after they are in bed. Other than sewing and packaging, most of the business is computer work: answering emails, getting back to customers, designing the fabrics, sending proofs. It’s a juggle to figure out where I need to go first.
How do you make the personalized name blankets and outfits?
A fabric printer is used to print fabric. When designing the prints, I find what’s on trend, cute fonts and designs, and look at what people are into. I also have a lot of sales coming in, so people tell me what they want.
When I come up with a new pattern that no one has purchased before, I will search the 100 most popular names of the year to decide what name to put on the sample. I want to be sure that people recognize it as a name blanket.
Where do you find the babies to model your products?
Some are friends’ babies that I have met in the neighborhood. They are so supportive of me. Others are my customers’ babies. A lot of customers send me photos of their babies, and I ask permission to use them. They are often excited for their babies to be on my website.
What do you think are keys to making an online home business profitable?
I think timing, pricing and what’s on trend are critical. SEO is critical. Pictures are key. You can have two pictures of the same item and one will sell much better than the other. So try things out. And, of course, everything is always changing.
Customer service is also huge. How you help a situation or talk to your customers or potential customers can drive business or push people away. Communication is hard, because it is over email and customers don’t get to hear my voice. So I always try to be positive.
You need drive. You need your own fire to light you. You also have to just try and not be afraid of failure. It’s constant trial and error.
Did you have mentors to help you start your business?
No one was there to guide me when I started out, and I wish someone had been. I now have a friend who has a similar sales volume as me, and we bounce ideas off each other.
I like to be a light for others and give people the help I wish I had received. I want people to be successful, whether it is a hobby or something they depend on for their livelihood. I love to help people with their dreams.
What do you enjoy about working from home?
I like the flexibility, creating my own hours and being my own boss. Most of all, I love being here with my kids. I don’t want to miss out on them growing up. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and I wanted to be able to have a similar experience.
What is frustrating about working from home?
Juggling everything that needs to get done. Certain times of year are busier than others, and I sometimes add additional vendors to sell my products. It takes time to set things up with them. Sometimes having my office here and knowing there’s lots of work to be done stresses me out, because it’s on my mind.
How do you focus when you work from home?
I have an office that really helps me. I stay in there and close the doors. Knowing that I have short intervals in which to work also helps me focus immediately. I hone in on what I need to do and start with the most important things first.
How does working from home impact your relationship with your family?
I am on my phone more than I should be, because I am answering emails. I know that I’m the one who is in charge of myself, and I need to be like, “Okay, I’ll answer this and put it down.” I don’t use my computer when I am with my kids so that I am really spending time with them. When I have my phone on me, however, I sometimes send messages that can be done quickly so that work doesn’t build up. I don’t feel guilty when I can save time by answering a quick yes or no, just when I get too involved. It’s about finding a balance.
How do you relax when home is also your workplace?
I don’t, and I really should relax more. I usually do the bulk of my work after putting our kids to bed, so sometimes I stay up late working. My business is so busy that I always feel like there is something I should be doing. I feel guilty relaxing.
My husband and I like to unwind by watching TV at night as I work on my computer, but it is also good to turn off devices and spend time talking. So I try to have a cut-off time for my work.
How do you find time to plan activities for your children?
I get out of the house and go places where activities are already prepared for me. We can go to the museum, for example, where I know that they will learn and play. We also have a playroom and play areas in our basement and yard, as well as a giant box filled with crafts and other activities.
I go out every single day in part because there is less distraction there. We participate in activities away from the house so that I can spend quality time with my children. They love getting out. Most of the time I do not even spend money.
Did working from home impact your housing choice?
When we originally looked at houses, it was easy to find enough space because we only had one kid. We definitely have enough space in this house to grow our family and have an office and craft area. It has seven bedrooms, which sounds big, but people in Utah often have many kids. It also has an open layout and a good-sized yard. It is two-stories, not including the basement, and about 3,000 square-feet. It could be a forever-house.
How does working from home impact how you feel about your house?
I love it even more, because I sense the work that goes on every day. It’s a haven, but at the same time we’ve invested a lot of work in it in a good way.
How does your suburban neighborhood in Lehi support your family and work?
Most of my friends are from our neighborhood. It was a starter-home area when we moved here, and there are many families in their 20s or 30s with 1–4 kids. The houses are so close to each other that it’s easy to see people when you walk out to get the mail or go to your car. We have a lot in common with our neighbors because of the ages of our kids and because we are in such similar circumstances.
Utah is a gorgeous state, and we have awesome weather, so kids play outside. And we live close to parks and golf courses and splash pads. There’s so much going on. The nexus of young kids, activities and accommodating weather pushes people outside and helps the neighborhood thrive.
My female friends purchase from me or help me out. For example, some of my friends will say, “Hey, you said that you have a lot of orders to ship this week. How about we have your son over?” I definitely feel that there is support from my friends, family and especially my husband.
Lehi is changing, however. It has boomed since we moved here. It’s now referred to as “Silicon Slopes,” because we are getting big tech companies from San Francisco. We have grocery stores, outlets, new restaurants, and our home values are going up. I think it is fun. It has benefited me to have more things close.
How has your experience differed from perceptions people might have of Utah?
People say Utah is just Mormons, and, yes, we do have quite a bit of them here. But our experiences living in Provo, Sandy and now Lehi have each been so different. People sometimes generalize that the whole state of Utah is a certain way, but you will have a completely different experience depending on where in Utah you live. Two neighborhoods down is a very different experience from mine.
Anything else you wish to share about your story?
I think a lot of life is figuring out what makes you happy. Happiness is different for every person. But I feel that I am living the dream, even though it is NOT easy. It is hard. It is work. I love what I do, and I decide to put my heart and soul into it, whether it is being home, my business or being with my husband.
Interview conducted April 19, 2018. Interview has been edited for clarity, privacy and brevity. Interviewee is a friend of the Author.
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