“We surpassed our goal of sales of 1 million dollars in Chicago in two years and now have a new goal to be just as successful in the Dallas Metroplex area.” How one nurse, affected by budget cuts, created a new future for herself by rescuing sleep deprived families.
Founder: Pam Jones, RN – The Baby Nurse Agency
Website: www.sweetdreamsinfantcare.com
Aha Moment:
I was working at the largest women’s hospital in Chicago and saw with the budget cuts and staff reductions new mom’s were being sent home without an instruction book to care for their new baby. Many of these moms were asking me to come home with them and help them and when I finally said yes, my company was born!
Service:
We are a full service Baby Nurse agency . We educate and support new parents with their infants. Our services include Nighttime Infant care, Sleep Training, Parenting Classes and Temporary Daytime nannies. We rescue sleep deprived families in the Chicagoland and Dallas Metroplex areas.
Is this a franchise?
It is not a franchise but it is something we are leaning toward. We have had several inquires for this from RN’s in other states that we have connected with on LinkedIn, so we are considering it. If we do decide to franchise we will be using our own model. In Dallas we are starting with RN’s since it cuts the training process down, but you do not need to be an RN to work on our teams.
We have written a 365 page training all of our caregivers need read, complete questions at the end of each chapter and to take a comprehensive timed test. We do this to be sure everyone knows how we want them to care for our clients babies.
Target Audience + How to Reach them:
New parents who do not have the support system in this area to help them with their growing families. Typically older parents who are well established and understand they need to sleep at night so they can care for themselves so they can work or care for smaller children during the day.
Greatest Success:
Helping new parents build their confidence so they can care for their babies when we leave. We had an article in Crain’s business along with Hey Baby, Chicago parents magazine.
The article in Crain’s was a huge success since when potential clients google us the article comes up. It is a well respected publication so when we were written about it did give us a lot of credibility. We advertise in many publications such as Hey Baby and spend a lot of time doing events and teaching classes to introduce who we are and get our message out.
We always ask potential clients how they heard about us and even though the Crain’s article is 2 years old we still hear that answer often. We were recently interviewed on WGN radio for 20 minutes and other than word of mouth, the Crain’s article still comes up the most.
We teach classes at Prentice Women’s hospital at their Transition to Motherhood classes and give sleep training classes at many MOM’s groups. This again gives us credibility and our clients know we have a great reputation. Our best advertising is always word of mouth.
Biggest Challenge:
Caregivers working for us to get our training and going out on their own as our competitors.
Overcoming the Challenge:
Hiring the best caregivers and making sure they have the support they need to be successful.
When you imagine success, what does it look like?
Our first goal was to reach 1M in sales, now it is to double that number and open up in different markets. We surpassed our goal of sales of 1 million dollars in Chicago in two years and now have a new goal to be just as successful in the Dallas Metroplex area.
What steps are you taking to achieve your goals?
This year we opened in the Dallas/Metroplex and next year Tampa is slated.
What PR + Marketing activities have you done and what were the results?
We work with many pediatrician offices and we advertise in Hey Baby which goes to OB/Gyn and pediatrician offices. We do many events to network with other vendors and teach classes at a major hospital along with many Moms groups.
We are associated with the Bump and Beyond mom’s group where we sit on their panel and discuss different options of childcare and we are known as their Infant Care Experts. By doing lots of networking and advertising we get to be more known, but by being affiliated with great groups such as the Bump and Beyond is how I believe we were asked to participate in the Crain’s article.
As an entrepreneur, how do you decide what to do yourself and what to hire someone to do?
Decide what my strengths are and delegate the rest.
How do you manage family and business?
I care for my granddaughter two days a week and that is my time to disengage from business.
What advice do you have to fellow mom entrepreneurs?
It is great and really hard to work from home when you first start. Get a team to help you. Understand it will take a huge amount of time and normally you will be the one who gets short changed. Learn to take time out for yourself.
What have you learned about yourself being an entrepreneur?
I am good at it and love it!
What tips can you provide to sleep deprived parents?
Sometimes parents just need a break. Utilize all your family and friends first. Never say no to anyone offering you help. Don’t try to do it alone. Sleep deprivation is a serious issue and can affect our lives in many different ways.
We have a free e-Guide on our website, Is your Baby ready to Sleep through the Night?
What can Sweet Dreams Infant Care do for you?
Our team has been rescuing sleep-deprived families since 2009. Over the years we have seen the emotional stress, physical exhaustion and loss of confidence in good parents dealing with their child’s sleep issues. There is no one size fits all solution. We use several different methods of sleep training in order to customize the program to fit the parent needs as well as their child.
If you could wave a magic wand and be given anything to help your business right now, what would it be?
More talented caregivers. Hiring and retaining quality help is very difficult.
What is your favorite go-to resource, tool, book, app and why?
We have a scheduling program called Clearcare. We would be lost without it. It emails and sends a text if we have a cue available, sends a reminder when one of our girls has a shift to cover and helps with the accounting side.
What is your favorite indulgence?
Travel!
