Meet Mom Entrepreneur – Natalie Mendez, Noah’s Ark
“One big piece of advice I have is don’t get too ‘buying happy’.”
I started Noah’s Ark as a retailer of other brands of organic baby wear. I started shopping wholesale like I had a bottomless pit of money because in MY mind I thought since I would buy it this means other moms probably will to and it will sell in no time. I was wrong, lesson learned. I should have done more research on social media and notice popular product trends or which items sell out quicker on other sites. Until today there is a huge investment I made on a specific “summer” product that never sold I can no longer sell because we are going into winter.
What does your business offer?
We have a line of baby clothes all in organic fabric. I specifically work with a manufacturer that works under the G.O.T.S ( Global Organic Textile Standard) certification. Benefits are friendly to baby such as no harsh chemicals on their young skin and durability. Benefits to the earth and people such as material being 100% organic and socially conscious processes.
Our Target consumers are moms ages 24-40 mainly but really all moms that seek high quality organic wear for their infant. We try to be actuve on social media with promoting our products and this coming month we will be attending the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas in our attempt to make organic wear easily accessible for families.
What was your AHA moment?
Had a baby, young children
How has PR and Marketing helped your business?
Instagram has proven a great help. SO many #makerMoms support each other it is great! Facebook ads also proved worth the investment. I do have to say though Facebook has its learning curves, for example I got more clicks to my site on a Tuesday evening versus Friday morning. Not sure of the reason, still trying to understand the analytics biut they breakdown your best hours and reach so its easy for you to place your ads. While I am on the ads, good pictures are everything!
What’s your greatest success to date?
I would have to say my greatest success is leaving my jobs to do something I am genuinely passionate about. Too often I let my dream, this brand, take a back seat for the routine and the security a weekly paycheck provides.
What’s been challenging and how did you overcome it?
Promoting Noah’s Ark and standing out in a sea of like minded brands has been the most difficult.
I continue to pursue my passion and I think that in itself starts attracting customers and in turn sales. Every time an order comes in I am reminded why I am doing this and that there is a need for organic baby clothes.
What steps are you taking to achieve your goals?
We are trying to reach our goals by launching our brand at the ABC Kids Expo and plan on continuing to attend as many trade shows as we can, again to reach as many stores as possible.
What are your best tips on managing family and business?
Family is very supportive and they understand if I cannot visit as often. Now having an 8 month old- that can get tough but nap times and bed times are mommy’s work hours.
What are your favorite tools and resources?
Google has proven a life saver recently as I look for booth set up ideas and brand launching tips.
Facebook is also a great tool due to their ads. They offer a very user friendly atmosphere.
If you could wave a magic wand right now, what would you wish for?
Manufacturing expenses covered. Being new in a sea of brands you have a manufacturer waiting on your order and their associated fees yet you don’t know quantities yet. If we had the large bulk of the budget up front we can be at ease that all orders will be met in a timely manner.
Where can readers go to learn more about you and your business?
www.noahsarkstore.com
