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Modern Mompreneur: Ingrid Carney Transforms a Tube Top Into a Must-Have for Moms

How did you find your first customers?

My very first sale to a retail store started with a phone call to a local San Francisco boutique. The owner completely resisted the BellaBand idea, convinced it wouldn’t work or sell so I begged permission to visit in person to demonstrate the product. She agreed so I threw on some jeans and slipped a BellaBand around my waist. When I arrived, much to my surprise, I saw that she was seven-months pregnant. And lucky for me, she was complaining that her maternity pants were falling around the waist and she was constantly hiking them up so she slipped on a BellaBand. She walked the length of her boutique and back and immediately said—her exact words—“This is a no-brainer.  I’ll take 10.” The next day, I wrote about 10 top maternity boutiques a letter that included a free sample, and invited them to unbutton their jeans and try on the BellaBand. I think I sold every one of those stores.

Was there ever a moment in the business when it seemed like it was all too hard and you wanted to give up? If so, how did you get through it?

Are you kidding? Absolutely. When those moments happened, I would recall a friend’s patient and understanding reaction to his wife’s hormonal mood swings during pregnancy. He’d bow his head, let her rant and say to himself, “This storm will pass.” So far, he’s right. The storm has passed for me, every time.

What is it like to walk down the street and see a pregnant woman wearing a BellaBand?

I remembered the first time it happened. I was driving in Noe Valley when I saw a glorious woman, tall, long radiant hair and about six months pregnant. She wore a black t-shirt, lounge pants and her BellaBand. It was popping out from under her tee. I could see our little label and knew it was my BellaBand. I got teary-eyed, and smiled ear to ear. I wanted to stop the car and ask her how she liked the band. I wanted her to tell me who she was, how she felt, and if she was as happy as she looked. Of course I kept driving, looking in my rearview mirror as she disappeared behind me. It completely brightened my day.

Any tips on how to balance a growing family with a growing business? Or is balance a non-existent fantasy?

What’s funny is that while having my own business allows me to dictate a four-day work-week, work comfortably between 9am to 5pm, see my kids on occasion during the day, attend a dance class Thursday mornings, and occasionally “play hooky” with my husband to visit a museum or see a movie midday, I still feel work has the most of me, mentally. Hence, my lack of balance.

Here’s what I am working on to create balance on a daily basis. Check email less frequently, dissect what causes me stress and find remedies. For example, I don’t have the bandwidth to work AND plan, shop and prepare nightly meals, so I am dedicating a portion of my income to outsourcing meal preparation and grocery shopping. While it’s not the preferred place to spend my hard-earned money, it will relieve stress. Here’s
another: in order to fit in the health club any chance I can, I rent a club locker for my gear so I can avoid preparing a gym bag at home.  Combined, my time is spent with my kids . . . or organizing a closet.

How big is your company?

When I started Ingrid & Isabel, I hoped to work during my kids’ nap-time and simply cover the cost of private school in San Francisco. We can agree that I grossly underestimated demand. Our first full of year revenue (2004) was a healthy $90,000. We experienced over 700% growth in 2005, and have grown more than 70% each year since.

Do you miss anything about your old life? What is most difficult about being a Modern Mompreneur?

It’s such a trade off. While having my own business is a luxury in that I am my own boss, I can honestly say the most difficult thing about being a Mompreneur and having my own business is actually being the boss of everything… business decisions, employees, factories, AND home life like dinner, groceries, decorating, gardening, AND the kids such as summer camp, after-school activities, carpool, and so on. So, when my husband asks what we should do for date night, I say, “You pick and that will make me happy.”

What’s the best thing about owning your own business?

The freedom to follow my inspirations and ideas, as well as the experience of it all.  I’ve learned so much, gained much --more confidence, a positive attitude towards business opportunities and challenges, and of course, the ability to manage my own time and priorities on a daily basis.  It’s a real honor.

Would you ever go back to your old life?

My old lives were working without kids and staying home with kids. First, would I work at a company again? I don’t think so.  Would I be a stay-at-home-mom again? Absolutely. It’s the best-kept secret ever. It’s hard but the quality of the reward is superior to starting a company. Even so, I made my choice because the idea was so strong. I have a pretty great thing here: a profitable and growing business that allows me a lot of freedom to be a wife and a mom.  I’m lucky.

What’s next for BellaBand? What is the future of your company?

More BellaBands to more women. What we sell reaches only a fraction of the market. We want the BellaBand to be accessible to all pregnant women across the US so we’re working on that. We’ve also received rave reviews about our seamless knit which took us about a year to develop, so we will launch new products for the pregnant mom to help her look and feel beautiful during and after pregnancy. It’s very exciting.

What advice would you give to other Mompreneurs just starting out?

If you want to start your own business or simply work from home, step number one is to invest in a great childcare provider, whether it’s a few hours a week or several hours a day.  It allows mom to focus and be productive and gives the children a person that will engage them while mom is busy.  Everyone will be much happier.

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