BabyPlus is the story of one woman who “liked the product so much, she bought the business.”

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Lisa Jarrett, CEO of BabyPlus. Lisa explains how she launched the BabyPlus product globally. Today, over 100,000 families worldwide have it.

A biologist by training, she discovered a prenatal education curriculum that she had read about in a medical journal. After becoming a huge fan of the curriculum and using it during her three pregnancies, Lisa acquired the rights to the BabyPlus Prenatal Education System.

Word of mouth has been invaluable to grow the business. BabyPlus is now sold in over 200 retailers in the United States and in over 60 countries internationally. International sales account for 20% of revenues. The product is still experiencing rapid growth with May 2007 sales alone showing an increase of 300% from May 2006.

Lisa shares some of her lessons learned:

• No big ideas yourself? Spot the potential in someone else’s idea — The initial idea was not Lisa’s. Rather, it was her ability to envision the potential in someone else’s idea and shape that potential, that turned BabyPlus from obscurity, into a globally-available consumer product.

• Find a good product design firm — Lisa describes how the product had to be completely re-designed from the rudimentary version she used initially. She found a good design firm based on word-of-mouth recommendations. The design firm then assisted in finding a manufacturing firm in China to fabricate units at competitive price points.

• Get a business mentor sooner rather than later — There is a learning curve associated with any new business. And as a mompreneur she had a family to raise and a busy husband. A business mentor may be able to help accelerate the pace of business growth.

These and many other insights are in this episode. Click the player below to listen to the full interview of Lisa Jarrett, CEO of BabyPlus.

Listen Now:

 How A Mompreneur Took A Product Global [26:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | | Permalink

1. Thank you for pointing out this product. Although I’m not a mom, Lisa’s enthusiasm & belief in her product speaks volumes. Sounds like she took a good idea and tweaked it to make it great. Will have to keep it in mind for the next baby shower gift!

   Comment by Amanda — 9/20/2007 @ 10:24 am

2. This story brings up a good point, and that is, that you do not have to always be inventive when it comes to small business. As in her case, she didn’t necessarily create the product, but did feel she could improve it - and that’s exactly what she did. It’s interesting to hear how it all came about as well and the lengths she had to go to. She really has a commitment to this product.

   After listening to the show, it does sound like a really unique item and I agree with Amanda - I will keep it in mind for the next baby shower. I’m sure all expectant mothers would love the ability to do this at home.

   Comment by Chris — 9/20/2007 @ 10:54 am

3. How Lisa shaped, designed, and marketed this product is very impressive. I certainly will add this on to my next baby shower gift list. Thanks for the intro.

   Comment by EJMalyn — 10/3/2007 @ 7:39 pm

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