If there is one thing Melissa Barassi knows all about it is babies, and she successfully turned her baby love into a thriving business, writes Angela Cuming.
The mother of four is a self-confessed "baby fanantic" and has a love of shopping so she turned that passion into a thriving online small business. Fed up with the lack of good quality, quirky baby products on the market, Barassi took matters into her own hands and set up The Hip Infant shopping website.
"I identified the difficulty in finding that something new, different and special when searching for children's bits and bobs," she says.
"So I combined my passion for shopping with my love of amazing products.
"I like to think that the products I stock, like the name of my business, are a little bit more hip than what's out there in other baby stores. I really saw a gap in the market. It gives parents a lot more options now. I like to stock things that are not in the mainstream. In the old days all you could get for your baby was a fluffy blanket or a Bunnykins cup."
The business was started in 2005 in the lounge room of the Barassi's Willoughby house, while minding her three young children at home. She put $12,000 on her credit card to cover start up costs.
"It suited me really well because it meant I could spend time with the kids while working," Barassi says.
After only six months the business really started to take off, she said, with baby clothes, toys, furniture and linen taking over the entire house.
"It got pretty chaotic with stock everywhere and me constantly running out delivering parcels and receiving things so we moved it all into a small office space nearby," Barassi says. "After another six months we had gotten even bigger and had to move into a massive office space."
Barassi didn't last long there either and at the beginning of this year the business found a new home in a "massive" warehouse space in Auburn.
"I now employ three outsourced workers to help," Barassi says.
So what are her tips for mums wanting to start their own small business? Know your market before you start. Think about identifying a gap in the market.
"And above all you have to be prepared for a lot of hard work."
http://www.thehipinfant.com
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