Mums in Business: The Bumpband
As with many great businesses, Jenny Park’s success came from spotting a pregnancy gap in the market and filling it with her own invention.
Whilst pregnant with twins, Jenny quickly found all of her clothes too short to cover her growing bump. She was also not impressed with the majority of maternity wear available which was both expensive and rather unflattering.
Jenny soon realised that if it was possible to elongate her normal high street tops with something to support and cover her growing stomach, she would not have to spend a fortune on a whole new maternity wardrobe.
“I decided that it if did not do it someone else would”
The brilliant Bumpband was her answer. Whilst many mums have great ideas for new products, Jenny took the key action of doing something about it. “All of the support bands I tried were bulky, itchy, and very visible under clothes” she says. “ When the boys were born I spent weeks walking around pushing my pram with my Bumpband idea in my mind, asking my friends whether they would buy it. They all said yes, so I decided that it if did not do it someone else would.”
Being the proud mother of newborn twins, a dog and a husband, the early days were “a bit of a struggle” she admits. “I managed to do my research during nap times and after the boys had gone to bed, which was quite frustrating because business hours don’t generally go on until 11pm at night”.
As Jenny worked on her product, she tested the Bumpband on lots of pregnant women to make sure the support, fit and comfort were perfect from day one of pregnancy through to the end of breastfeeding. “We tried so many fabrics until we found one which was very comfortable, supportive and washed well too.”
Jenny’s pregnant friends were a great resource to her through this time and she calls them “her muses”.
“In fact, the model on the box is a really good friend of mine and the bump you see in the picture is now 3 and a half years old!
“I probably drove them all mad with “try this one, what do you think of this one?”
Despite being busy looking after her babies, through determination Jenny managed to pull it off. “It is difficult trying to juggle everything” she explains. “But when you believe in your idea you are so excited and want it to succeed so you just manage to find the time from somewhere. Looking back now I don’t really know how but ten minutes here, twenty minutes there all add up and you do get the job done in the end.
“Going to the post office with parcels was fun though, 20 parcels, a dog and a double buggy, people must have looked at me and thought poor woman.
“Also you are on the phone to your manufacturer, phone in one hand feeding a baby in another good job women are good a multi-tasking I say.
“When you believe in your idea you are so excited and want it to succeed so you just manage to find the time from somewhere”
“The boys started school in September so things are a lot easier. I can now start thinking about new lines and try to push the business to the next level which can be difficult when you have pre-school children at home all day.”
Jenny has excellent advice for other mothers who may have the inkling of a good business idea.
“The advice I would give to any mum with an idea is give it a go. You will always regret it if you don’t and always wonder ‘what if?’ If it does not work out you have tried. It would be so devastating if you did not do it and someone else jumped in there first. Yes it is not easy but seeing your idea turn into something real, something people write about in magazines and want to buy is the best feeling in the world.
“I can still remember the date and name of my first order in 2006. I do look back now and think how on earth did I manage to do it, but belief and perseverance is the answer. If you believe in your idea give it a go, you have nothing to loose but an awful lot gain.
And for the mothers of twins, Jenny has practical advice for them too. She says: “If there are any mums of twins out there with a business idea the best advice I can give is to make sure your babies are on the same routine for everything. Naps, feeding etc. If one is sleeping and it is feeding time wake them both to feed. It can take a bit of time but they will end up on the same time zones which makes life so much easier.
“After a while they will sleep and eat at the same time so you can catch an hour or so in the afternoon to do research, write a bit of your business plan etc.
“The other thing about twins is, it is like having a permanent friend in the house, they love to play together and keep each other occupied so having two babies at home whilst trying to set up a business could actually be easier than having just the one.”
The Bumpband can be ordered online
The Bumpband comes in black and white and two in two sizes:
Size One: 8-12 (Pre-pregnancy)
Size Two: 14-18 (Pre-pregnancy)
Price: £16.99 plus £2.50 postage and packaging
It is made of 80% cotton, 20% elastane and is machine washable at 40 degrees