Nursing and Necessity

I recently spoke to Deeanne Akerson, founder of Kindred Bravely, a brand devoted to making life easier for pregnant and nursing moms and every piece is created with comfort, beauty, and function in mind.

Adam: How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Deeanne: Looking back, there were so many challenging things, especially as we were just starting. As a 100% bootstrapped company, we didn’t have the luxury of hiring a team to start; it was just my husband and me, figuring everything out, and we’ve experienced many of the classic growing pains that scaling companies do. 

A few months after we launched, we discovered that an entire shipment of bras was nearly an inch short in the front center, which makes a huge difference in bra fit. We pulled our bra inventory, donated it, and prioritized hiring a production manager to oversee all orders and vendors. We also found a reliable third-party auditor and started inspecting 100% of our shipments before accepting them.

A couple of years later, we implemented an ERP, which took away a lot of our financial visibility, and we ended up overspending on marketing costs before we realized it. We survived almost six months of crushing financials, leaned up, and made some great business decisions to move forward.

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas? 

Deeanne: Like many business origin stories, ours began out of a true personal need. We have two sons, and five years ago when my second was still breastfeeding, I really wanted a comfortable pair of nursing pajamas. After looking at all the stores nearby and searching online, I found a few options, but nothing was exactly what I needed. I just kept thinking, “I can't be that unusual. All I want is a pair of nursing pajamas that are cute, stylish, comfortable, and actually work for breastfeeding." 

For anyone who’s looking for their next great idea, focus on a problem or pain point that you want to address, then put your customer first. Products come and go – and if your products are successful, they’re going to be copied. If you fall in love with your customer, you’ll always be innovating for her, and your success won’t depend on a single product. You also have to figure out if you’re excited enough by your business idea to invest the next five years into making it happen. 

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea? 

Deeanne: For Kindred Bravely, it was as simple as knowing that there was an audience for our product. As a nursing mom, I knew how frustrated I’d been with the lack of clothing options, and I was sure other moms shared my frustration. 

Testing a business idea involves research and validation. Since it’s not possible to pursue every idea, you have to choose the most important or relevant to test and move forward with. Reaching out to your intended customers is essential; you have to understand what they need and what will drive them to engage with your business and products. Whether you’re also experiencing that pain point or you’ve identified a need through research, a customer-forward approach is critical to growing a company that can survive a constantly changing landscape.

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Deeanne: Our growth is definitely tied to the size of our team. We always knew that we wanted to have our own brand, our own website, and our own community, but that kind of growth requires cash, resources, and team members to make it happen. 

In the first year, we sold primarily on Amazon, and we focused the majority of our resources on expanding our product offerings to include multiple styles of intimates and loungewear. Over the last four years, we’ve expanded our team to focus on customer care, project management, and marketing. With such a robust team, we’ve been able to grow our audience on social media and transition to order fulfillment from our own warehouse.

Taking your business to the next level is usually a matter of finding the right people to join your team. As a startup, you start off doing everything by yourself or with one or two other people, but it’s not possible to scale your business meaningfully with such a small team. You have to identify where you need the most help - whether it’s in customer care, marketing, product development, or order fulfillment - and find the most skilled people who can take charge of that area and run with it. 

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?

Deeanne: Marketing for us is all about making a connection with moms. Pregnant and nursing moms often feel isolated, and we want them to know that they’re not alone. Yes, our bras and pajamas are super comfortable, and we know moms love how they feel in our clothes, but we focus more on making sure moms feel heard and understood. We try to make every touchpoint feel personal, whether it’s a welcome email, Facebook ad, or chat with customer care. Over the years, we’ve found that the most effective marketing still comes from customer reviews and social proof, and when you love and support your customers, they’ll take the time out of their day to celebrate you.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Deeanne: The most effective leaders are the ones who trust their team to do what they’ve been hired to do. If you’re constantly micromanaging your employees, they can end up feeling disconnected from your goals, but when you empower them to become advocates for your customers and trust them to make decisions that are right for their platform or channel, they feel much more invested in the company.

Joining a mastermind group is a great way to take your leadership skills to the next level. You’ll get to connect with other leaders, see how they manage their teams, and brainstorm how to solve puzzles in new ways.

Adam: What is the best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Deeanne: Aside from our warehouse associates, our team is completely remote, which means we can find talented employees anywhere in the world, and our pool of qualified applicants is always overflowing. 

Our employees are able to schedule their hours around what works for them and their families, and that means we can attract talented people who don’t want to make an all-or-nothing decision on family vs. career. Remote employees get to be part of a company whose mission they believe in while enjoying the benefits of improved work/life balance and without worrying that they’re missing out on spending time with their loved ones.

Our amazing team of employees wouldn’t be able to contribute their best creative work energy if they weren’t also available to their families first. Our employees don’t dread coming to work on Monday mornings, partly because they choose their hours. But more importantly, our team is able to do what they love and feel passionate about without lingering guilt about being away from family.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Deeanne: Entrepreneurs: Focus on one thing at a time. There's so much to do, but if you try to do it all at once, nothing gets done as well as you want it too, and you can burn out before you accomplish anything meaningful. Instead, figure out the one thing that will have the biggest impact on your business, put your energy into making it happen, then move on to the next thing. 

Executives: Grow your team and trust them. It’s impossible for one person to do everything, so you have to put your trust in your team, keep them united around your vision, and help them prioritize initiatives.

Civic Leaders: Obsess over those you serve. Devote yourself to helping them. Live for addressing their current and future issues. Never lose sight of their needs!

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Deeanne: My dad was also my high school English teacher, and he was fond of telling his students, “There’s no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” It’s a similar sentiment to “better done than perfect,” and since I don’t build rocket ships, it works well for me. My friends and family know me as someone who gets a lot of stuff done, and I think that’s partly because I believe that waiting for things to be perfect means waiting too long. Of course, I wanted everything to be perfect when I launched Kindred Bravely, but if I’d waited for everything to be “just right,” I never would have taken that first step. I believe in constant improvement, and there’s nothing I love more than making small changes in search of the optimal product or system. I don’t wait until I have something exactly perfect to get started – the pressure would be paralyzing! Just get it to 85% right, go for it, and be ready to make small improvements over time.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Deeanne: A new business is like a new baby, and it demands most of your time and energy to flourish. When it comes to carving out time for my family, I find that putting my phone on the shelf when I’m not working helps. I turn all notifications off and allow myself to be fully present with my family.

I also schedule a few “non-working” hours each week (and try to stick to them) to keep my mind clear and gives me the freedom to be physically and mentally away from work.