The Baby Dipper bowl

In my last “Naked Truth” post, I shared the stories behind a couple of businesses.  Maybe a few more “how I got started” stories will motivate you (and those I spoke with last weekend) to strip away your anxiety about starting your own business.

Business: Baby Dipper, LLC, founded by Barbara Schantz, sells a triangular-shaped bowl called the Baby Dipper. The bowl allows one-handed feeding of infants and makes self-feeding easy for toddlers.

Motivation: Frustration. “As a stay-at-home mom of twin babies, I faced the daunting task of feeding them. Frustrated with the bowls I had already purchased, I investigated and bought other bowls, but still remained disappointed. I needed a bowl that required only one hand to successfully feed a baby, but why wasn’t there one on the market that satisfied this need?”

Outcome: “My husband and my father encouraged me to pursue this new bowl design and I managed to bring it to market in July 2008.”

Business:

Motivation: A need for life balance. “I graduated from the University of Georgia, passed the CPA exam, and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. During my career I took a position with Toys “R” Us and was placed on a fast-track management program. Then I had children. Unfortunately, in the corporate world I was unable to find a balance between career and family.”

Outcome: “I opted to start my own practice, serving small businesses with strategic planning, accounting, and tax services. Soon after, I hired five other women, all with families, to help serve my client base.”