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Mumpreneur Profiles: Belle of Bebebel
Name of Business: Bebebel
Tell us about your family:
Belle McKnight
I have been married to Tom for 8 lovely years and we have a gorgeous daughter Ruby (3 years old). We live mainly in Spain but travel to the UK very often for work reasons – as we both work for ourselves. Hence I realised the need for a service such as Bebebel!
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
Previously I lived in London and had a Senior Management role for a large IT recruitment company, managing teams of up to 30 consultants and did this for 10 long years. It was incredibly hard work with long hours and tonnes of pressure, but very well paid – the only bonus! Eventually I had had enough of the City and moved to Southern Spain (Mojacar Playa) to take some time out, only to find myself pregnant and shortly after having Ruby set up Bebebel. The transition was good for me because I managed to chill out first after the hecticness of London, then had Ruby and managed to create a job for myself that plays to my key strengths (sales and organising) but has flexible hours as Ruby comes first.
When did you launch?
April 2007
How did you get started?
After having Ruby and flying frequently to and from Spain and the UK, I realised three things. 1) how difficult it is to travel with babies, 2) how much stuff they need and 3) I needed a service like this!
What research did you do before launching?
Loads! I did a comprehensive market research survey and thoroughly checked out the current market place only to find one other competitor who was actually very expensive and did not really offer good quality customer service for such a high end service. Ie the client had to call the hotel first to confirm delivery of the packs and packs were not guaranteed to arrive before you did!! Plus I thoroughly researched all suppliers for good prices but more importantly quality products and/or services.
How have you funded the business?
My husband has been very generous in helping me (thank you Tom!) plus I had some savings.
How do you promote your business? What has worked best?
Initially I spend a lot on paper based advertising in various different magazines – what a waste of money that was! It did not work for me. So now I focus on forming strategic alliances with travel companies and I have found that works best. My key strengths are sales so I spend the majority of my working day on the phone calling around potential clients which I love!
What has worked well about your business?
Getting my first big break approved supplier status for TUI Travel (First Choice and Thomson) it opened lots of doors for me. I have also in the top 15 for ITV’s This Morning Mumprenuer and was a runner up in Mumsclub’s Mumpreneur 2008 competition.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?
Building the website and finding an affiliate program for a non-technical blond person was incredibly difficult! But I learnt so much and now do all the maintenance myself. Sorting out the transport supplier was also challenging as so many let me down! The hardest part was doing the majority of the set up work in Spanish as originally we set up in Spain but then moved the buying and packing divisions to Surrey. Generally in Spain the culture is very slow with the ‘manana manana’ attitude. It was totally frustrating!
How do you fit in work with the family?
I have excellent child care with a local nursery and a baby sitter so that helps! You just have to be flexible as a working Mum and be great at time management and multi-tasking both of which I am now an expert at!
Your website link: www.bebebel.co.uk
This entry was posted
on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Mumpreneur Profiles, winning mums.
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Mumpreneur Profiles: Belle of Bebebel
Name of Business: Bebebel
Tell us about your family:
Belle McKnight
I have been married to Tom for 8 lovely years and we have a gorgeous daughter Ruby (3 years old). We live mainly in Spain but travel to the UK very often for work reasons – as we both work for ourselves. Hence I realised the need for a service such as Bebebel!
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
Previously I lived in London and had a Senior Management role for a large IT recruitment company, managing teams of up to 30 consultants and did this for 10 long years. It was incredibly hard work with long hours and tonnes of pressure, but very well paid – the only bonus! Eventually I had had enough of the City and moved to Southern Spain (Mojacar Playa) to take some time out, only to find myself pregnant and shortly after having Ruby set up Bebebel. The transition was good for me because I managed to chill out first after the hecticness of London, then had Ruby and managed to create a job for myself that plays to my key strengths (sales and organising) but has flexible hours as Ruby comes first.
When did you launch?
April 2007
How did you get started?
After having Ruby and flying frequently to and from Spain and the UK, I realised three things. 1) how difficult it is to travel with babies, 2) how much stuff they need and 3) I needed a service like this!
What research did you do before launching?
Loads! I did a comprehensive market research survey and thoroughly checked out the current market place only to find one other competitor who was actually very expensive and did not really offer good quality customer service for such a high end service. Ie the client had to call the hotel first to confirm delivery of the packs and packs were not guaranteed to arrive before you did!! Plus I thoroughly researched all suppliers for good prices but more importantly quality products and/or services.
How have you funded the business?
My husband has been very generous in helping me (thank you Tom!) plus I had some savings.
How do you promote your business? What has worked best?
Initially I spend a lot on paper based advertising in various different magazines – what a waste of money that was! It did not work for me. So now I focus on forming strategic alliances with travel companies and I have found that works best. My key strengths are sales so I spend the majority of my working day on the phone calling around potential clients which I love!
What has worked well about your business?
Getting my first big break approved supplier status for TUI Travel (First Choice and Thomson) it opened lots of doors for me. I have also in the top 15 for ITV’s This Morning Mumprenuer and was a runner up in Mumsclub’s Mumpreneur 2008 competition.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?
Building the website and finding an affiliate program for a non-technical blond person was incredibly difficult! But I learnt so much and now do all the maintenance myself. Sorting out the transport supplier was also challenging as so many let me down! The hardest part was doing the majority of the set up work in Spanish as originally we set up in Spain but then moved the buying and packing divisions to Surrey. Generally in Spain the culture is very slow with the ‘manana manana’ attitude. It was totally frustrating!
How do you fit in work with the family?
I have excellent child care with a local nursery and a baby sitter so that helps! You just have to be flexible as a working Mum and be great at time management and multi-tasking both of which I am now an expert at!
Your website link: www.bebebel.co.uk
This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Mumpreneur Profiles, winning mums. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
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