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Sweet Rewards
By Stacy Martin
BMC February, 2000 Newsletter
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of self-employment and now that I have a child, I’m even more intrigued by the ability to work from home. When I joined the BMC, Cherie Hammer’s Sweet Pea Company caught my eye. I’d seen her ads in the classifieds and her name as the contact for the Work at Home Club. I went to her Web site (www.sweetpeacompany.com) and took a look before calling her and asking her if I could interview her for a potential series on moms and work of all kinds.
Cherie formed the Sweet Pea Company after the birth of her son after failing to find a blanket small enough to serve as a security blanket, not unlike the one Linus carries in Charlie Brown cartoons. With none to be had, she made her own. It was terry cloth on one side, flannel on the other, and satin along the edges. The inspiration came from the satin edges of the blankets that comforted Cherie as a child, along with more textures to stimulate an infant’s sense of touch. When Cherie brought her blanket to a Mommy & Me class at the local hospital, several other moms asked her to make them one and the idea for a business was born.
With an MBA and 15 years experience in high tech software marketing, plus 2 years in finance on Wall Street, making blankets was a big change for Cherie. She did her research and soon discovered that baby blankets are part of the soft goods/sewn goods/fashion industry. She also discovered that nearby Canada College had an outstanding Fashion Design department and a class called “Fashion Entrepreneurship” and a book called Made In America: The Business of Apparel and Sewn Products Manufacturing.
Using these resources, Cherie wrote a detailed business plan to launch her idea. She grew her business in baby steps, learning to walk before she ran. In the early days, she shopped the sales at fabric stores, graduated to buying wholesale from distributors, and finally to began purchasing large enough quantities directly from the manufacturer. She’s expanded her labor-force from part-time seamstresses to contracting with a small custom shop in San Francisco.
The name of Cherie’s company comes from one of her favorite terms of endearment. Her husband often jokes that he’s the original Sweet Pea. One of Cherie’s first orders from a non-family member or friend is still one of her most emotional. It came from a Foster Mom in Kansas, specializing in abused infants, who wrote to tell her that her Cuddle Bug Blanket, was the only thing a badly injured infant would respond to and thanking her for the comfort it gave the baby. It’s feedback from customers that is Cherie’s greatest motivator. Three years down the road into a growing business, she remains deeply committed to preserving a personal dialogue with each customer.
Her Cuddle Bug Blankets, Burpies, and Crib Blankets are now sold in 50 stores nationwide plus the island of Guam. She also sells directly to customers through her website. What she’s learned along the way can be really valuable to anyone contemplating starting a home-based business. When I asked her what advice she’d give to others, she said setting expectations was really important. Setting out to make $50K+ per year is probably not realistic. She’s fortunate enough to be able to focus on the intangible benefits of self-esteem and sanity that running her own company provides her by giving her something adult to focus on. Her goal has always been to make the business cash positive. When she started, it was OK if she didn’t make money, so long as she didn’t lose it. She’s always put the money she’s made back into the business to grow it successfully.
But how much does Cherie really want to grow her business? She now runs a full-time business on a part-time schedule. One of her challenges is always feeling like she doesn’t get to everything – like the business could be more with more time, but at a price too high in precious time away from family. Like all of us, she struggles for balance. It took her a long time to decide to seek part-time childcare for her son in order to grow her business. Cherie enjoys doing everything herself, answering to herself, and seeing the fruits of all of her efforts, but the drawback is the isolation. She lessens its impact with electronic communications on several online communities for work-at-home moms, such as WAHM.com, digital-women.com, and mommiesontheweb.com. In all, Cherie relishes the freedom and the challenges of her “lifestyle” business, which offers far more benefits than drawbacks, and gives her something to “keep her head in the game.”
If you’re interested in learning more, you can contact Cherie at comments@sweetpeacompany.com.
©2001 Stacy Martin
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