After the birth of her son, Debs Ajaja noticed the lack of greeting cards that represented her baby boy. In true ‘mumpreneur’ style, she filled the gap in the market by creating her own card company, Baby of Colour Milestones
Since the birth of her son Noah in 2017, Debs quickly realised the lack of greeting cards that represented her beautiful baby boy. Where were the cards that showed beautiful melanin-rich baby boys or girls? This spurred her on to create Baby of Colour Milestone Cards™. Juggling motherhood and a start up business, today Debs has designed 30 super cute cards representing the modern baby of colour. We learn about her journey and seek advice on how to turn an idea into business.
Founder Debs Ajaja
Where did your story begin?
My story began in 2017 after I gave birth to my son. As a new mother, I wanted to show off my child, take pictures and videos of everything and not miss a single, key moment. I had been given several milestone card gift sets and thought they’d be the perfect way to make sure I captured everything. However, I soon realised that they were not representative of my beautiful baby’s hue or rich culture. Important milestones such as his naming ceremony and baby dedication did not feature in any cards. So I decided to do something about it and the idea to create my own was birthed!
How did you get your business in motion?
It took a while to get up and running as I was juggling this brilliant idea with the joys and challenges of being a new parent. It was important for me to steep my idea and product development in data and ensure that whatever I created would cater to my target market – Mummies and Daddies of beautiful babies of colour. I conducted market research and studied the competition to understand the gap and how to plug it. I then spent some time identifying the partners I wanted to work with to manufacture the cards. After months of research and personal investment, the proof of concept product was launched and sold on Amazon… And quickly sold out! That’s when I realised I was onto a good thing.
What advice do you have for women who want to start their own business ventures?
My biggest advice is to make like Nike and “Just Do It”! One of my favourite Ministers Joyce Meyer coined the phrase Do It Afraid and it’s so apt. whilst it may not be easy, it’s imperative to shut off the voices that discourage or tell you your idea or business won’t succeed. There are many reasons why it might not, but there’s one good reason why it might, which trumps all the others – YOU! Just go for it, surround yourself with positive people and influences that will help build you up and get going.
What’s your ultimate goal for Baby of Colour Milestones?
I want the Baby of Colour Milestone Cards to become a global brand, serving not just the Black community, but the entire BAME spectrum. Our babies and cultures are beautiful, vibrant and worth celebrating in all their uniqueness and splendour.
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Fabulous idea. Well done momma!