Tell us a little about the person behind the business? My name is Christine and I am 35 years old married to a wonderful (supportive) husband with 3 beuatiful little girls under the age of 6. I’ve lived & worked in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast & Mackay as a Legal Assistant and also a Seminar & Workshops Event Organiser. I’m a redhead and have the firey spirit to go with it, so I never stop.
And now a little about the business itself? The Mackay Babies & Kids Market is an indoor market for parents to buy and sell pre-loved and new babies & kids stuff. The market provides anvenue for parents to make something happen in their lives. Not just to sell or buy pre-loved items and make some cash but also we proudly support WAHP’s and the market is a wonderful avenue for our WAHP’s to promote or sell their products and services. We also have a great network with other WAHP’s (hence how I met Amanda – Support a WAHP).
How did you come up with your business name? mmm, I think it’s a boring name and will have to change it now that I ahve extended the market to include Townsville and Bowen soon too.
What made you want to begin a WAH business and how did you get started? My baby is sick and I needed to take her out of main stream daycare. So I had to work from home. After moving to Mackay all my baby items in storage were ruined in the Mackay Floods so I had to purcahse everything brand new for our last baby and I wasn’t putting it back into storage. I knew garage sales don’t sell baby stuff and I wasn’t about to have people calling me to look at stuff and not show up. So I organised a market with 8 stalls and everyone was completely overwhelmed by the response (so was I). From there the phone calls and emails didn’t stop, so I knew what I had to do and Mackay Babies & Kids Market was born.
What motivates you to keep your business going? Hearing people in the steets talk about the market, hearing back from stall holders how much they sold, hearing from other businesses what the market has done for them, hearing from mums about the bargins they got. Plus I’m a hyporactive redhead, so I’m always doing something.
Do you have a current best-selling product or service? The market stalls always book out well before the market.
How do you advertise your business and which methods have proven more successful? Word of mouth is the best marketing tool in any business. You need to get to the people. Mums don’t have timne to sit and read the paper.
How do you juggle your family and your WAH business? Any tips for other WAHP’s? That’s a hard one… I work most nights until 12 midnight.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a WAH business? Business Plan “set goals” and every month go back to your goals to regain your focus. People will complain and sometimes you just have to ignore it as they don’t see the whole picture of what your trying to accomplish. Six months into any business you’ll hit a wall, be prepared and go back to those goals. Be prepared for someone to try to steal your business (if they see it’s workiong for you…they want it).
Do you offer any discounts to Support a WAHP fans? No, but I help them out all the time and do promote WAHP businesses.
Website URL: http://mackaybabiesandkids.goods.officelive.com
Facebook URL: http://www.facebook.com/babiesandkidsmarket
Email Address: mkybabiesandkids@gmail.com
Location: Mackay & Townsville
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