When you become a parent, nothing can quite prepare you for the sleepless nights, and for some families, the exhaustion can feel overwhelming. For Gemma Fisher, the struggle with her little boy’s sleep sparked not only a search for answers but also a passion to help other parents facing the same challenges, without resorting to leaving their babies to cry by themselves. With the knowledge she gained through her certified holistic sleep practitioner course, she launched Hello Moon Sleep, offering gentle, evidence-based and responsive sleep support that respects the needs of the whole family. Here she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind what she does, how she balances work and family life, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
After the birth of our little boy, we really struggled with his sleep. We were expecting some sleepless nights. We weren’t expecting how much of a struggle it would be to get him down for any extended period of time! I found that a lot of the information out there felt unnatural and wrong. I knew that there must be a way to help him sleep that didn’t resort to leaving him to cry by himself. I shouldn’t have to feel guilty for responding to him overnight, or for contact napping during the day. That’s when I found and became interested in a much more gentle and holistic approach to sleep: one that was evidence based and respectful to my little one’s temperament and development. It made me sad to think about how many families must have the same feelings of frustration and sleep deprivation.
Hello Moon Sleep was really born with the hope that the knowledge and information I’ve gained through a certified holistic sleep practitioner course – along with my own research and experience – could be used to help other families that are struggling, but are looking for support that is gentle, responsive and unique to their children.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Slow and steady!
I’ve got lots of customer service experience as most of my working life has been working and managing in a retail setting, so this was something very new to me! Once I had finished the sleep practitioner course, I started by offering free advice to friends and family so I could dip my toe in slowly and try to gain some testimonials and confidence. I then launched my social media to friends and family and tried to increase followers organically with sleep tips and advice. After that, I advertised in a local magazine, on Facebook advertising pages and I also distributed flyers around.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I think probably realising the need for evidence-based, gentle and responsive solutions to sleep! After chatting with people, it became clear that parents were looking for something other than traditional sleep training methods and generic sleep routines. They seemed relieved to find out there was another way, and I felt excited that I could offer strategies that families felt more comfortable with.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Although it can be challenging to not think about Hello Moon constantly, especially with it being a fairly new venture, one of the reasons I went into this business, other than my passion for helping families, was the work-life balance that I could create for myself. I currently work on my social media, client plans and best fit calls on the mornings my little boy is in preschool, and I offer best fit calls and client calls on evenings too. I know that as my boy’s hours at school increases, my working hours can increase alongside this also. I love that I can offer sleep support to families but also be present with my own child and family. After spending so many years working shift patterns, weekends and bank holidays, it’s really important to me to make sure I don’t miss out on spending time with the people I love.
