Now that Andrea Holmes’ own children are all grown up, she still treasures the special baby items that she has held onto, carefully put away, ready to pass on one day. With a love for beautiful, good quality items, she created her business, One Baby, to help others find that perfect newborn gift that will be treasured for years to come. As well as beautiful newborn hampers and individual baby gifts, she also caters for the amazing new mums with a gorgeous selection of pampering products. Here she talks about the inspiration behind her business and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I have been in business in a storefront for over 10 years and have witnessed a decline in in-store shoppers. I knew I had to adapt and evolve with the digital world of business, therefore I decided to create my own online baby gifting store. I have always had a passion for gifting as it brings people joy – everyone loves to get a present.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
At first, we only had a small range of products that we had personally selected, ensuring the website would showcase my taste of high quality, on trend brands. My focus was to begin creating a brand image for One Baby using the website and our social media channels. I wanted One Baby to portray my vision of a boutique baby gifting store centred around our personally selected product range.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Our first online sale! We were jumping up and down with excitement and could not wait to put it all together and start packaging and presenting the gifts perfectly.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I work extremely hard on this passion of mine and it is so rewarding because I love what I do. However, owning a small business comes with its challenges and the fact is so much time is taken away from my family. I don’t get annual leave; I don’t get sick days. It is so important to be as organised as I can be to ensure I am able to take those days for my family. My kids are all independent now, so they do not need me as much as they used to, however it is my highest priority to give myself and my time to my family.
