The fire within you needs to be there. Launching a company is no joke and you better believe in your company and its potential when people don’t believe in you.
A passionate and self-motivated MBA with 14 plus years in the corporate and non-profit space, Jennifer left her full-time job in 2016 to start her first company, with the ultimate goal to work for herself from anywhere in the world. She launched Sat Nam babe in Spring 2017, a socially conscious line of yoga-inspired clothing for kids under six and babies (think ethical supply chain, pants made out of recycled plastic bottles, fun prints and an overall uplifting message).
Jen is a 200-hour certified Kundalini yoga teacher, Khalsa Way prenatal yoga teacher and kids yoga teacher and can be found braving the New York City streets by bike, hanging out in her Brooklyn neighborhood and daydreaming about her next spontaneous travel adventure.
She also works part-time on the business development team for global health NGO, Seed Global Health, which allows her to work as stress free as possible on growing and scaling Sat Nam babe, while knowing the bills will be paid.
The words, “Sat Nam” translate to “truth is my identity.” Jen can’t think of a better message to send to our littlest citizens: as they grow up and are faced with societal pressure, may they always stay true to their dreams and what they were meant to accomplish in this lifetime.
Where did the idea for Sat Nam babe come from?
Sat Nam babe was born from a mix of learning about the injustices in the fashion industry during a sustainability in supply chain class in business school and completing my 200-hour Kundalini yoga teacher training. During this training, subconscious blocks that were deterring me from moving into my greatest self were suddenly removed. After researching the children’s wear industry and yoga industry, both showing upward growth trajectories, I felt confident that a socially conscious yoga inspired clothing company for kids under six and babies could actually be a business.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Most days, I am working from my bedroom in my Brooklyn apartment. On occasion, I will work from my co-working space in West Chelsea or from a coffee shop. A typical day includes being active on Instagram, checking analytics/site traffic on SatNambabe.com, scanning for media opportunities to work on my SEO strategy by generating as many backlinks as possibly for the phrase “kids yoga clothes”, thinking about new product add-ons, retailer outreach to get Sat Nam babe in stores, reaching out to like-minded companies, organizations, etc. for partnership opportunities, scoping out NYC pop up market events, is that enough?
How do you bring ideas to life?
The benefit of being a nimble, new company, is that I can try a lot of things to see what resonates. In terms of actual product, since launching Sat Nam babe last Spring, I have been able to add two additional tee designs and a onesie; the creative spark for this came pretty fluidly.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Children’s e-commerce specific sites, such as Rockets of Awesome! My goal is to get Sat Nam babe on one of these cool sites. I love that they make it easier for busy moms to shop for their kids with a personalized touch.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I still use a physical planner and write down my to do list for the day. I try to work through it as much as possible.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Trust the process tenfold! There’s a reason you suffered through your 20s and early 30s not knowing what you’re meant to accomplish in this life. You will go on to do pretty epic shit and inspires others to be fearless.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Kundalini yoga WORKS. It’s a complete reboot for your body that works on the cellular level and is completely different than other forms of yoga. It keeps me healthy, grounded and focused. It’s not so much that no one agrees with me, more so, not enough people know about this powerful technology just yet to carry us through this information overload Aqurian age that we are in.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Subscribe to HARO (Help A Reporter Out) and scan those daily emails for media opportunities and pitch reporters if you fit their story criteria. This is an EXCELLENT way to create backlinks for your company and get organic, editorial press coverage for free in quality publications. I’ve had much early success through this site and religiously scan it daily for media opportunities.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
A new strategy I just recently started doing: Being active daily on Instagram for at least 20 minutes each day, by following #kidsyoga and #babyyoga and actively commenting under most posts. I get new follows, retail interest and new people looking to partner. It’s great!
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
One failure was trusting someone to manufacture our first round of harem pants in India. It was a massive failure and cost me time, money and resources. I got through it and finally got the correct pants, several months late and over budget. I’m convinced the universe was screaming at me to produce in the U.S. moving forward!
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Hair ties that don’t stretch or break, so I don’t have to keep buying new ones at the drugstore! Someone better take this, or this is going to be my next business venture!
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Recently signed up to be a vendor at a Baby Expo in Brooklyn and it was pretty affordable (just over $100). I know this is a great investment, given the conscious Brooklyn parenting crowd who will be in attendance!
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I love Shopify, the e-commerce/web platform that I use to host my website on. I love Shopify because I can go in and make updates to my website whenever I want and they also have a secure payment portal, so I can run my e-commerce business with confidence. They also have 24/7 phone support to help me with troubleshooting my website, which is huge.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“The Lean Startup” – at least read the cliff notes.
What is your favorite quote?
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.” –Diane von Furstenberg
Key learnings:
• Be nimble enough early on to try a lot of different things. For Sat Nam babe, it’s been all about getting more active on Instagram and identifying smart partnership and media opportunities that don’t cost money, to help us create a brand that people want to support.
• The fire within you needs to be there. Launching a company is no joke and you better believe in your company and its potential when people don’t believe in you.
• Entrepreneurship involves a ton of self-discipline. It’s easy to get side tracked, but knowing the key big goals you want to accomplish helps keep you on track.
Connect:
www.satnambabe.com
Sat Nam babe on Instagram: Instagram @SatNambabe
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.