Make Your Own Baby Food - Healthy Times - Meet Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers
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| I have two guests today (two sisters) - Joan Ahlers and Cheryl Tallman. Sisters Joan & Cheryl started Fresh Baby out of innovation and need. Joanie already had 4 children when, across the country (USA), her sister Cheryl needed advice and help with her first. The answer was Fresh Baby. This company develops and sells products which help busy mothers to make feeding their babies easier. The product line includes homemade baby food kits, baby food cookbooks, baby food and breast milk storage trays, breastfeeding reminders, and child development diaries. Fresh Baby’s products have proved to be a huge success in the market place. | |
| Due to its success, the company has received huge media coverage in a number of parenting magazines. In 2004 ‘Entrepreneur Magazine’ selected Fresh Baby as the company to watch.Read and get inspired. | |
| How did you come up with the idea for your business? | |
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Joan: “Our mom was a natural mom, we were all breastfed and she always encouraged us to eat healthy foods. I remember when I started my first baby on real food, I bought a few jars of baby food at the store came home and opened a jar of peas, only to find that it smelled horrible and the color was just nasty – I assumed it was bad. I tossed it and opened another only to discover the same thing. I picked up the phone and called mom for her advice. She told me it would be easy to make my own baby food, just steam and puree fresh produce. This simple suggestion sent me on my path to make baby food for all four of my children and I got better at it with each one.” |
| Cheryl: “Joanie had four kids and by the time I had my first one, she had a whole system for making baby food. I was a working mom in New York City and I was like no way, I do not have time.But she gave me a 5 minute pitch on how healthy fresh food was, how easy it was to make baby food and that it took less than 30 minutes a week. So I trusted my little sister and I was so surprised – she was right! I came from a marketing background and thought, ‘why don’t we package something so other people can do this too?’ People do know that fresh is best, they just might not know how to do it or how little time it takes. This system is so easy any parent can do it, and I’m not supermom! Plus when I saw other parents with kids who struggled with weight problems, I noticed that they did not make their own food, but rather did the jarred thing, and made a lot of un-healthy and processed food choices for the kids. Our pediatrician agreed with me that Fresh was best, and that if I kept it up, my kid would be a much better off. He was right on the money, and speaking of money it was a lot cheaper to make our own food as well.”Together Joanie and I started Fresh Baby so that all parents can have the option to make their baby food and enjoy all the benefits without having to re-invent the system for doing it.” | |
| What was your main motivation behind starting your own business? | |
| Our main motivations for starting Fresh Baby were and still are to make a difference and to make money. Fresh Baby is 100% committed to supporting new parents in reducing their child’s risk of obesity by promoting the development of healthy eating habits from the first bite of solid foods. We design high-quality, simple-to-use products that enable new parents to be successful. | |
| Achieving work life balance is always tough for a mother with a business. How do you plan your day? What are your time management tips for mothers with businesses who are trying to juggle work and home lives? |
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Starting a new business is like having another baby. It requires a significant amount of attention. Balancing family and business is a key and finding time for both is difficult. Here are few time management tips that I have found useful: |
| Plan for the week, not the day: I find it easier to plan my week, not my day. There is just not enough time in day to accomplish much, and you never know what might happen in a given day to prevent you from accomplishing your goals and activities. If find it much simpler and less stressful to you set goals and activities for the week, there is a lot more time for accomplishment. | |
| Be Flexible: In today’s virtual workplace, there are no standard hours. In fact, some companies encourage employees to work when they are most productive. The important thing is to get the job done. I apply this same approach to managing the balance of family and work. I’ll work late at night to write our newsletter or test recipes, but I don’t write my newsletter instead of reading a bedtime book to my son. | |
| Set Family Time Priorities: I set priorities for family time and respect it. For example, I enjoy and appreciate family meals, they are a family priority. I leave my schedule open for shopping, preparing and enjoying family meals every day. If someone wants to schedule an appointment during this time, I simply say that I am booked and I promptly suggest an alternative time. | |
| Accept help from your spouse, partner or caregivers: Mom’s who start their own businesses also want to be “Super Mom”. This does not mean that you need to do it ALL by yourself. My husband picks our son up from school everyday – my son loves the “daddy” time. I gladly accept his help, because it gives me time to get my work done. It also makes my husband feel good too. This approach is good for the whole family. | |
| A lot of parents complain about their child being a picky eater. Have you got any tips for them? | |
| All toddlers are picky eaters. It may surprise you to find out that this behavior has very little to do with the taste of food and is mostly about wanting control a situation. Isn’t it always about control? Most toddlers learn very early that eating is very easy to control and it is likely to get a response out of you. This makes it fun (for your kid, not you)! Here are the two big challenges for you. |
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| #1: DO NOT give in to this behavior and allow your child to make food choices | |
| #2: DO NOT begin offering bland, unhealthy foods at meals as a replacement for healthy, flavorful foods.This can be a difficult time, but it is “just a phase” and with a few strategies you can be successful in keeping your toddler on the path to being a healthy eater. | |
| This can be a difficult time, but it is “just a phase” and with a few strategies you can be successful in keeping your toddler on the path to being a healthy eater. Here are few tips to help you out: | |
| Act at the first signs: Picky eating habits form quickly and they will be hard to break. The best strategy is to prevent the habits from forming. At the very first signs of finicky behavior, be prepares to respond. | |
| Include them: Children are more likely to eat something that they have helped make, so get your children involved in preparing meals. You can also take them shopping and teach them how to find and select foods. Involving your kids in making decisions reinforces that you care about their opinion and want to make things that they like. Instead of asking “Do you want broccoli for dinner?” offer choices like “Do you want broccoli or cauliflower for dinner?”. Simple choices make your child feel like they are the one in control. | |
| Set Realistic Goals: It is not likely that your child will eat a whole serving of food that they claim not to like. Instead start off with small goals of one bite and work your way up from there. Be consistent, firm, and don’t give up: Use the same tactics at each and every meal. Remind your child of the goal and offer plenty of encouragement. Don’t give in to stubbornness. | |
| Don’t rush meals: It is quite likely that your child is a slow eater, and this is a good habit to encourage. Offer your child plenty of time to eat a meal. | |
| Praise: Even if it is just one nibble, congratulate your child. A little nibble is a big deal. | |
| Be a good role model: I can’t say this enough! It is plain and simple. You cannot expect to raise children that eat a good variety of healthy foods if you do not. This fact goes for all adults who sit at the table with your children. Your toddler learns from watching you. | |
| And a final word of advice - try to be patient some kids get through this phase easier than others. | |
| How can your products help a mother? Can you give some examples/information to our readers? |
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We all know that homemade fresh food for your baby is best, but who has the time to figure it out? This is what Fresh Baby does. Our signature product is the So Easy Baby Food Kit provides a simple, hassle-free system for making baby food in less them 30 minutes a week. We’ve done all the time-consuming research and eliminated all the guess work. We have made it “So Easy to be successful”! We get letters from customers all the time. Here are two that came in this week: |
| “First of all, thank you for your book and all the heart and work that went into creating your products. I never made my own baby food for my 1st child, now 3 years old, but I am now for my 2nd child, now 9 mos. old. Thanks to your clear and simple book teaching me how. A fellow mom friend introduced me to your book as she was preparing all her baby’s meals from the very beginning. She showed me your book as well as some others, but I found yours to be the simplest, and most do-able.” |
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| “Thanks again. And I did want to say I have truly enjoyed the recipe book. It is quite easy to follow. My mother-in-law’s friend distributes “healthy” products to various stores and when we were out there visiting my in-laws she gave me the book and a tray. I never thought I would make my own baby food, let alone breastfeed, but it has worked out so nicely. At nine months my son is busy exploring everything and truly enjoys each of his meals. I am definitely happy that I decided to go naturally with everything; I am blessed with a very happy, content son. Thanks so much.” |
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| In business, what are the most valuable lessons you have learned over time? |
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| My husband’s favorite animal is the turtle, because he never gets anywhere without sticking his neck out. The biggest lesson that I have learned is that as business owner I must be a turtle. | |
| Finally, your five keys to success? | |
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| Sites Of Interest | |
| http://www.freshbaby.com | |
| This interview was published on 30th May 2007 | |
| To read more stories about women in the baby care products business click Natural Baby Care Products | |
| Visit Fresh Baby website to get more information about the products that makes making healthy baby food easy. | |
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[...] accounting101 wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptOffer your child plenty of time to eat a meal. Praise: Even if it is just one nibble, congratulate your child. A little nibble is a big deal. Be a good role model: I can’t say this enough! It is plain and simple. … [...]
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