As the times change, so do the styles we dress our babies in. When little blue bears were common place for baby boys, that is being replaced with a Rolling Stones t-shirt. Psycho Baby is on top of the shift in these styles as they continue to stock their store, online and offline, with a variety of unique and fun items for your little one. From baby to toddler, Psycho Baby has almost everything you could possibly need for a one-stop unique shopping experience.
Anyone interested in breaking into the baby niche needs something good to help them stand out, or else they might sink. Marlo Hoffman and Lisa Starbuck not only managed to find their specific niche in this category, but have kept their business running for approximately 5 years now.
What is Psycho Baby and how long have you been in business?
Psycho Baby is the one-stop style shop for cool, crazy kids’ stuff! We carry hip clothes, funky shoes, unique toys and books, Great Gifts, and rockin’ accessories for kids newborn to age eight and the parents who love ’em! Having everything all together in our two boutiques is not only great fun for the kids, but it makes it super easy for parents to shop for gifts and their own kids, while friends ‘unfamiliar with the joys of diapers and wipes’ easily pick a theme and run with it to create Great Gifts! We carefully select our cool, crazy kids’ stuff especially for the funkiest, funniest and most honest people we know- the kids who inspire us daily!
Our brick and mortar store opened its doors in Chicago’s hip Bucktown shopping district in 2003 and psychobabyonline.com successfully followed soon thereafter.
What inspired your business and the name you chose?
Our friendship was the inspiration for Psycho Baby. When we met, we got to talking about being Moms and realized we had so much in common, especially the highest regard for the happy chaos that is parenthood! The love of the happy chaos is the ‘spirit’ behind our storefront and the online. Our children in their angelic moments, their naughty moments and all those moments in between, are a constant inspiration to us, and our store truly is an ode to families everywhere! We have 5 kids between our two households, and our dream was to bring all this awesome stuff-practical, fun, silly, rock, sweet, retro- to one place to make it easy and fun for families and friends to shop all together. It’s a time saver in this busy world, as well as a fun family experience, and, honestly, it is better than we ever even dreamed it could be because of our cool clients!
The name “Psycho Baby” comes from the very beginnings of our friendship and a situation every parent is probably very familiar with! We were acquaintances, and we would set dinner plans for us and our husbands to get together, and then right as we were about to leave, one of us would have a seriously melting-down, purple faced human on the floor crying that resembled the sweet babe we gave birth to (sort of!). When we called to reschedule, only one word came to mind- and that was, “Psycho Baby!” When it came time to name our business, Psycho Baby just felt like the right fit!
How many products do you have within your stores? What are some examples of the brands/products that can be found?
Lots and lots of products! We’d have to say its near 1,000 different types at this point. Some of our favorite lines include our own exclusive clothing line, the Psycho Baby Brand, Amber Hagen, Appaman, Brio, C&C California, Converse, Cotton Caboodle, Diaper Dude, Deglingos, Fleurville, Hi Ho Batik, Hooter Hiders, Kingsley, Kaos, Me In Mind, Melissa and Doug, Plan, Rockabye Baby, Sourpuss, Ugly Dolls, and Vans. The most popular “trends” we’re seeing for Fall Winter 2008 are: rock n roll tees and toys, retro tees and toys, superheroes, and all things cupcake!
What are some of the differences you’ve seen between your physical store and your online one? What are some of the similarities they have?
The real difference between psychobabyonline.com and the Psycho Baby brick and mortar is that the online is virtual and has the benefit of being open 24 hours a day all year long! When we began to think about starting a web-based business, we were all seasoned online shoppers, and had clear likes and dislikes about the virtual shopping experience. Unanimously, we all moved towards figuring out how to translate the happiness and joy felt in our brick and mortar to the online. We even named it the ‘weboutique!” When clients log on to psychobabyonline.com, they can feel the human connection from start to finish, and that is sometimes missing from the online shopping experience. From how we wrap our cool, crazy kids’ stuff to how our team communicates with clients via email and phone to the entire presentation (with a surprise in every box) we strive to make the online as friendly, knowledgeable and full of personality as our team at the brick and mortar store. We feel so blessed to have a large and swiftly growing group of clients online, and we want them to know that each time they visit our web store, that there are people on the other end of the laptop that really care how they’re doing and are thankful that they have chosen us!
Have either of you always planned to go into business? What was your motivation to take that step?
We did each both have business plans for different ideas that were brewing until we met and decided that Psycho Baby was where we wanted to be! We both share that old-fashioned entrepreneurial feeling and we are alike and vastly different as well. Once we started tossing ideas around, we were full-steam ahead and Psycho Baby was born! We couldn’t be happier about the choices we have made to get us here- we went from best friends to (best friends and) business partners and are still challenging and supporting each other to make this the coolest, craziest endeavor yet!
Were there any mistakes that seemed to come up during the growth of your Psycho Baby? How were you able to handle them and what did you learn from the experiences?
The mistake we learned from the most was allowing others’ opinions of who we were to filter into our business. When we opened, the dichotomy between items was intense and our concept was so bold that it created this vibrant and positive burst of style. As we grew rapidly, we’d be offered opinions on who we were and what we could do (all of them great and valid in their own rights) and we tried to incorporate these suggestions into the business. Some of it worked and some of it didn’t, but ultimately, we felt the process weakened the vibrant nature of what Psycho Baby was and is. The next season, we went out to find the things that brought that cool, crazy feeling back. That year really gave us more resolve and belief in ourselves, and we wouldn’t trade a bit of it. It is the combination of where we as partners see eye to eye, and when we have different style opinions that makes Psycho Baby what it is. When it comes to the Psycho Baby, the Moms do know best!
What kind of experiences in every day life were you able to bring into the business process and what has owning a business taught you that can be applied to your life in general?
We really do believe that every experience in life builds on the previous- everything learned is useful, and can be applied everywhere. That said, we had enough belief in ourselves to start Psycho Baby to begin with, and that, in turn, has, of course, been translated to our parenting as well. Self-confidence and a belief in yourself and your ideas is something that we try to instill in our children, but also something that our children amaze us with daily in their brave quests for knowledge, funky fashion choices and resolute empathy for others. That then feeds back into the business, like a perfect circle. An independently owned business is also like a family, and we encourage our team members to develop ideas and see them through and try our best to give them the tools they need to be successful, as we would within our own families. As co-owners, it is easy to see that valued and happy team members not only see your vision through in everything they do, but also contribute to making it fuller and better with every choice they make.
What separates Psycho Baby from other businesses in the same category as yours?
To a certain extent, there is no one in the kids’ retail market doing what we are doing- our blend of categories and our Great Gifts section are unique to us, and unparalleled. Past our product choices and presentation, we have to offer a true and human connection. Our mission is to provide paramount customer care at Psycho Baby and psychobabyonline.com. We extensively train our team members in the “Psycho Baby ethos” so they are prepared to make great choices that benefit our clients. Gifting is a beautiful process, and in both stores, we strive to keep the gifting experience special. We know everyone is busy- running from one place to the next, and shopping for the kids has to be able to fit into clients’ overly-packed schedules. Our customer care program seeks to make time spent shopping easy and fun. In our brick and mortar, we’ve had many kids sad when they leave, and that speaks to the positive experience they have shared with their family within our walls. It is a blessed occasion. Online, we wanted to translate that spirit from our store, and so no plastic sleeves and unsigned print outs for us! Everything ordered has been touched, folded, wrapped and sent by our team that loves to problem solve along the way so clients can relax and have a party at their door when their choices arrive!
Is there one specific form of advertising you’ve found that has really helped your business and how has it helped?
We advertise in different publications and online for our boutiques and we love the different venue choices that allow us to show ourselves to broad audiences. We would have to say, though, that the type of advertising we have benefited from the most is word-of-mouth from our clients. It speaks volumes to have a personal “endorsement” from happy clientele, and we are so thankful, both to be doing what we are doing, and also to have confirmation from our wonderful clients that we have been successful in making their day brighter.
What kind of recommendations do you have for someone interested in entering the baby/children product business?
Have lots of coffee on hand- just kidding! Stay true to your idea. If you are excited enough about your thought to dive into the world of being an entrepreneur, even in the harder times when you aren’t sure what the best choice would be, be sure to have the faith in yourself to see your vision through fully! It is the best advice we could give anyone just starting out: stay true to yourself!Have lots of coffee on hand- just kidding! Stay true to your idea. If you are excited enough about your thought to dive into the world of being an entrepreneur, even in the harder times when you aren’t sure what the best choice would be, be sure to have the faith in yourself to see your vision through fully! It is the best advice we could give anyone just starting out: stay true to yourself!