Tell us your name and a bit about your family? When did you become a Mum and to whom?

Hi, I’m Danni and I launched ZaZa’s Storybox earlier this year. My aim is to inspire more families to have fun reading to their little one in those precious early years. I am Mummy to a beautiful daughter who is 2 and a gorgeous little boy who has just turned 10 weeks.

 

What’s your business called?

ZaZa’s Storybox. My daughter, Zara, is the inspiration for my business so it seemed only right to name it after her. ZaZa is the name all her special little friends call her.

Can you describe it in one sentence?

Fun, themed Storyboxes for 0-2 years olds containing books and a toy available as one-off gifts or as a subscription to inspire more families to read to their little ones.

 

When did you become a Mumpreneur and what inspired you?

I enjoyed my maternity leave so much that going back to my office job just didn’t appeal anymore. I wanted to be able to spend as much time with Zara as possible because they grow up so quickly. I feel lucky that I was able to have the opportunity to do this and forever grateful. I’ve always wanted to set up my own business and love subscription boxes so when I saw how much my daughter loved books, it gave me the inspiration for ZaZa’s Storybox. The more I looked into it, the more I realised how important reading is in setting the foundations for future development and there are some worrying statistics out there that I quickly became passionate about improving. It makes me sad that 43% of 1 year olds are not being read to every day and that more and more parents are turning to technology instead of snuggling up and reading a bedtime story together.

 

How did you fund your start up?

It didn’t require a huge amount of capital other than some help with my webpage, logo design and stock so I was able to fund it with some inheritance money.

 

How do you manage working around your children?

My daughter loves her daytime nap so that has helped, although I think she might drop that in a few months and my son will be on the move before I know it so I will have to re-think things soon!

 

Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?

No day is the same and as a new startup, the speed at which I progress the business is up to me so some days I don’t do anything and other days I will tick lots off my to-do list! My main priority is spending time with the children so I’m happy laying the foundations and building relationships now so that I can go full steam ahead with the business once they are at school. I try to keep my social media posts regular but other than that my only ‘must-do’ is keep on top of orders and get them to the Post Office – which usually involves a trip to the park to feed the ducks to keep the little ones happy!

 

What challenges have you faced in your business and how have you overcome them?

Time is the obvious challenge that springs to mind. I’ve had to tell myself to be patient with the business and in years to come I’ll miss the days where I was busy multi-tasking with little ones running round my feet! Getting my product in front of my target market has also been more difficult than I anticipated and is taking longer than I had hoped.

 

What’s the best thing about being Mumpreneur?

Being able to be there for Zara and Ashton whilst being able to focus on something for me that I enjoy. I’m my own boss (although it feels like my toddler is the boss at times!) so there is no pressure from anyone but myself to get things done.

 

What are your plans for the future?

I’d love to expand into a wider age group. At the moment I am just focusing on 0-2 year olds as that is when the majority of brain development happens but it would be great to continue providing Storyboxes to little ones as they get older.

 

What advice would you give for someone just starting out in business?

Choose something you are passionate about so that you enjoy doing it even when the sales and uptake are not as high as you anticipated. New businesses take time to embed so don’t put pressure on yourself to be successful overnight. It will take time and determination so don’t give up at the first hurdle!

 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I’m sure there is but my daughter is about to wake up from her nap and the other one wants feeding so it will have to wait for another time! Feel free to contact me though with any questions and I’d love to hear your thoughts on ZaZa’s Storybox.

Http://www.zazastorybox.com
www.instagram.com/zazastorybox
www.facebook.com/zazastorybox