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Great Expectations Maternity
Building a Community Around Your Boutique

These days, many businesses, especially niche businesses, are not simply opening their doors to sell product, but they are also offering more free or low cost services to their customers. By doing so, the customer is being presented a total "experience", not just a shopping trip. In the maternity boutique business, this might mean adding some classes or events for new mothers, fathers and even grandparents.

When I opened Great Expectations Maternity in February 2006, my vision was to make my shop a community and to offer networking opportunities for other specialist such as lactation consultants, doulas, pediatricians and even massage therapists. I began by creating a "networking wall" where professionals could leave cards, brochures and flyers about what services they can offer a pregnant or nursing mother. A year later, we frequently get calls from women as far as fifty miles away seeking help for various issues or problems and it is satisfying for us to be able to give them the information they need and to connect them with professionals who can help them.

The next step to build my vision was to offer classes and hold events. I began by brainstorming topic ideas and contacting local professionals, all of whom were more than willing to donate their time and expertise. They benefit from the classes by reaching out to potential clients and as business owners we get women into the store that might have been hesitant to venture in otherwise. And attendees leave with valuable information that will help them be better parents. To create a comfortable environment, it was important for me to have a cozy area in which to hold the classes. I am fortunate to have a large space so I set up a comfortable sofa and chairs. The sofa is so comfortable that people often say that they don't want to get up after the class ends!

After a year of classes, it is easy to say that the most popular on is a non-certification Infant/Toddler CPR class. We provide the class for free because our local Health Services Department generously donates their time to teach. While not leading to certification, it is a great way to learn basic life a saving techniques until help arrives. Check with your local Red Cross or Health Services Department to see if they would be willing to teach the class for a small or no fee. A class on babywearing, which is using a carrier or sling to hold your baby, has also been very popular. NINO.org (Nine In, Nine Out) is a great non-profit source to find experts on babywearing. We've also offered prenatal classes with local pediatricians; classes on taking care of yourself during pregnancy such as chiropractors talking about back care and even therapists talking about how to take care of mental health, especially post-partum; yoga classes and post-partum Pilates (if you have the space) among other topics. We've also started a weekly New Mom's Group where there is no real agenda; it's simply an opportunity for other local new moms to meet and chat about anything from local news, celebrity gossip and of course, about their babies and experiences as new moms. It's been great fun to watch the class grow and to hear the women comment on how nice it is to have something to get them out of the house every week!

Ask your customers what they would be interested in coming to learn abut. Also, deciding whether to charge a small fee or to offer classes for free, depends on your community and what people are willing to pay. You may find that a small fee is incentive enough for people to follow through and commit to attending the class.

The important aspect to holding classes is to offer them consistently either weekly or monthly. The first few meetings, you may find that no one attends. But as they start to see that it is held regularly, they will begin to venture out to give it a try. Send press releases to local newspapers announcing the classes and times. They are often willing to run the listing for free in their community events section. You may be able to get press coverage out of it as well if the event is new and different in your community. Many radio stations will even make an announcement if the class provides a free service to their listeners. And of course, list the classes on your website and in your newsletters or postcards to existing customers. Give a class a few weeks, but if it hasn't started building, it may be time to let it go and try something else.

Offering classes is a great way to give back to your community, but it also helps ring in potential new customers who will tell their friends about your business as well. Your imagination is the limit when creating classes for your area!

Sarah Otto is the owner of Great Expectations Maternity in Glens Falls, NY (www.greatexpectationsmaternity.com) and proud mom of Emma, 2 1/2.