“It’s ok, honey. Two hours of broken sleep is all I need,” said no Mom ever. Some of the most relatable memes out there are the ones about not getting enough sleep and always being tired. But the real deal is when you add a newborn into the mix. That’s an entirely different level of sleeplessness. And if the newborn is, as Lina-Maria likes to call it, a “shitty sleeper”, then let the very tiring, exhaustive games begin. If you’re a mom-to-be and you’re reading this, let us just calm you down right now and tell you there are ways to navigate this scary phase in a much less stressful way. In this blogpost, you are going to learn about Lina-Maria’s story and her life-saving business. So, moms and moms-to-be, keep reading…
The first thing you need to know about Lina (other than the fact that she is an incredibly amiable, sparkly and talented entrepreneur) is that her background is in teaching and psychology. She has always had an interest in mental health and finding ways to deal with life in a healthy way, especially when it comes to children and children behavior. But when Lina got pregnant, there was one little, yet important detail that was making her a tad nervous: the inevitable lack of sleep once the baby arrives. Whilst thinking about what to expect from the puerperium period, she thought, “Uh oh. I can’t be sleep deprived. I NEED sleep. If I don’t sleep well, I’m not good at anything.” So, Lina and her husband did what we all do in a moment of crisis - they turned to Google. They did tons of research, collected information, read a bunch of helpful articles, took classes and learned more than they expected. Whilst gathering all this information, Lina decided to be a pro at her new learnings and became a Certified Holistic Baby and Toddler Sleep Expert. Pretty cool, huh? She realized not all parents knew the stuff she had mastered and it would be so beneficial if they did.
So now let’s talk about her business, Milch & Mond. Lina always wanted to be self-employed and all the ideas she had revolved around the concept of creating a safe space for other people, where they would feel comfortable to come to with their problems, worries, and thoughts and get the help and information they needed. When she had her baby, Livia, Lina had the idea of creating a grown-up space for new parents where they could come sit with their questions, get the assistance they lacked, meet new parents, talk to experts, and why not, do all of this while sipping on some good ol’ wine. With COVID happening at the time, most of Lina’s plan had to start living online first. So, Milch & Mond became a threefold business:
An informative site where you can come to for information.
E-learning classes for new parents to learn about baby sleep and how to prepare for when mom and baby come home.
A festival for parents where they can have access to workshops, talks, food, drinks and companies can also showcase their baby products and services.
When this wonderful business was just an idea, Lina-Maria reached out to Onlychild after seeing us on Adobe Live for help with branding. Lina says that making the decision to hire us helped her not only with committing to moving forward with her project, it also helped her get rid of decision-fatigue. Working with Onlychild helped her focus on a select amount of good options for branding and made her more decisive and confident about carrying out her idea. Because of the work we did, Lina says her work-flow was made easier as now she isn’t overwhelmed with doubt on what templates to use, what colors, what fonts, what and how things should look like. With the brand guidelines Onlychild gave Lina, she has been able to create her own posts and maintain the brand vision for her business, and it looks so damn cute. Check out the company’s Instagram profile here.
Milch & Mond is doing better and better each day and the long-term plan is to take what is now being held locally in Lina’s hometown, to a national level. The idea is to make Milch & Mond a national brand in Germany, focus on e-learning and travel with it to different cities around the country. What Lina likes most about being an entrepreneur so far is the freedom. Freedom to choose, freedom on where to work from, on what to work on and on which days of the week. But the biggest reward so far has been being able to do something where she can see people are being helped. Mothers are getting valuable information that helps them relax and enjoy their postpartum period with less stress and better sleep.
And talking about moms, newborn babies and new businesses, we all know juggling all that is anything but a walk in the park. Maybe a walk in a crowded park, with up and down hills, very hot weather, and carrying seven heavy bags…or something like that. So, about being a new mom and a new entrepreneur at the same time, Lina-Maria had the following advice to give: PICK YOUR BATTLES WISELY. Think about your weak points and don’t be afraid to ask for help or outsource. If someone offers help, don’t say no. Use your contacts, friends and experts that are out there and choose where to invest your own time and resources. Lina could’ve created her own design, but she wouldn’t have been satisfied, it would have taken her triple that amount of time, energy and money. So she found a company she trusted and outsourced it. (Don’t mean to brag, but we are pretty damn reliable). Pick your battles, that is the essence to running a business and family life, and if you have a “shitty sleeper”, go get sleep coaching. You don’t have to do it all. Always consider what you can invest in now so you can see it pay back later.
And on that note, we hope you have a relaxed good-night sleep.
Sweet dreams,
Onlychild
CHECK OUT OUR WORK FOR MILCH UND MOND HERE
