Stephanie Parker and Brett Parker are the co-founders of Sleeping Baby, the successful baby apparel brand that started with the Zipadee-Zip, a swaddle transition product Stephanie created when her daughter wouldn’t sleep through the night. They were on ABC’s hit reality show, Shark Tank, where they received offers from three of the investors. They initially accepted Daymond John’s offer of $200,000 for a 20% stake in the company, but they ended up not taking the investment during the negotiations after filming. Despite turning down Daymond John’s deal, Sleeping Baby still flourished. Five years later, Stephanie and Brett continue to grow their ethically-made, high quality products now sold online across the U.S. and in Europe, Japan, Canada and Mexico.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Anne Beiler founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
When business started difficulties overcame:
“I made something that you have to so and of course I couldn’t keep up. It got pretty intense very quickly in terms of orders which surprised me. So Brett actually came to me and he said the business is going to end before its begun if you don’t get help”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- There’s More to Life Than the Corner Office: The Secret to Total Life Book by Lamar Smith
- EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches Book by Dave Ramsey
Favourite Quote:
- ” Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” Winston Churchill
- “there are three types of commitment in life and it applies to weight loss, marriage, friendship, business, you name it it’s applicable. And the three types of commitment are I will try, I will do my best and I will do whatever it takes. And there is only one that we really live by and that is whatever it takes” Brett’s uncle
Recommended Online Resources:
- Upwork – You can find The Perfect Freelancers for Your Projects! It’s easy and affordable with secure Payments and will help you to increased your productivity
- Fiverr is the world’s largest freelance services marketplace for lean entrepreneurs to focus on growth create a successful business at affordable costs
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“quit talking about it and jump, go and do it, take steps forward every day”…[Listen for More]
More About Stephanie Parker and Brett Parker:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.” William George Jordan, writer/editor
Other Quotes From the Chat with Stephanie Parker and Brett Parker:
- “the types of people, role models that I want around is people that are willing to tell me what I need to hear not what I want to hear”
- “there are so many times when we have made mistakes because of our own short-sightedness, our own failings, our lack of knowledge for that matter but I am also grateful for those failures. I really do feel so grateful for because it’s led us to different places, pass we wouldn’t of gone down had we not failed… Sometimes those lessons need to be learned, sometimes those failures need to happen because they take you to a different level in your business”
- “the only consistent in life is change. And as soon as you can grasp that and have a better understanding that things change and as long as we can move with it move with it I think it affects your attitude I think it affects obviously your direction and how you look at it. I just think thank goodness there is change, a change of scenery, a change of life, a season, it changes and we are not always successful but I know it’s a season and it’s a change. We’ve got to make a few changes, the market changes, all of a sudden…”
- “You are only as good as the team that surrounds you”
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