Entrepreneur Mom; Once Upon a Franchise
By Lynn Blum
I began my career back when working moms were snagging lots of “first” titles. I was the “first” woman sales representative for Gerber baby food—a not-so-glamorous gig that involved driving from store to store to make sure our products were properly stocked and displayed. I was pregnant with my first son, Ben, so the sore feet, swollen ankles and peculiar looks from male coworkers and customers just added to the charm of it all. Luckily, the job was a thread that led me to a business franchise idea that eventually spawned some 500 stores throughout North America—and allowed me to live the very comfortable beachfront life I now enjoy.
The idea came to me while I was trying to figure out what to do with all the samples I had around the house. One of the perks of working for Gerber (besides the company car—a Ford Thunderbird) was tons of free products: everything from Onesies and stuffed animals to baby bottles and training pants. It was more than I could ever use, so I hauled much of it to a suburban Chicago resale shop, which paid me for my samples. I used the money to buy secondhand clothes for my son, including a tiny Izod polo shirt I couldn’t have otherwise afforded. I was inspired, and while I was reading bedtime stories to my young son, the perfect name for a children’s resale shop popped into my head: Once Upon A Child.
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