{Momentrepreneur} Meet Cloth Nappy Cleaner Courtney: "Routine helps a Ton!"

Today meet Courtney, who has set up South Africa’s only cloth nappy cleaning service. She says having a routine of how she deals with her kids and work certainly assists her in putting everything together.

Tell us about yourself, a bit of background.

My name is Courtney Klinkert, I am 29 years old and have 2 precious little boys, aged 2.5 and 13 months. I have been married for 5.5 years and have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I turned a hobby into a small business in 2010 when I started making Christian Jewelry, I opened an online shop and shipped all over the world, this is still a side business I run. www.courtneyschristianjewellery.com . Then after my degree because we moved around a few times it was difficult to keep a steady job- my husband worked on the mines in Mpumalanga and then Limpopo, so I continued with my jewelry and started baking too for friends who became clients.

I absolutely love entertaining and spending time with friends and family at my home.

Then at the end of January I came up with the idea for Baby Bottoms. I’m a cloth mom who sometimes really doesn’t feel like cleaning, stuff and getting my nappies for ready for the next round of use. So I did some research and there is no company offering cloth nappy cleaning here in SA! We also offer a rental service for moms who want to try before they buy.

What were you doing before you started this business?

Once we moved back to Benoni in 2014 I started working with my mom in an accounting and payroll business- Proficient Accounting and Payroll Services (Pty) Ltd- ProfAcc, which I’m still involved in.

Is your business full time or part time and why?

This is currently a part time business as I still work for ProfAcc with my current bookkeeping and payroll clients. I’ll be doing it until Baby Bottoms needs my full attention. We currently only have a few clients as it’s just opened, so I’m able to do both.

How do you juggle the responsibilities of being a mom with your work?

Each day is different, but I think having a routine helps a ton! My oldest son is in a playgroup every morning until 12:30, which gives me the mornings with my other son (who luckily naps like clockwork!) So I have set times where I work and get things done. Sometimes I have days where no work gets done, but it’s just one of those things you deal with when it happens.

I’m also blessed with a wonderful husband and mom who both are willing to help out when needed, whether it’s watching the kids, folding nappies or even making jewelry! I think a strong support system is vital to any successful parent and business owner.

Do you have a business plan? If so, can you share a bit about your strategy to make it successful?

I have a vague outline of a business plan 😉 Yes I do have a plan, the first step is creating awareness about Baby Bottoms- what we do, where we’re based etc and I’m using a lot of social media such as Facebook and Instagram to help with that. I have also signed up to be at a few markets that are coming up. I think the first few months are going to be the hardest, but once we’re more known and have more people using our service I’m hoping that things will settle a bit.

How do you get clients/ market yourself?

Right now I’m using Facebook as a marketing tool and I have a website that has a lot more information about Baby Bottoms on it. Currently clients are coming in the form of friends and through them word of mouth.

What’s your biggest challenge right now?

Right now I’m faced with still growing my client base in order to make this a full time business.

Did you need a lot of money to start off? And how long was it before you made a profit?

The start up was a reasonable investment, I purchased a few hundred nappies for potential rental clients but from here, once I have the clients the money I’ll need will just be to grow my stock levels.