Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Koludrovic.
Mary, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Like most, I’m busy – but want to capture life’s important milestones. For the past ten years, I had the privilege of being an oncology social worker. Witnessing life and death has provided me a perspective that’s hard to put into words. When patients were nearing the end of life, we’d work together to identify what was most important to them. Without hesitation, the overwhelming majority responded: “My Kids. My Family.”
The idea for Time Snap was inspired by a wall calendar of a french lady eating a cookie in my mother’s kitchen. No joke! With my first little one running around, the idea of creating this product popped in my head. I sat on the idea for a while, moved, had another child on the way and got to work like a “mom on a mission!” I literally didn’t take no for an answer during the product development stage. I went from place, to place, to place until I found a way to create the product in a quality manner at a price that made sense. One step led me to the next but there were about 100 “dead-ends.” Looking back, I don’t know how I pushed through all those, “no’s.” With zero business background and little knowledge on manufacturing – I just kept going. It’s something I really have never done before and one of the greatest personal accomplishments. I don’t know what it was inside me that kept me going but I somehow did it. Also, I didn’t tell anyone outside my husband, my mom and my friend’s husband who was helping me navigate the manufacturing world during the product development stage.
How I got to where I am now – you just keep doing the best you can each day. Balancing motherhood, three children under five and a business is no joke. You learn what works, what doesn’t and adapt to each new experience.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it’s been the biggest learning curve! The first two years hardest. The year of product development was hard and then the first year after I launched was even harder. As a small business owner, it’s just you. You are your own boss and I am company of one. You have to manage your own expectations and it’s a mental game. It’s kind of like dating – you need to go through all four seasons to get a feel for things. The first year I felt so much pressure. Now I know what works, what doesn’t and how to manage my OWN expectations as I run a small business while caring for three children under five.
The fear of failure is a big hurdle. It feels safer to not do things in life but I would say once I got over it and went for it – there was no stopping me from creating this product. I remember that I was at what I thought was “my final manufacturing company” and after months of work, they came back to me and told me it wasn’t possible. I remember telling a guy on the phone that while I wasn’t happy to hear they couldn’t make it work, I knew there was a way and I was going to keep pushing through. I wasn’t at all disappointed, even though I wasted months of work and effort. I said thank you, and I moved on. The next company I contacted was the “one!” It was an incredible feeling on the day we finally printed my product. A day I will never forget. All the hard work was worth it.
Time Snap Shop – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Time Snap Shop is the quickest and cutest way to capture milestones. We sell photo boards for babies milestones age 0-12 and kids first and last day of school from pre-school to high school. With the simple turn of a few hidden wheels Time Snap makes it easy to take great pictures you’ll want to keep and share with family and friends, without the hassle of stickers, custom onesies that might not fit, or messy chalkboards.
We also have a blog on death-dying, motherhood and other topics.
Our mission to support “Grace Giving:”
https://www.timesnapshop.com/pages/mary-on-a-mission
I’m most proud of the fact that this product very much has a full circle meaning to it. It’s not just a photo board, it’s about quickly capturing life’s special moments and getting back to the living. We are also a brand with a story and meaning behind it. We are the only product that allows you to capture the milestone and the date on which that milestone occurred. You will never not look back and forget when this was. You will always be able to remember the date too. Do you remember when photos used to have the date printed on them – in a way, this is like a, “Time Stamp”, you will always remember the date.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, success is doing something that makes you unfordable. I didn’t know this a the time but business is very much about overcoming vulnerabilities. I feel successful figured out a way to create Time Snap, learning all the aspects of the business, following my idea though until the end and then learning to cope with the challenges of a small business. As a small business owner with no partners, I had to learn to get over the fact that nobody but me is going to figure out the challenges. It’s all doable but it’s very much a mindset that you bring to your store, your daily challenges and daily struggle from product development to launch to business growth.
Pricing:
- Age milestone boards and ‘GO to School Boards’: $29.99
- Name Personalization: $4.99
- Milestone Baby Stickers: $8.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.timesnapshop.com
- Email: mary@timesnapshop.come
- Instagram: @timesnapshop
- Facebook: @timesnapshop
Photographed by Thomas | © 2018 TK Photography | www.tkphotographychicago.com
Photographed by Thomas | © 2018 TK Photography | www.tkphotographychicago.com
Image Credit:
Lindsey Monroe
TK photography
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