CD WAHMs - please give me your thoughts on starting a diaper business

[MittensKittens]

I know some of you sew diapers for a living, or at least sell them. Please share your experiences with me. I am seriously thinking about trying to start a CD business here in Serbia and try and get Serbia on the CD wagon! Cloth diapers are used by almost nobody here, and hardly anyone even knows what modern CDs look like. Nonetheless, I think it is possible to sell them here, with some good marketing.

What do you think I need to do to get this started? I already sew my own dipes (along with using bought ones). I mostly use recycled materials right now, so that would have to change . I am aiming to produce a dipes that work but will turn out cheap enough for this market. Starting with a website seems easiest, but how do you market your product?

I would really, really appreciate any thoughts that may be relevant to this.

TIA

[Lola'smommy]

I am also getting ready to open a cloth diaper store. I don't plan on making my own though. As far as marketing goes, I think you need to start with some business cards that you have on hand to pass out whenever you run into someone who is expecting or has little babies. You can check with your local hospitals and birthing centers to see if they have "goodies" that they send home with new mothers and include your business card in there. Any local baby boutiques or stores that would be willing to have your cards available to be pick up by their customers and you can pass out their cards as well since most likely you will be sharing customers. You do need an online presence so that people can look you up and find out what you offer, but in the beginning I'd think "word of mouth" is going to drum up most of your business.
You should absolutely give it a try because there is really not that much to lose! Good luck!!

[MittensKittens]

nak

Thanks for your answer. What brands do you plan to carry? Are you doing your own website or will you pay to outsource that? Are you planning on having an actual store or just a virtual one? I would like to sell slings and related items too, to broadens things a bit. If I thought there would be any chance that ppl here might pay $25 a go for a diaper, I'd like to stock BM but I don't see that happening.

Anyone with tips where to get materials cheap in bulk?

[Ifluffedthree]

If there is a need and an interest you should have a market. Web is the least investment route to take. You should first figure out exactly what role you are going to take.

IMO it is much easier to be a retailer buying and targeting a market than to be a manufacturer that has their hands involved in every aspect of buying materials, finding sources, advertising, quality control, finding their niche market, etc.

For me, as an artist -- I could not take the route of retailer-- my product needs to be of my own OOAK creations, even if it means a smaller more personal market.