Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christal Brodziak. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Christal, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
It started at a young age when my parents ran their own businesses when I started school age. I always helped from a young age and wanted to do more help more as I got older, taking over roles like payroll, deposits, and ordering. When it came time to choose a career in high school, nursing had intrigued me, with the humanitarian side of me. As I was in University and taking on my first jobs it became clear the role was less about what they taught you about and more about doing basic care. Then there were roles such as labour and delivery and postpartum that I barely got any education about and was expected to support. I saw these families delivering babies and saw the disappointment and lack of support they were offered but I didn’t know what to do. After years of hospital nursing, and after a tragic event in my family, I realized life is too short to do what does not bring you joy. So I went on a whim and applied for a nursing job that was in Public health, more targeted towards helping, educating and supporting families. I got the job and that is where my passion for infant feeding began. I started to take courses towards to support infant feeding and applied for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant exam in 2019. I was expecting my third baby at the time, and really found support lacking and especially in small rural communities like mine that had to travel 2-2.5 hours to see a Lactation consultant and receive support. Once I passed, I was on my 3rd maternity leave and started my online business. Then a. week later Covid hit, and my business had to pivot to strictly online, which I felt really prepared for with some courses I had already been taking and the extensive amount of in person assessments I had been doing already. I came to realize very quickly that I could be successful in this business and people were reaching out far and wide, all over the world for support. Then I unexpectedly, got pregnant with my 4th baby. My business flourished as I was sharing my struggle to feed with him. When I was nearing the end of my maternity leave I rented a small cost office space and started to bring in products that families were needing to order that took like a month to receive. I still wasn’t making what it would take to leave my nursing career, so I eventually had to go back. I went back part time, and it became an issue with conflict of interest that I was holding a private practice and working for a big organization. That’s when it really fuelled me to open my own space. I had already been offering these services and was getting a lot of action and attraction. This is where the Nest was born, I needed to support expecting Mom’s and Mom’s with babies come out of their Covid shell and unite. I needed to offer health related products to remove toxins from their homes as they raised their babies, I needed to offer grab and go nourishing foods to support Mother’s, and coffee there always needed to be coffee. So I called up the one person that owned the one place I had envisioned it to be and she told me it was for sale tomorrow, I applied for funding, got the building and now I am supporting Mom’s and creating the postpartum village to support Mom’s. I am currently looking to add a piece of non for profit so that we can create a group gathering space and do more offerings, bring in practitioners and do individual sessions. And we are also franchising to bring this experience to more communities, especially rural where supports are lacking. I’ve always wanted to create the city experience in a rural community!
Christal, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a wife and Mom of 4 children. I started my career as a Nurse then branched in to being a Lactation Consultant which ultimately ended up ending my career as a Nurse because I wasn’t going to be able to help families. Fed up with the big organization I quit my nursing career and opened a coffee shop The Nest Cafe & Boutique. We specialize in creating a village around the postpartum experience. So we are MUCH MORE than just coffee. We have nourishing grad and go food, homemade sourdough baking, offer to go meals for business nights. We have a full line of natural locally sourced products that help remove toxins from our lifestyle. We have a seating area, so many people can sit over coffee and connect. We then have all the specialty infant feeding items that I source as a Lactation Consultant and the necessary items to raise a baby without the excess like the big box stores. I also offer weekly Baby Cafe where Mom’s can connect and we do sharing circle, breath work and have a guest speaker that discusses a topic related to Motherhood and infants. We offer group classes or 1:1 sessions for these practitioners to work in the space. We are currently organizing a non for profit section so that we can create a group space to gather, have a practitioner room for 1:1 sessions, possibly create a kid play zone and expand our kitchen space to do more cooking group sessions, like making solids, becoming a human donor milk hub, and doing group cooking classes. Creating community around the postpartum so that Mother’s can feel heard, seen and understood in their experiences to reduce the risk of postpartum depression and overall create healthier experiences because postpartum doesn’t end, we are all postpartum no matter the age of our babies! Bringing more support for Dad’s and grandparents I could also see coming in the future. The Nest Cafe & Boutique is open for franchising and we are looking for women with a similar passion. With a complimentary gift to share to expand our network and community. I believe that each Nest will be a unique experience, and just because you’ve seen one doesn’t mean you’ve seen them all.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I always thought you had to have a million dollars to start a business. But when I got serious and was working in alignment to my passion I realized it’s just a play on numbers. I started at the bank, where I had to put together numbers that I required for financing. Which then lead in to creating a business plan saying how I am going to do it. Once I had my request clear, I asked the bank. They helped support me with the mortgage for my building and purchasing of machines that would have a serial number. I then submitted my business plan to Community Futures, who then took a look at the business plan and suggested I apply for the women in business loan to fund my working capital, get product on the shelves, buy tables and chairs. I never really used my personal money to start the business, I just had assets. Which then filing the paper work to being an incorporated business allowed for some of the money to go towards my shareholders loan.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Early on in my Lactation business I took multiple social media/marketing courses. I knew my reach as a Lactation Consultant was worldwide so I wanted to ensure I knew what I was doing. I continue to see that as an important asset and do continuing personal development and also try to educate my staff on social media as it is a key tool to being seen. I’ve also expanded in to email marketing, obtaining product reviews. I spent a lot of time figuring out my pain points as I went through the Motherhood journey and creating content to be relatable or offering a solution. Some people feel like you need to have a certain following in order to create social media and I believe you start creating relatable content early so that you build your social media. I honestly feel like as you grow and are consistent you don’t need to be as consistent anymore but ensuring you are still offering value. In a product based business it has been a different game for my and understanding how to share a story and not sell. It’s almost like I have to retake the classes with that target in mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thenestcafeboutique.com
- Instagram: @thenestcafeboutique
- Facebook: @thenestcafeboutique
Image Credits
@traceeelizabethphotography