We were lucky to catch up with Heather Roberts recently and have shared our conversation below.
Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
After falling ill in 2017 and not being able to get a diagnosis for over 8 months, my life was turned upside down. Previously, I had been a successful business owner, but when I began having medical episodes that rendered me in excruciating pain and bedridden, I was forced to reevaluate what was important.
At that time it became clear that I, as the mother, held the energy for the family. When I went down, the whole family was vulnerable. My children felt the stress of the uncertainty we faced, my husband felt helpless and I was not able to be there to do the things they depended upon me to do. You see, there are a whole subset of women in the world like me. Women who need help when a crisis strikes. Simple help, like someone to do the laundry or cook a meal. These women are not wealthy enough to be able to hire the help they need in a crisis and not indigent enough to be able to qualify for many governmental services.
I made a commitment to myself that if (when) I got better, I would create an organization that served this subset of society.
Unfortunately, just starting a 501c3 non profit wouldn’t do. I needed a way to fund it.
During my illness I started experimenting with natural ingredients that would help my pain. I started making bath products from bath bombs, bath salts and soaps and giving them away. When I received requests to purchase these products the idea to create a for profit company that supports the non profit mission was born and Mom Bomb as an ecosystem was created.
These two organizations work together to bring transparency and honesty to both the commerce and philanthropy worlds, helping families relax through our products and the grants we give to families in crisis. We truly believe that being a good corporate citizen requires us to literally put our money where our mouth is. As a result, we donate 100% of our profits to our charity.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Mom Bomb sells all natural, cruelty free, handmade bath and shower products for men, women and children and donate 100% of its profits to charity helping families in crisis.
Consumers are waking up to how powerful they are and how much influence they have over the success or failure of companies. Just look to the recent scandals at Balenciaga, Ulta and Target for evidence. It’s not enough to just sell someone a product – we must display our understanding, care and concern for our clients beyond asking them to make a purchase – we must support them throughout their full parenting journey. In a world where shareholder interests rarely coincide with consumer interests, creating a brand that is truly transparent is more important now than ever.
Combining a for profit entity with a non profit is a new way of doing business, but allows us to truly be mission focused. You see, Mom Bomb exist to help families relax, whether it be through our relaxing, parented products or through the grants we give to families in crisis.
We offer beautiful gifts that truly give twice.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Our Tik Tok has seen some success and honestly, I would credit my daughter who was 16 when we started it. She helped me tell our story in a way that is both authentic and entertaining (a challenge for her Gen X mother!)
Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses
In 2007 I bought Distinctive Homes Magazine. It was a cash/seller financing deal that I was able to renegotiate after the collapse of the real estate market in 2008. The process was pretty smooth – I found the listing on a website for businesses for sale, contacted the seller, had my attorney do the due diligence and closed. The next 3 years I call my character building years as we had to completely digitize the entire organization and pivot in order to provide value in a quickly changing media market.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BuyBombsHelpMom.com
- Instagram: @BuyBombsHelpMoms
- Facebook: Facebook.com/BuyBombsHelpMoms
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buybombshelpmoms/
- Twitter: @buybombshelpmom
- Other: Tik Tok @MomBombCharity