We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Busman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
It was 2017, and I was near the end of my second surrogacy journey. I was out to dinner with my family and the intended parents to celebrate my birthday. At dinner the intended mother, who is also an IVF doctor in Los Angeles, CA, asked me if I was interested in starting my own surrogacy agency. I knew I wanted to work in the surrogacy community, but I’d never thought of starting my own agency. How does one do that? Where do I begin? There was so much to learn about starting your own business. The intended mother told me how much she trusted me, and knew with my background and previous work experience, I’d be great at it. The biggest compliment from her was also hearing she would direct refer patients of hers to us. She said she knew we would be able to help them. With both my surrogacy journey’s, I worked with an agency. I had a great experience and gained a lot of knowledge while being a surrogate with them. It also helped me learn how I could improve things. Surrogacy is such a personal endeavor, and it should be treated as such. Our agency, Surrogacy Partnership takes a very personal approach to things. We work after business hours, weekends, and even holidays. We understand that things come up outside of normal business hours, and we want to make sure people feel heard and supported throughout this process. I am also very involved throughout each surrogacy, and fly out to medical screenings, embryo transfers, and even deliveries.
I couldn’t have created all of this by myself. I knew I needed my life partner to be my business partner as well. After all, he processes many skills outside of my wheelhouse. Chris takes care of the financial side of things, and I care for the people side. Surrogacy can be an emotional roller coaster for intended parents and surrogate’s alike, and you need an empathetic person to make sure you get to the end calmly and safely. I pride myself in helping others get through the rough times, and love celebrating when a new baby is born. To date, we have had 29 babies born through our agency.
Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Surrogacy Partnership began in 2017 and is a Northern California based surrogacy agency which is owned and operated by a wife and husband team, who have a passion for helping others create their own families. Jessica Busman, the founder and co-owner of Surrogacy Partnership, is a two time surrogate herself, and has been in the infertility field for over a decade. Chris Busman, co-owner, has 15 years of corporate management experience.
Surrogacy Partnership is a great fit for surrogates and intended parents who may feel overwhelmed by the larger agencies and are looking for something on the more intimate side.
Our agency offers all-inclusive support. We will hold your hand from beginning to end. Together we are an unstoppable team, working together to help you achieve your dream of having a child. With Surrogacy Partnership, we bring the right people together.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Simply put, word of mouth. Within the United States, the surrogacy community is pretty close knit and small. We know who the leaders are, who is running their businesses ethically, and who to stay away from. The best way to be successful as a surrogacy agency is to always do the right thing for your intended parents and surrogate’s. If you treat them well, they tell all their friends and advertising for new clients to help isn’t needed. We are often referred by past ART lawyers we have worked with, IVF clinics and their doctors, and past intended parents who have used our services. I love when I see a new intended parent application come through or I get an email or phone call from someone, and I’m told a friend of theirs said they had to speak to us first. If you invest your time in people, your business will just grow. I choose to take on 12-15 cases a year. That’s a steady amount. We have always had the option to hire on employees, and become a larger agency, but I love what I do and want to continue to be actively involved in every case we take on. You certainly get out what you put in!
How’d you meet your business partner?
When I decided I wanted to start a surrogacy agency, I was fearful my husband wouldn’t support me. It just felt like the right direction for me, and I wasn’t sure if he would be excited about the idea. To my surprise, he was all in! That’s what I needed to hear. Every next step just fell into place. We seemed to have all the right people surrounding us to make this dream, into a reality. I had been a stay-at-home mom the five years leading up to this decision. I wanted to be there for my growing girls, and hoped starting this agency would still allow me to do that. Chris was still working his corporate job and hating every minute of it. The thought of having him join me, bringing all is skills to the table, was exciting. Could we take that risk on though? After all, we had a family to support and subsidized insurance coverage. Six months into creating Surrogacy Partnership, Chris was able to leave his job and be happy. He had crunched the numbers and we never looked back. We knew what we needed to do to be successful, we knew how to work as a team, and we have been thriving ever since. The best part is it allowed BOTH of us to be with our kids more. This job has brought us so much joy, professionally and personally. Our work/life balance is perfect. Who could ask for a better situation?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.surrogacypartnership.com
- Instagram: surrogacypartnership
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/surrogacypartnership
- Linkedin: Jessica Busman
- Twitter: @surropartners