We were lucky to catch up with Marsha Stephanson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Marsha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

One of the beliefs I standby is that there is no timeline when it comes to postpartum. Postpartum depression generally lasts 3 to 6 months, however, this varies based on several factors. I think it’s so important that moms are supported and catered to for however long they need us. This is why I chose to create a monthly postpartum care subscription.

One of the proudest moments to date was receiving an unexpected email from a customer who purchased a two-year subscription. That’s right a two-year subscription! The customer initially purchased a one-year subscription. During the subscription I would include small notes in the box and emails, to simply ask if there was anything else I could do to support mom. I would never get a response but I continued to check in from time to time. After a year had passed I included a thank you note in the last box and assured mom that we are always here to support her and how truly thankful for the opportunity to be a part of their postpartum journey. Shortly after the last box was sent out I received a notification that the customer renewed for another 1-year subscription. OMG, I was so surprised and the first thing I thought is I gotta come up with another year of new themes for this mama! Challenge accepted!!

As we were approaching the end of the 2nd year I sent a personal email once again expressing my sincerest gratitude and best wishes for mom and her family. Then after the 2-year subscription ended I got an unexpected email, to my surprise, it was not from the mom it was from her husband! He expressed how truly thankful he came across our business in his search for a gift for his wife. He shared that his wife had in the past suffered through postpartum depression with all 3 of their children. When she gave birth to their 4th baby he knew he needed to do something to help her. He found our website and purchased a one-year subscription. He said he saw a huge difference in his wife’s overall mental/physical well-being. She loved our boxes so much that he subscribed for another year. As I was reading this heartwarming email I was literally in tears! Receiving this email was truly confirmation that Cater to Mom is truly making a difference. I can’t think of anything more rewarding than this.

As a mom of three and currently 14 months postpartum I can honestly say I have had some ups and downs with my postpartum journey but it’s only given me the extra momentum to seek out additional resources for moms and research ways to improve our boxes to ensure we are doing everything possible to meet the needs of our moms.

Marsha, 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’m a mom of three children, wife to a fantastic husband, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, and most importantly a postpartum depression survivor. My passion, my purpose in life, is to change the narrative of postpartum care. I started Cater to Mom out of my frustration with the lack of support for moms after giving birth. I suffered in silence as I battled with postpartum depression and endured several challenges with my postpartum recovery. No one told me what to expect during postpartum, I did not know who to talk to, and I truly felt alone.

As moms, we spend our entire pregnancy planning for the birth of our baby but it never occurs to us to plan for postpartum care. I truly felt so unprepared for postpartum and I think all moms can agree that having more than one child every birth experience is different. I always wanted to have the freedom to work for myself and be there for my children. I missed out on so many precious moments with my oldest due to my military obligations. When separated from the military I knew I wanted to start my own business and support moms in the area of their lives that are truly neglected, postpartum. I took a position with the Department of Veteran Affairs working as a Medical Support Assistant in Mental Health for 6 years. I gained a wealth of experience working with veterans and particularly women veterans dealing with PTSD, depression, suicide, anxiety, and an overall transition from military to civilian life. Between my expertise working in Mental Health and my personal experience as a mom suffering from postpartum depression, anxiety, and pregnancy loss, I knew I wanted to create a business that supported moms.

After further research, surveys, and sending out sample boxes, I launched Cater to Mom in November 2018. Cater to Mom is the 1st monthly postpartum care subscription for new and seasoned moms. Postpartum Depression is real and oftentimes goes untreated. Cater to Mom provides monthly postpartum care essentials and resources to support mom postpartum and beyond. We strongly believe if the mom’s needs are met the whole family benefits.

We are truly passionate about supporting moms postpartum and also passionate about helping other women-owned businesses. We believe empowered women empower women, which is why we work only with women-owned businesses. The majority of our vendors are moms who decided to start a business after giving birth to have the freedom to earn a living on their terms and stay at home with their babies. We love that we can support women-owned businesses and provide an opportunity to market their products/services to a larger audience. It is comforting to partner with women who truly understand the need for postpartum care and who have created amazing products that make a difference in so many moms’ lives. We are working together to bring back the Fourth Trimester.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We initially started our website on Shopify but because our business was very new and no one knew anything about Cater to Mom we decided to sell on the Cratejoy platform. Cratejoy is a fantastic platform for any subscription box-based business to start if you are a new business and want to reach a larger audience. The Cratejoy marketplace essentially markets your box for you. The only cons to utilizing Cratejoy are the fees and because virtually any customer that comes through Cratejoy is technically their customer it’s challenging to migrate customers to your personal website.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

My business was still very new to using Instagram and I had no idea how to market on the platform. I went to a networking event and someone suggested tapping into micro-influencers that were in your target niche. That stuck with me so I began to reach out to mom influencers, particularly pregnant influencers. Side note: I use to be a personal trainer and love everything fitness, and I absolutely love anything Beachbody, especially if it involves Shaunt T. I’m assuming due to the algorithm I came across a very pregnant woman moving and grooving to a Beachbody workout and I thought omg she is killing it! I sent her an email introducing myself and offered to send her a postpartum care box. A month or so later I was out running errands and I started getting all of these notifications on my phone. I was like what is going on??!! I then realized the mom influencer I sent the box to had shared the box in her story and the response from her followers was amazing. We increased our followers and engagement. The orders started pouring in from all over the U.S. We made future connections with other influencers who truly loved our product and the social impact we were making to change the narrative of postpartum care. I am truly grateful for our first mom influencer who saw the true value in our box and loved it so much that she shared it with her community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://catertomom.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catertomom
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catertomom
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marsha-stephanson-5b131611/

Image Credits
Justin Borja, Nina Ho, Richard Guillory