We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sheena Vaccaro. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sheena below.
Alright, Sheena thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
In order to set ourselves aside from local competition, we knew we had to offer next level ultrasounds and we had to make their visit with us about their “experience” rather than just an ultrasound. We decided to integrate a premier 3D4D ultrasound studio with a maternity and baby boutique to do just that. We wanted to ensure we had something for our customers (and their families) for every stage of their pregnancy journey. The excitement of shopping for yourself and your baby just after seeing them live in 3D4D is something special. We knew that adding the boutique to the studio would make coming to Sneak A Peek Boutique more of a pregnancy experience you would want to share with your family and friends. Adding the boutique does add to the work and stress load of being a studio owner, but it also sets us aside for the others.
Sheena, 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 nurse practitioner specializing in women’s health and obstetrics for the past six years. It was during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic that I came up with the idea for Sneak A Peek Boutique. Witnessing the limitations placed on ultrasound appointments and the heartbreaking restrictions on family involvement in healthcare settings, I deeply empathized with my patients.
Many of my patients expressed frustration as they were unable to share these special moments with their loved ones, leading them to travel out of town to other 3D4D ultrasound studios. Simultaneously, the closure of local brick and mortar stores left expecting parents without a nearby maternity or baby shopping experience.
After a few months of consideration, I decided to open Sneak A Peek Boutique—a local non-diagnostic ultrasound studio that would also provide a shopping experience for expecting parents and their loved ones. At Sneak A Peek Boutique, we offer state-of-the-art ultrasounds and live imaging, allowing families to have a memorable sneak peek of their unborn child. Moreover, our boutique features a carefully curated selection of maternity and baby products, including clothing, gender reveal items, pregnancy announcements, essential registry needs, and postpartum care supplies.
I am truly passionate about providing an unforgettable experience for expecting parents and their loved ones. With Sneak A Peek Boutique, I am dedicated to making the journey of pregnancy and early parenthood a little more special for every family who walks through our doors.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Owning a business that focuses on pregnancy means your target audience is a revolving door! We are constantly having to gain the attention of newly expecting parents as the pregnancy phase is short-lived (well, it feels like forever for some, ha). I have found that joining local BNI (business network international) chapters, teaming with local doulas, and advertising directly to the local hospitals for referrals has been most beneficial for our success. Finding a good network of people that will help share your posts and promote you on social media really helps keep your relevant and in the public eye. I will often times find a local promoter that is pregnant and offer free services in exchange for posts which has seemed to help as well.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We really pride ourselves on good quality imaging for our customers. But as we all know, our sweet babies have a mind of their own! We cannot guarantee that every baby will be ready for a photo-op and sometimes our sonographers are not able to get face/lip/cheek images due to fetal positioning, fluid level, or gestational age. We know that booking an ultrasound is not only an investment for most, but it is an exciting experience that can turn into a let down if you don’t get the images you were anticipating. To ensure that our expecting parents leave satisfied and our reputation remains solid, we offer free rescans if we are not able to get quality images at your first appointment. I think this shows our commitment to quality which will help us to continue to build a strong reputation within our market.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sneakapeekboutique.com
- Instagram: @sneakapeeksc
- Facebook: facebook.com/sneakapeekboutique