A Band of Sisters: Leading For Confidence And Solutions For Working Moms
Lori Caden (l), co-founder of Belly Bandit, with sisters Jodi and Kari (l to r).
The middle of three sisters raised in Bloomfield, Michigan, Lori Caden always knew sisterhood was a key part of her life. Indeed, sisterhood would drive her professional success and be a factor in her helping other women entrepreneurs launch their business dreams.
“For Lori Caden, #sisterhood would drive her professional success and be a factor in her helping other women #entrepreneurs launch their business dreams. ”
Caden is a co-founder with her sisters of Belly Bandit, a postpartum compression wrap she created after the birth of her first child in 2004. Her company now has 35 employees and sells a line of products to 1,000 retailers in 86 countries with a product line serving more than a million women. Next month they launch a new product, Proof, a line of period proof and leak proof underwear.
“Caden is a co-founder of @BellyBandit, a #postpartum compression wrap she created after the birth of her first child in 2004. ”
Caden is also co-host with The Mama Ladder of the High Five $5,000 Grant which helps mother entrepreneurs build their businesses.
“Caden is also co-host with The Mama Ladder of the #HighFiveGrant which helps #mother #entrepreneurs build their #businesses. ”
After her first daughter was born, Caden says, “My sisters were sick of hearing me complain.” She had lost confidence, gained more than 60 pounds during pregnancy and after her daughter was born, would only wear one pair of “black velour sweatpants and a t-shirt.”
Her sisters Jodi and Kari, helped her in the research, design, testing and manufacturing of a line of solutions for her discomfort, back pain, and loose stomach muscles. In 2008, they launched Belly Bandit Belly Wraps.
While she didn’t envision this precise career path, she did have a background in fashion and merchandising.
Caden graduated from Michigan State University in 1995 with a major in fashion merchandising and design. She went to work – the next day—in New York, working in fashion at the apparel center. But New York was not for her and she moved back home to Michigan to be with her family.
A random meeting with an acquaintance at Bed, Bath and Beyond, ended up with her getting a job in the swag business, now called “merch” of branded merchandise for clients. In 1998, she went off on her own to open Caden Concepts.
A visit to see her sister in Los Angeles that year resulted in Caden spending the next 22 years there. After her daughter was born, she worked on the Belly Wrap concept, and then she continued working on it, and had a son in 2007. By 2008 she had the product to sell.
“I went to every store where I bought baby gear and I got a lot of no’s. But I would say, ‘Listen, if you don’t mind, I will leave 12 of these here and check back.”
In two days, one of the stores had only one left. She knew her product could help other women and she was right.
“My confidence level was so different,” Caden says, about using the Belly Wrap after her second child. “I felt like myself and I could stand taller. We knew we could make women feel more like themselves.”
““I felt like myself and I could stand taller,” Caden says, about using the @BellyBandit wrap after her second child. “We knew we could make women feel more like themselves.” #momwin”
According to What To Expect, “An abdominal compression binder is a medical device that’s designed to be worn after abdominal surgery, like a C-section. Compression binders give medium to firm compression and, while they’re not just for postpartum women, they’re often used by new moms,” writes Korin Miller.
“It’s generally recommended that you opt more for a belly wrap or an abdominal compression binder over waist trainers and corsets. These products can help speed up your recovery, said Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob-gyn and women’s health expert, in a previous interview with What to Expect.”
Miller writes, “Belly wraps give light compression and support and can help align your abdomen until your abdominal organs and muscles can go back to normal, Dr. Ross said. They can also help your uterus shrink and, if you’ve had a C-section, a wrap can help take pressure off your incision while it heals.”
Because of the success of the Belly Wraps line, Caden says next month the launch of high-tech underwear for women nine to 90 years old. Proof “is cute and stylish and thin enough but holds liquid all the way from the absorption in a half a tampon to what is absorbed by five tampons.”
“Because of the success of the @BellyBandit wraps line, Caden says next month the launch of high-tech underwear for #women nine to 90 years old, called #Proof. ”
In 2018, Caden says she got a call from Crystalee Beck, the founder of The Mama Ladder and Comma Copywriters, and also a mother entrepreneur, who was launching High Five Grants.
“We had a conversation and I felt like she was my best friend, and that this is something we could get behind.”
The High Five grants include one $5,000 individual grant, one $1,000 grant and a $500 grant awarded to women entrepreneurs after an application process, rigorous judging by a panel and a public competition of the eight finalists.
“The #HighFiveGrant includes one $5,000 individual grant, one $1,000 grant and a $500 grant awarded to #WomenEntrepreneurs. #WomenHelpingWomen”
More than 500 women from more than 12 countries apply, and they have to date given away $15,000 to winners. This year, finalists will be announced February 21, with the winner chosen February 29.
This is a critical move for women looking to launch small businesses.
“Female entrepreneurs have always had a difficult time securing affordable and appropriately sized loans. A 2018 report showed that 40% of small businesses are owned by women. That’s a lot of businesses struggling to obtain funding. These difficulties can be attributed to a number of factors. Female entrepreneurs tend to have lower credit scores and less working capital on hand. They also apply for funding at earlier stages of their businesses’ development,” writes Jared Weitz in Forbes.
On a larger scale, big business is looking at funding for female entrepreneurs. Recently, “The Vinetta Project, a high-impact capital platform that funds and supports the world’s most promising female founders, and leading global financial services firm J.P. Morgan announced the launch of a program that sources, funds and supports female founded companies seeking to disrupt existing markets. This initiative aims to close the gender-based funding gap by providing female founders in technology greater access to capital, networking opportunities and advisory services,” according to Business Wire.
Beck, who launched her first business in 2015 after she was laid off from work and had a one-year-old child at home, says, “As women we naturally need community. We look to mentors to help us and to divulge the mistakes. They can pick us up when we are scared or insecure.”
Caden agrees. “We are stronger together. We all have our days. I have my sisters and and they step in. Sisterhood is a network of good people.”
She adds, “If you can help someone with a roadmap, or help them skip a step where you stumbled, it’s a way to give someone Cliff’s Notes.”
Beck says it is important to find your people. “I would say when you are starting a new business, surround yourself with someone you trust who sees the good in you and is a few steps ahead of you.”
“Caden says it is important to find your people: “When you are starting a new #business, surround yourself with someone you trust who sees the good in you.” #BusinessAdvice”
And what if you fail at first?
Caden says, “Have thick skin. Those who are relentless, resourceful and trust their gut can roll with it.” She adds, “It’s a state of mind too. I drown out the noise and keep my eye on the prize.”
