Mumpreneur Christine Kininmonth of Fertile Mind
Move over Tiger Mom, there’s a new Super Hero in Town
Super heroes look a lot different these days. In place of the caped crusaders and invisible jets of days past, a more modern day protagonist has cropped up in our midst. Instead of a calling card, they come armed with a business card, and they are women. Just a handful of names come to mind when talking about strong females who have made waves in the world of business – Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg being some of the few on the short list in Silicon Valley. But what about before the days of dot coms and google?
Meet Christine Kininmonth, mumpreneur. The current wife and mother of 4 daughters runs a business called Fertile Mind, specializing in maternity wear/ accessories and baby carriers. The international family friendly business is based in Sydney and sells to over 25 different countries. An icon in her own right for her entrepreneurial skills, Kininmonth is remarkable for a very unique reason – it’s how and when she got there. Pregnant, sleep deprived, and broke.
Pregnancy and Career
The former Australian journalist may have initially been best known for her participation as a panelist and judge on ABC’s “The New Inventors”. But that was then and this is now. Because shortly after she became pregnant with her first child, she turned a demotion from her television career into something extraordinary. It is easy to see how her sense of humor plays into her success – the enigmatic businesswoman laughs about when she first got pregnant back in 1996. “I was on a boat mashing up dead tuna with blood to attract the sharks, but still thought it odd that I felt so crook.” Uh, huh – sharks, blood – no problem.
Attempting to work on air while pregnant gave Kininmonth an innovative idea – the Belly Belt. What years later won the 2014 Women’s Choice Award is a concept that is quite simple. The belt allows you to expand your current clothes into maternity clothes without having to buy any new frocks. Not long after, she received a taciturn dismissal from her job – the message was polite, but implicit: exit stage right. But this is where her story really takes off.
The Rise of the ‘Mumpreneur’
Desperate for cash after just buying a house but losing half of the household income, she received a $10,000 bill in the mail for supplies related to her new Belly Belt venture. The terrified and broke mom-to-be immediately put her car up for sale. Leading the way in what trend watchers are calling “Rise of the mumpreneurs”, Kininmonth was venturing into what a few industrious mothers are currently attempting in the face of rising child care costs – trying to feed her children and start a business from home. Mind you, before the internet search engines and smart phones.
The mumpreneur spent hours in libraries and scoured phonebooks (remember those?) to talk to anybody who would listen. Eventually her best research came from unconventional and surprising sources. The car that she sold was purchased by no other than her current business partner, Peter Hooker. Her hairdresser gave her the tip that led to a manufacturer, and the rest she did the old fashioned way – by marching door to door. With Peter on board, they progressed to trade shows and even developed a business plan after begging for help from Ernst and Young.
And in case you’ve already forgotten – Christine Kininmonth did this with four children. One short of the starting lineup of a basketball team and two-thirds of a volleyball team, her and her husband are outnumbered two to one. The path was certainly not easy and came with some hard lessons. The fierce Aussie has a lot of advice and experience that aspiring mumpreneurs could benefit from. The best advice from this superhero and supermom? Start small, but don’t think small. After all, you have to be able to walk before you can fly.
