We are honored today to feature an a amazing mom Melissa Pia Bossola Beese founder of Little Pnuts in our Peek at Motherhood series. She has accomplished so much in just a few short years. Little Pnuts brings you the best toys to interact and engage your child at each important stage in the first 5 years of their life. Genius! They provide a quarterly toy box subscription which takes all of the guess work out of what toys would be the best for your child at that moment. In this exclusive interview, you will learn why she started her business just a few short years ago. As well she gives us some insightful tips and advice from her first hand experience and how she found success! We are always in awe at the amazing mothers and women out there that seize the opportunities around them while raising a family…Melissa a mom to two darling boys is definitely one of those mom’s…we hope you enjoy our in depth peek into her life..she is very inspiring!
Q= We know as a mom it is a challenge to juggle family and work…how do you make it work?
A= Scheduling. I live by my iPhone Reminders. Everything goes in there. Any update and To-do, on the list. It allows me to remain sane and reminds me when I am due somewhere or if something needs to be attended to. I also live by my iCal. It allows me to schedule out my days and make appointments with myself. As the business grows I realize that it is important for me to step away and focus on my children and family, and them entirely, when I am with them. These things help me prioritize, stay on track and focus, so I can do just that. Without my family this would not ever be possible, so they must remain my #1 at all times.
Q= What inspired you to create Little Pnuts?
A=My oldest son Tristan was the true inspiration. Born at 24 weeks, a micro-preemie, we were faced with challenges that required constant therapy for the first 3 years of his life. Through this time we learned the importance of quality, non-battery operated toys – toys that required interaction and engagement – toys of the quality we could only find in Europe. When my second son was born we found people still consistently asked us where we found the amazing toys we had. Our response was always the same – Europe. In recognizing the need and desire of people to have access to these toys I developed Little Pnuts. Little Pnuts allows parents to skip the research to learn about what toys were designed for specific milestones and then search to find said toys, we provide both the service and the toys in accordance with the development phases of children.
Q=Being a Mompreneur has become a real growing trend….with the popularity of Instagram especially there are so many starting a blog/and or business that it has created quite a lot of competition within the Mompreneur space….share with us your thoughts about how one can make this competition be a positive part of growing their business.
A=For Little Pnuts it was to create a program that was not in direct competition of any one Subscription program out there. But rather, to create something that would enhance and stand apart from the others. Little Pnuts focus is on toys, eco conscious toys. We wanted only to focus on that aspect of a child’s development, learning through play, it was something we knew a lot about, we were experts in that realm. I believe that as long as you are true to who YOU are, what YOU are good at, something that you can bring to someone to help them in that field, then you can succeed. I know a lot about toys, about good quality toys, I’d say I’m a bit obsessive about choosing only those toys that I would give to my child, so I know that the product I offer and provide is the very best product for others. Competition is good, but when you can stand out, you are not necessarily competing, rather you are offering something new, something in addition to what is already out there. I currently subscribe to a few other subscription programs for my boys, I love what they offer and I wouldn’t want to change into what their product is, they are professionals at what they are doing, I’ll leave it to them and focus on what I’m good at. We complement one another versus compete with one another, thus providing parents every aspect of great products that are in the marketplace for their growing families.
Q=What are your top 3-5 tips for other moms wanting to be successful with their business ventures?
A=Love what you do. Be passionate about what it is you want to do. Always look to see what others are doing and see if what you want to do can enhance the current business’s out there. Ensure that you stand apart thus being of value to someone who is looking to you for something. Never give up. Allow the mistakes to happen, you will always learn from them. Allow yourself time with your family, it’s important – they are your biggest fans!
Q=Have you ever faced challenges with your business, if so how did you overcome them?
A=Of course. Every day we face challenges. It is those challenges that make owning a business exciting. When a challenge arises I take the time to step back and observe the whole picture. A challenge is only part of the whole. Weigh in on the options that would help overcome those challenges and see how it adds to the business verses working emotionally to put a Band Aid on the issue. Often times I try to sleep on it before finalizing a decision to make sure a fresh look doesn’t reveal a different perspective on overcoming the challenge. Always look at the overall picture.
Q=What inspires you?
A=I know it sounds cliche, but, my boys. They have such a fresh outlook on life. The way they observe the way they play the way they give their whole heart, mind and soul to everything they do. They help me to keep going each day and remember to play!
Q= What empowers you to be your best?
A=My father’s memory. He was my hero, he did so much to help me be the person I am today. I always wanted to make him proud, I still do, in his memory.
Q=With our recent features on body image here , here and here, what are your thoughts regarding this subject about fostering a positive body image for your children.
A=Being someone who is recovering from eating disorders this is something I have to face head on every day. I try hard to respect myself and never put myself down in front of my boys. I try hard not to say, “I’m so fat” or “I wish I looked better in this” in front of them. I want my boys to love and respect themselves and the women in their lives. It’s very important to me to raise respectful human beings, for their future and the future of their children. Loving oneself is being true to oneself.
Q= What are three things we might not know about you?
a. I’m a closet shy girl. Type-A all the way and very outgoing but extremely shy on the inside.
b. I love to dance and I mean DANCE.
c. I love watching cartoons, I think more than my children do.
Q=If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
A=Off the top of my head…..illiteracy. Give someone the gift of reading and, truly, you give them the whole world!
Thank you Melissa for inspiring us…I love how you took a challenge in your life with your first little boy and turned it into a positive opportunity to help so many other mothers out there! You shared many things that I needed to hear as well…especially when it comes to facing a business challenge taking a step back , weigh the option, then sleep on it. This would totally help to get a fresh new perspective and idea on how to overcome it. I love it!
We just recently had the chance to get our first Little Pnuts special delivery box and I must say it’s everything we had expected and more! My 2 year old daughter Presley loved every bit of it! Each box comes with a note of instructions sharing details about the developmental stage of your little pnut and how best to interact with your child at that stage. It was super fun to watch her play and understand her animals and shapes already!
It’s not too late to order the Little Pnuts special delivery box for June here…
Guess what…we are super excited because you all have the chance to enter to win a 1 year subscription to Little Pnuts! That is amazing toys coming to your door each quarter! This is all part of our Special Delivery: Mama and Child giveaway. GO HERE TO ENTER NOW….
