Candice and Michelle for Best Beginnings

Like most first-time moms, Candice Nocom-Tansipek and her best friend Michelle Wu-Quiec were excited about motherhood. As mom of 9-month old Sean, Candice is a hands-on mom who co-sleeps, breastfeeds, and practices attachment parenting. “I spend as much time as I can with my baby – I play, sing, talk to him everyday no matter how tired I may be!”

Michelle, who's mom to 2.5 year old Kai, is likewise a proactive, intentional mom. “I like to be there in every happening in my son's life. Even with simple things like picking him up from school, changing his diapers, giving him a bath, I don't want to miss anything,” she says. “I want to be able to say that I was there for my son in his entire childhood.”

Marrying parenting with functional style
As “attuned moms,” these two best friends were passionate about practices, services and products that made their parenting more efficient. Still, they felt that nothing in the local market really met their preferences in terms of quality, child-friendliness, function and style. Since both moms were creative with their style of parenting and homemaking, from their kids’ bath times to organizing their toys and books, they wanted home helps that married the characteristics of their parenting and homemaking style.

Candice, for her part, was a voracious curator of online finds while she was pregnant. “After I gave birth, I’ve been addicted to reading up on parenting websites and looking at online baby stores,” she says. It wasn't until one day, while curating the Web for ideas, that the two moms saw a feature on 3 Sprouts, a line of organic, eco-friendly organizing solutions. “We loved its adorable animal designs! They’re cute without being too cutesy so they appeal to both kids and adults,” says Candice.

But the best part for her was that the line was highly functional as well as eco-friendly. “We felt it was such a great mix and that there wasn’t anything quite like it available locally yet.” It was then that the idea to import the 3 Sprouts products came into play, and Candice and Michelle began their journey as mompreneurs.

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Mompreneur beginnings
“We contacted 3 Sprouts in Canada and worked out details of distribution in the Philippines,” says Candice. They organized their local distributorship into a business, which they dubbed Best Beginnings Corp, a name that describes the guiding principle they use when selecting the products they want to usher into the local market.

“We hope to be part of those precious first years and help make them easier and a lot more fun – the best it could be - for parent and child alike,” says Candice. “Parenting can be overwhelming at times so we’d like to offer carefully-selected products that serve as solutions to some of the things they face – such as organizing their kids’ stuff, for example.”

Products with a purpose
Candice and Michelle didn't originally set out to bring organic or eco-friendly products to the local market. However, since the 3 Sprouts products were using earth-friendly and “green” practices (i.e. no harmful chemicals, all-natural materials, etc),  that sealed the deal for them.

“As parents we do everything we can to give our child the best care and it follows that we’d go for products that do the same,” says Candice, who believes that green living shouldn't just be convenient, but a way of life. “Ultimately, it’s about doing our part to give our kids a better environment to grow up in!”

Tips for aspiring mompreneurs
Since launching Best Beginnings and the 3 Sprouts line locally, Candice and Michelle have carved out a niche by offering organization solutions for families that don't want to compromise style and child-friendliness in the home. If you're a mom who also wants to venture into a niche-based business, here are some tips from the Best Beginnings moms on how you can do just that!

1. Research, research! Visit online stores, parenting sites and forums. You’ll be amazed at the different types of products you’ll find there as well as their consumer feedback.
2. Look at the overall package. Product quality and safety are non-negotiables so you have to ask for samples before you finalize anything. Looking at photos of the products on your screen will never be as good as examining the products yourself. Evaluate pricing. Bonus points should be given for eco-friendly materials.
3. Believe in the products you sell. Ask yourself if the products are something you yourself would buy. You are, after all, part of the target market. If you think it serves a need that most parents or babies have that aren’t addressed by the products we have available, there must be potential there. If you truly believe in the product, gather enough courage and support and go for it!

For more information on Best Beginnings Corp,visit their Facebook page. You may also email them at bestbeginningsco@gmail.com, or call 0917-5369233. 3 Sprouts products are also available at Numa Eco Baby Store.