There’s nothing quite like the moment when, sitting across from a client as you hammer out the details of a software contract, you realize your breast milk is leaking through your shirt. Even more fun—realizing it after the meeting has ended. Having breastfed all three of my babies while I created a wind-energy service company, launched a software business and started a real estate firm, I was all too familiar with the inadequacies of traditional nursing pads. Leaky and uncomfortable, they would wrinkle and crinkle inside my bra. I referred to them as “boob diapers.” Plus, they make a ton of trash, so eco-friendly they aren’t.

When I was breastfeeding my third child, I got so uncomfortable that I pulled out the nursing pads and stuffed a piece of organic bamboo velour in my bra. It was incredibly soft, but I didn’t think of my improvisational padding as a business until one night during a bout of insomnia when I put the words “bamboo” and “boobies” together and got bamboobies. I thought the name was hilarious! I jumped out of bed and trademarked the name that very night.

My sewing skills are limited to say the least, but my stepmother is an amazing seamstress. We began experimenting with fabrics to create an ultrasoft nursing pad. We paired the organic bamboo velour with a layer of organic cotton and hemp—because it’s four times as absorbent as cotton. She stitched them together, and created a little divot in the middle to form a heart. From there, bamboobies was born. After some unconventional product testing (squirting water into my bra) we knew we had succeeded—no leaks!

In october 2009, I officially launched bamboobies as the first nursing pads on the market that are soft, breathable, waterproof—and, most importantly, washable. Everything is handmade in Colorado, where I employ local women to hand sew the nursing pads. Having a small staff ensures great quality control, and it allows me to have a personal relationship with each of my employees.

Today, bamboobies are in more than 100 stores nationwide. Counter to my entrepreneurial tendencies, I’m not a scheduler or a planner; it just doesn’t come naturally to me. But this particular business is so close to my heart that it’s made me buckle down and grow this silly little nursing pad idea into a big business. And so far, everything is going according to my nonexistent plan.

Top lessons
1 Don’t quit your day job. Creating a business takes lots of time and money. Working at your 9-to-5 ensures you’ll have enough cash to cover the cost of your new business’s needs without dipping into your household funds.

2 Stagger your investment. By making small financial investments in your business over time, you’ll make better-informed decisions and be less likely to blow through your savings.

3 Seek wise-mommy advice. I’ve received great tips from fellow mom entrepreneurs on what it takes to grow a business and what mistakes to avoid. Women are the greatest resource for sharing information.

4 Set goals. It’s motivating to have reachable short-term goals. Once you accomplish your immediate objective, work toward the next one. There’s no end to the number of goals you can have for your business.

—As told to Jennifer Parris