Winds of change for baby business.

AuthorBrahm, Jane Meyer
PositionFROM BEGINNERS TO BIGSHOTS

Walk into Gracewinds, an inviting storefront in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, and you immediately feel at ease. It's a warm, old-shoe kind of place, with comfortable couches, murals and paintings on the walls, oriental carpets, and brightly colored woodwork.

The hodgepodge of interconnecting spaces reflects the variety of services for expectant and new parents provided by Gracewinds Perinatal Services: classrooms for childbirth education; studios for yoga and fitness classes; treatment rooms for massage and acupuncture; and rooms for lactation consultants.

It also includes a retail shop, The Peapod Book and Birth Store, which specializes in baby items. Next door is The Velveteen Child, a bookstore for mostly used children's books. In the back, The China Cat Cafe sells lattes and snacks.

The mood mirrors the down-to-earth friendliness of Christine Wallace, Gracewinds chief executive and founder. "I didn't want it to have a medical clinic feel," Wallace said. "I wanted it to feel like you could come here and take your shoes off."

A childbirth educator, certified labor doula, mother of five and new grandmother, Wallace started Gracewinds in 2002 when she saw that expectant couples and new parents had to look all over town for services.

"It was crazy," she said. "I thought, why not put them all together?"

She started with five contract practitioners operating out of a former tavern. She and her husband, Jeff Carson, self-financed the business with a few thousand dollars. Jeff did carpentry and remodeling in ex change for a few months' rent on the building. Christine made use of her art background by painting murals.

The business started taking off, adding practitioners and clients--so much so that two and a half years later, "we were growing ourselves out of business" Wallace said.

"We were so successful at getting clients and referrals that I couldn't keep up with the number of brochures people were asking for" she said. "More people in class es meant more books and materials were needed. And we were running out of space."

That's when she went to the Washington Small Business Development Center for help. Michael Franz, a certified business adviser for the WSBDC, guided her in clarifying her vision, defining it in a plan, establishing financial systems and managing cash flow.

The WSBDC is part of a network of such centers across the country that, in partnership with the Small Business Administration, offer free consulting and low-cost...

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