"You know when you see parents with a baby or small child crying, while they're waiting for the luggage carousel to deliver the pram, car seat and portacot? And then there's the luggage too? I was one of those parents," says mother-of-two, Sharyn Fong.
“It was our first holiday after I had my first child. My husband and I were dragging the 'big three' (pram, car seat and portacot) everywhere and I thought ‘there has to be a better way’.
“So I googled ‘baby equipment hire’ and found quite a few. But I thought I would take the concept a bit further,” says Sharyn.
She created Anything Baby – an online gateway for hiring baby equipment for short or long term periods.
It’s a one-stop-shop for parents designed to take the stress out of boarding flights, trains and cars with prams, strollers, change tables and play equipment.
“It really came about because I realised once I had a child what a nightmare it was to have to take everything with you. It’s difficult enough holidaying with a baby or small child anyway, let alone having to worry about the equipment,” she says.
“What Anything Baby does when planning for holidays with young children, is allow parents to hire an extensive range of high quality equipment and have it delivered to their door, whether it be a hotel or a relative’s spare room.”
Sharyn also has corporate clients. “For example, one client is here for a year from Hong Kong and they’ve hired all the equipment for their baby. Some corporate clients are for far less time – for example, one week for a conference, or three months for a project. It works really well for them rather than having to lug baby equipment half-way across the world.”
Sharyn says it’s also cost-effective to use Anything Baby for newborns.
“The baby outgrows things from about six months, so parents often hire equipment in for the first six months so they’re not left with a large expense which is only useful for a short time. It’s also useful where people are in smaller homes or apartments because people just don’t have the space anymore to store unused baby equipment.”
Sharyn says she has in stock all common and familiar baby and nursery equipment available in Melbourne and a new franchise covering the northern suburbs of Perth.
The business has been steadily growing for four years and Sharyn is looking for more franchisees in different parts of Australia.
“It’s an ideal business for a mum as you can do it from home and fit the hours to suit you. You need to be organised, get on well with clients, happy to meet other people, able to drive to deliver and pick up equipment, be totally committed to our hygiene and cleaning standards and be certain that equipment is returned in a condition which is safe for the next child and family.
“If you’ve come from a professional background but jumped off the work ladder to have children, you will really enjoy the feeling of owning and running your own business,” Sharyn says.
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Further information on Anything Baby services or franchise opportunities is available here.
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