We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Perry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Like most businesses, I started The Cradle Coach and The Cradle Coach Academy purely from a need I had experienced having my first baby. Nothing came close to preparing me for the birth of my first child. It was by far the hardest challenge I had faced thus far in my life. I was exhausted mainly due to the lack of sleep and that’s putting it lightly. The string of sleepless nights and exhausting days left me feeling anxious, irritable, and unsure about my ability to be a good mother.

And while there was support for other maternal challenges, birth coaches and lactation consultants, there was no one I could talk to about my daughter’s ongoing sleep issues. The sleep books offered advice, but they didn’t offer support, encouragement, or the invaluable feeling of connection with a person who can help and truly understand. Thank goodness I have a husband who helped as much as he could, but it was really up to me to figure out a solution to the madness. We eventually did get our daughter to sleep through the night, but the process was grueling. I thought, “There has to be an easier way.”

That’s when I founded The Cradle Coach. Sleep is so important for your baby’s health and mental well-being, yet no one teaches you about it. We felt there needed to be a go-to place for sleep support. Since then, I have received my certification as a Happiest Baby on the Block educator and a maternity and baby certified sleep consultant from the International Maternity and Parenting Institute. I’ve also received my certification as a Newborn Care Advanced Specialist from the Newborn Care Training Academy.

With the process of hiring quality sleep consultants and teaching them how to serve clients well, market yourself, and build a thriving business, I realized there was a gap in the postpartum industry that I wanted to fill. Mainly for efficiency with training new hires for The Cradle Coach. I created an online, self-paced training program that would fill these missing gaps other certification programs didn’t have and gave my consultants confidence as they worked with clients. This quickly had me thinking: “What if I created a certification program of my own!” I had years of experience in the industry by this point, knew what to do and what not to do, knew that most new sleep consultants were really unprepared for the business aspect and I wanted to offer a full roadmap that would give them step by step guidance on how to launch and grow their business. Most importantly, they needed a community that they could always be part of and was filled with support, guidance, and friendship. That’s where The Cradle Coach Academy was birthed. We now have over 325 students and graduates from all over the world taking our programs in Baby and Toddler Sleep Consulting, Newborn Care, and Adoption and Foster Sleep. And this is just the beginning. Our vision to be leaders in postpartum, baby, and toddler education, setting the standard for one-on-one support by providing the highest level of expert knowledge and training, impeccable service, and quality community experience.

What should our readers know about your business?
We all have moments of opportunity to take risk, to be trendsetters, to go after dreams that seem unattainable. What I’ve learned is that there are two types of people in this world: those who run away from the uncomfortable and those that can run towards it.

Those that run away from the uncomfortable stay stuck. They stay in their routines, work on day-to-day tasks that they can control, and yet, when the world around them is growing, they remain as they are.

Those that run towards the uncomfortable get comfortable with being uncomfortable. They might not like the feeling of discomfort, but they can still move while feeling it. They are willing to learn, to move outside their bubble, and face the fear head on.

These risk takers become successful because they aren’t ordinary. They aren’t like everyone else. They are extraordinary and that’s what I want to be.

It’s that risk to start your own business when you don’t know the first thing about business. The risk of doing it scared and often times feeling alone. But without taking a risk and jumping outside my comfort zone, I wouldn’t be where I am now. Giving families the ability to feel empowered to thrive in their season and to do so–now, rested–with sleeping babies and toddlers.

My purpose is what drives me: seeing tired mothers come out of a state of survival, and by doing something hard, became empowered to find their purpose and thrive in their calling.

It’s not always easy. I have people I trust and who are doing it better, surrounding me. I have to be constantly learning and adapting to changes. I have to be growing and willing to take risks. And when I fail, which I have done plenty of times, I have to get back up and keep going. I don’t know what I am doing half the time, but staying stuck isn’t what I am meant to be. And I know the tired families at The Cradle Coach and women we serve at The Cradle Coach Academy deserve more than being stuck too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First and foremost, we would put on our gym clothes, grab our workout gear and run over to HEW Gardens gym to start off the day with a great workout. LOVE this gym, the coaches and people.

Once we are done, we will go grab a latte at Crux Coffee in Jupiter. Lunch must be at Alainas or Riverhouse and drinks at Parched Pig prior to dinner along the water at Utiki or anywhere on love street in Jupiter. We could always hit up Waxins after dinner!

Fun activities during the day must include the beach, paddle boarding along the inter-coastal, boat rides, and shopping!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Nick, is who I want to dedicate my shoutout to. He has always encouraged me to take risks, live out my dreams, and constantly pushes me to create time for my work. He is my rock and support and I couldn’t do what I do without him.

Website: www.thecradlecoach.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thecradlecoach

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-perry-3008a671/

Facebook: www.thecradlecoach.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0GuYVcEi-TCR9SA1uO5cZw

Other: www.thecradlecoachacademy.com www.instagram.com/thecradlecoachacademy

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