Key Takeaways
- Starting a business as a new mom, while balancing a full-time job, is a challenge. But Isabelle Rajotte, founder of a travel sleep sack company, is determined to make it work. For busy moms like her, that often means carving out time in the margins—like after baby goes to bed
- How do you separate your personal and business finances? Rajotte decided to structure her business as a corporation, making it its own legal entity
- By working with a Small Business Account Manager, who is part of the TD Women in Enterprise team, Rajotte receives tailored advice and support and can tap into a network of women entrepreneurs as she builds her business
Never wake a sleeping baby, so the adage goes.
But that's nearly impossible if you're transferring a baby from crib to car seat back to crib.
It's a situation Isabelle Rajotte knows well. She and her husband would often put their baby boy to bed while out visiting friends. He'd be all cozy (and deeply asleep) in his sleep sack—a type of wearable blanket—but they'd have to remove it to get him properly strapped into his car seat, only to put it back on at home. All these points of friction would lead to tears—and less sleep for everyone.
"Let's cut a hole in the sleep sack," said Rajotte's husband after another messy transfer and sleepless night.
With nothing to lose (and hours of sleep to gain), Rajotte did just that. With a few snips and some modifications on her sewing machine, she revealed a revamped sleep sack—one her baby could wear safely in bed, in his car seat, and back again. The result? Game-changing, in more ways than one.
Rajotte's invention, born of sleepless nights and a desire to make it easier for her and her husband to actually enjoy family time out of the house, led her down a path she never planned to walk. That hastily designed prototype became Morpheïa, a Montreal-based travel sleep sack startup Rajotte balances among her other two full-time roles: scientist and mom.
Turning a mom hack into a bona fide business
"I was never the type to start a business," said Rajotte, who also works in the pharmaceutical industry. But, as she mentioned her invention to friends and family, they urged her to bring it to the masses. "Everyone kept telling me how good of an idea this was."
Buoyed by her mom friends' enthusiasm, Rajotte dove head-first into Morpheïa. For the past year, she’s spent her precious post-bedtime hours learning about the world of garment manufacturing and scaling a business: from sourcing a supplier to designing samples, digital marketing, and more.
She sought guidance from friends in the garment industry and leaned on banking advice from her best friend Vanessa D'Antico who happens to be an internally accredited TD Women in Enterprise (WE) Banker and an Account Manager, Small Business. As a WE Banker, Vanessa provides advice, tools, and resources to help women entrepreneurs build their businesses.
"I'm a little financially savvy on the personal side," said Rajotte. "On the business side, I knew zero."
What Rajotte learned by working with a WE Banker and Account Manager, Small Business at TD:
1. The benefits of incorporating: When Rajotte first started Morpheïa, D'Antico discussed the various ways to structure a small business. Rajotte decided to incorporate with the help of her lawyer and accountant. "That was a financial move, but also a legal move to separate myself from my business," Rajotte said. When you incorporate, your business becomes a separate legal entity and the structure may offer tax benefits as well as limited liability protection.
2. Don’t wait to separate your personal finances from your business finances: Vanessa stressed the importance of keeping her personal and business finances separate. It's more than just logistics. When you're incorporated, there are rules governing how you can take money out of your corporation for personal use.
3. External funding and financing options: To move away from self-funding Morpheïa—a common way for Canadian women to launch new small business ventures—Rajotte explored the different lending products available at TD, as well as government grants and programs available to entrepreneurs in the early stages of her business.
“Too often, women feel they have to self-fund to prove their business is viable,” D’Antico said. “But when you build a clear five-year plan and start making intentional moves early in your launch, strategic financing can help bring that dream to life—helping to preserve personal liquidity, accelerate growth, and potentially increase return on investment. With guidance, debt isn’t something to fear; it can be used to scale with confidence.”
4. The value of networking: Through a TD Women in Enterprise event, Rajotte began to network and build community with likeminded women business owners in Montreal. This network is already becoming a support system for Rajotte as she navigates entrepreneurship.
Some advice for new moms starting businesses
While Rajotte stumbled into entrepreneurship, she admits she was itching for a creative outlet after working as a scientist for the past decade.
But she credits her science background for her ability to remain analytical and organized, and to problem solve, instead of panic when things go awry (which can happen often when starting a business).
She approaches her business like a chemist in a lab: "I keep a lab book for all my sampling and to keep track of everything," she said.
Juggling her full-time job, motherhood, and Morpheïa hasn't been without its challenges; but she's been loving this season of her life. For other new moms percolating a business venture, she says to go for it.
"Once you get into it, the time is not a sacrifice anymore," she said. "It's so exciting, and if you don't do it, you might regret it. It will always be at the back of your mind."