Profile: Andreea Ayers

A New Mom's New Business Fits Her To A Tee

What was your inspiration for starting Tees for Change?

When I was pregnant, my husband and I decided to do a home birth, and we found a great midwife here in Boulder. Most of our family and friends were so terrified, and kept on asking, "What if something goes wrong? How far are you from the hospital? I think this is dangerous." So many negative comments and so much fear. My husband and I felt like, for us, it was the right decision: We had done so much research, the midwife had been doing this for almost 20 years! I got so tired of the negative comments, and I really wanted them to feel more empowered and positive, so I got the idea for the T-shirts. The first one I did said, "Be Courageous." That was the one I wore throughout my pregnancy. I felt so strong and more positive every time I would think of the phrase.

Now that you're a mom, are you encountering other situations where you feel like you have to defend your decisions or trust your intuition above other people's negativity or fears?

Yes, and no. After everyone saw that everything went okay with the home birth, I feel like I've established more trust. But still people say, "Oh, you're waiting to vaccinate your child?" Some comments like that. Sometimes even from people that don't even have children, or haven't done as much research as I have. But when I was pregnant, I would get really defensive, and now I don't even feel the need to defend my decisions. I'll say, "Well, this is the right decision for me, and it might not be the right one for you."

Your t-shirts got me thinking about the Power of words. I really believe that the words that we say—to ourselves and others— have the power to transform us. Have you seen tangible differences in your own life, or heard from others, about how they behave and feel and think?

Oh yes, I definitely have. Both in my own life and in other people's lives as well. One great example was when I was pregnant I did a birthing class, I wore my "Be Courageous" shirt for the first class. No one made any comments then, but just this past week I was talking to one of the couples who did it with me, and the husband actually told me how much of an impact it had on him. He said helped him also feel confident in their decision to have a home birth. So it was just nice to hear, four months later, how it had affected him. I also get lots of emails along those lines. From people who are like, "I wore the "Choose Happiness" shirt today, and I had such a great day cause I decided to consciously make that decision and think positively. At the end of the day, a lot of times,

That's got to be so cool to hear!

Yeah, it's amazing.

Your son is going to be 4 months tomorrow? And your business is 3 months old? How did you make both of those things happen at the same time?

A lot of hard work! And I think I was really passionate about it, and it was something I really believed in. I knew I could take it really far if I just put the time and dedication into it. I think they key was to really, really want to do it. I've had other businesses before, and I've been excited about them too, but this was just different.

I think that passion, and how personal it was for you, can be a real propellor.

A lot of hard work, but such a huge payoff, especially when I hear how people have been affected by the T-shirts.

Have you had the "tough day"? When you're juggling work and motherhood and all that?

Oh yeah, that's everyday! No, It's tough especially because my husband is in grad school so he's gone during the day and I'm home all day with the baby. And he's such a good baby, which really helps, but there's times when, for example, I want to send out a press release, or ship some T-shirts, and he's up and needs attention. So every day is about prioritizing. And he gets first priority, but as soon as he falls asleep or takes a nap, I take that chance to go and do some work. At the end of the day, I'm exhausted, but I love being with him, I love the T=shirts… I just love what I'm doing.

Tell us why bamboo and organic cotton are so important for us to know about?

Yeah, that's a great question. Organic cotton and bamboo aren't treated with any pesticides or chemicals, which is not only good for the person wearing it, but for the farmers and the manufacturers. Living an eco-friendly lifestyle is something I've been into for quite a while now, so I swore that if I ever started a business that it would be a green business. It's still really hard to find great organic t-shirts with a good fit and for a good price, but I'm searching! I think, eventually, I'm going to have to make my own.

What would you say is the best first step for a mom who wants to start living a greener life, but maybe doesn't know where to begin?

I would probably start with food. More supermarkets are starting to offer more choices, and I would start to purchase as much organic food as you can. Especially for kids, once they start eating, it's so important.

What are your future plans for the company?

I just added a men's line, and I would love to do baby clothes— it's good to start them young thinking positively! Eventually, I'd love to have a store that sells the T-shirts and other products that promote positive thinking.

What would you say to a mom who has a dream to start a business, but maybe feels stuck or discouraged, or doesn't know where to start.

I think I would definitely say you have to be really passionate about your business idea. Otherwise it's so easy to give up or feel overwhelmed. But if it's something you love doing, and want to share with people, I think that it makes it a lot easier. And even though there are so many things to do, manage your business, take care of the baby, clean up the house, I think its so important to take time for yourself. Despite everything else that you have to do. Even if it's just 10 minutes a day where you just close your eyes and don't think about everything! Otherwise it can get really overwhelming.