Today we’d like to introduce you to Timber Colcord.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We live in rural southern Ohio and unfortunately did not have a prenatal ultrasound studio within a 60-mile radius of us. I became pregnant in 2022 and opted to have 4D ultrasounds done. The closest studio was over an hour and a half away and we did that drive three times. My mom couldn’t understand why southern Ohio specifically Ross County didn’t have something like this to offer their community. That’s when we started researching laws, other studios and training classes.
Prior to opening Bonding Moments I was actually a certified auto mechanic at a local dealership. I was into my second year of being a mechanic when I got pregnant with my first daughter Willow. I decided that I could not physically do the auto mechanics any longer and that’s when my mom decided we should get trained and open our own ultrasound studio. Currently its myself, my mom and my sister Sami driving the business.
We opened Bonding Moments May 1, 2024, and have serviced well over 1500 families from the community. We are continuing to grow every month and have noticed an increase in word-of-mouth recommendations. We have a 5-star rating on Google and Yelp and a 98% on our Facebook page. Bonding Moments prides itself on being a family friendly local family-owned business. We want every mommy who wants to participate in bonding with their baby before baby is born the opportunity. If a family is struggling financially, we do offer discounts, so they don’t miss out!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
If I am being honest this has been a huge undertaking for us. From the startup cost of over 150,000.00 to marketing 24/7 to taxes it’s been stressful. The first year was the hardest for sure. They say if a business can make it through the first year that you got a good business. We are into the second year and finally the business is paying for itself, but little is left after all the bills are paid. No one tells you about all the hidden costs that come with being a small business owner. Such as the killer taxes, the crazy expensive leases to be in town, marketing, our point-of-sale system, utilities, restocking of supplies and boutique items, insurance, phones, internet, literally the list goes on and on. The marketing is so important, and I think a lot of small businesses sink because no one knows they exist! We have been here for a year and a half and even with us marketing on Facebook weekly to over 300 groups in the surrounding communities, google Ads, receipts at the grocery store (I don’t recommend cause it’s an outdated marketing tool) and being members of the Chamber of Commerce people still don’t know we are here. Unfortunately, not everyone is on social media, so you need to diversify when marketing. I can say that if a company works hard and puts in the effort and time, they can make it. I think a lot of people get overwhelmed and discouraged and give up. When you have as much as we do financially, physically and emotionally invested there is no room or option to fail.
From an emotional standpoint I would say having to tell a mommy her baby has no heartbeat is the absolute worst. And it happens way more than we were mentally prepared for. It was helpful that my mom was a hospice nurse most her career and helped myself and Sami understand the grief process and how to comfort the families. I would estimate we see 3-4 miscarriages and not viable babies a month. So, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Bonding Moments llc?
The birth of a new baby is an exciting time for parents, family and friends! At Bonding Moments, we offer a warm family atmosphere that offers Elective 2D/3D/4D and HD prenatal ultrasounds. We use state of the art ultrasound technology that allows our trained technicians to bring your baby to life before your very eyes on an 86 in flat screen TV surrounded by up to 12 of your guests. The realistic images will provide a bonding experience between mommy, daddy, family and friends. See baby yawn, hiccup, smile and kick all in real-time. So, let’s take a journey together and peek inside your baby’s world!
A prenatal ultrasound uses a transducer to deliver high frequency sound waves. Echoes of the sound waves are recorded and transformed into pictures. A gel is applied to the belly and transducer before the scan which helps conduct the sound waves. 2D and 3D are still images .4D adds motion and dimension so it looks like a video and HD adds more realism.
We also have a small maternity boutique that offers handmade, all natural, baby and mommy safe products. Such as oils for aromatherapy, lotions, teas, photo albums, and frames. We also provide for our client’s the chance to find out the gender of their baby as early as 6 weeks with our Early Gender DNA test Sneak Peek. In addition to the DNA testing we also offer medical ear piercings performed by my mom who is a RN and most recently Paternity testing.
We use Blomdahl piercing system which was designed by a physician for physicians and nurses. All our piercings are nickel free and are titanium so no crusty ears or infections. We only pierce the lobes and can pierce as soon as baby has had his or hers first round of shots.
Oh, we can forget the Heartbeat Animals. These cute soft animals hold the recording of the client’s baby’s heartbeat; we have by far the largest offering in the state. We carry over 50 different animals from bears to sloths to dinosaurs.
I would have to say what sets us apart from the other studios is we go above and beyond for every client. If a client needs to be seen on a day, we are closed we make time to see them, we work with struggling families who can’t afford the other studios prices, we do free heartbeat checks for anyone in the community and surrounding communities. So many mommies get paranoid when they can’t feel baby moving. So instead of sending them to the ER to sit for half a day they come here and we can verify that baby has a heartbeat. We have many families who struggled with their pregnancies and miscarried. We don’t believe in making money off someone’s trauma.
We treat every mommy, baby and family like they are our family!
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We have recently had several college and high school students who wish to go into ultrasound as their profession that have shadowed us. We love teaching! Our biggest need of support at this time is marketing and getting the business out there. I am always surprised when people say they didn’t know we even existed. But not everyone is on social media which is where most our clients find us and on google. We do a lot with the chamber of commerce and partake in all the community events.
Pricing:
- 30.00 Pregnancy confirmation
- 60.00 Just a Peek Package
- 80-90.00 Gender package
- 110.00 Baby Bump package
- 130.00 Say Hi Baby package
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bondingmoments.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558125546270&mibextid=wwXlfr&mibextid=wwXlfr
