Improve Posture & Heal - Noble Pillow

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jamie Noble, Founder and Co-Owner of Noble Pillow, located in Bend, OR, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Noble Pillow sells fully adjustable ergonomic pillows for the head and lower body. The patented designs are my own creations, using my knowledge and experience from my career in sports medicine. Our customers are those who struggle to sleep due to pain and/or discomfort from inadequate pillow designs and low-grade materials.

Tell us about yourself

My clients were my first customers, and they were the impetus for me to start this journey to create a pillow that could work for everyone. When the ergonomic fad really started kicking off, my clients (and myself) tried many different "ergo" pillows that made bold claims of proper support and comfort, but none were much more than blocks of foam cut into interesting shapes or bags of shredded foam. If you know the first thing about ergonomics, you know that it's all relative to the individual.

So, I set out to work with a sewist to design a better option that would work for my clients and me. When I received such positive feedback, I decided to start a business to make it available to everyone else as well. What motivates me is being able to use the expertise I have gained in my profession to make a much bigger impact than I could in my practice alone.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment would have to be bringing my design concept from just an idea to a full manufacturing run in a relatively short time which allowed the pillows to get recognition from the Good Housekeeping bedding awards and having the Noble Pillow featured on the Today show.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things about being a business owner would have to be figuring out the aspects of the business you can handle yourself effectively and what areas are best suited for delegating to other individuals (employees or contractors) who have the expertise to get the job done well and in a reasonable amount of time.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Definitely seek out a mentor. I was able to use local and state resources to connect with people who could help guide me while giving feedback and encouragement during the different phases of starting a business.
2. Get some kind of system for organizing all the aspects of your business. Some use apps, some use a filing system, or whatever works. It can feel overwhelming when things begin to pile up if there is no coherent way to process, store, and retrieve the information you need when you need it.
3. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Just accept it. You'll need to reach out into different avenues of the business world you might have previously considered "not your domain." It gets easier the more you do it, and pretty soon, you come to find that people are still just people. Going from the top of my field to the bottom of a brand-new one was a huge ego challenge for me, but it's exciting and well worth it.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://noblepillow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noblepillow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noblepillow/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noblejamie/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.