Exploding a niche
There's nothing tired about Sleepyheads.com
What do Julia Roberts, Courteney Cox and Sarah Jessica Parker have in common? They have each purchased pajamas from Sleepyheads.com, a Hopkins-based, online store featuring comfy and indulgent pjs, bathrobes and slippers.
Françoise Shirley started the online company as a hobby in 1999, when she was the owner of a gift boutique in downtown Hopkins. She noticed that popular TV shows, such as "Ally McBeal," "Friends" and "Will and Grace," were dressing their stars in cute and cuddly printed pjs onscreen, and when she started carrying the celebrity-status pajamas they flew out the door. That's when she hatched Sleepyheads.com.
"That was the infancy stage of the web boom," said Shirley, who has a background in marketing and advertising. "I knew I didn't want an online store with a broad base. I wanted something niche-y that people would really search out. The pajamas were perfect. I launched the site in September and by the end of that holiday season, I knew it was more than just a hobby." She sold her boutique the following year to focus on Sleepyheads.com.
She started small. "In the beginning," Shirley said, "my warehouse was my garage and all my employees were coming and going from my house." Seven years later, her 12-member staff (who are allowed to wear pajamas to work) includes her husband, who quit his job to join her company.
Marketing has been key to her success. "I had a perfect Hollywood tie-in from the start," Shirley said, which is why she decided to reach for the stars. She put her pajamas into celebrity gift bags at award shows. "Being in those gift bags really allowed us to develop relationships with celebrities. If they liked our pajamas, they turned around and shopped with us," Shirley said. "This meant we were able to have an ongoing presence in celebrity gossip and fashion magazines." Sleepyheads.com has appeared in magazines from People to Parents. This year, it'll debut its own mail-order catalog.
One of the things Shirley values about being her own boss is the flexibility it gives her. "I can get my kids off to school in the morning, and I can be there when they get home." A former at-home mom, Shirley said that when her kids were young, "There were days I never got out of my pajamas or even left the house."
Successful businesswoman or not, she admitted to being a bit star struck. Once she confirmed an order with Farrah Fawcett. "To me," she exclaimed, "This was ... I just gasped."
