Kai Luu
I often wonder how I will survive if/when I have a kid. I’m one of those people who can’t function without eight to nine hours of sleep. Kai Luu is solving this problem for moms via her business, Lullaby Luu, an infant and child sleep consultancy.
Read on to learn more about why Kai started her business, her goals for the next 12 months, and her top tips for entrepreneurs.
Hustle Amsterdam (HA): Where are you from? And what brings you to Amsterdam?
Kay Luu (KL): I’m originally from Oregon (an hour outside of Portland), but studied at Portland State University for Undergrad. I’ve also lived in Florida, California, and then NYC where I attended Graduate School and taught high school for two years before moving to Amsterdam.
My husband is originally from the Netherlands, and while we were dating in the US, the company offered him a position out of Holland so he moved back (after living in the states for almost 16 years) and I moved out here a year later. I’ve been here for five years now.
HA: Tell me about your business? What is your mission?
KL: My business is all about helping mothers who are struggling with their little ones when it comes to sleep. I had a really hard time when it came to sleep with my first daughter, Maxine (who is now three years old), so I can completely relate to all of the moms that I work with when I’m creating a plan to get their little ones either sleeping better at night, during the day for naps, or both. My mission is to not only help other moms get the sleep they (and their little ones) need, but to encourage them to practice mindfulness, self-care, and to remind them that it takes a village to raise a child.
HA: How are you handling our new “normal” due to the coronavirus outbreak? What impact has it had on your business? How has the transition to working remotely been for you? Are you being strict with a routine or taking it day-by-day?
KL: I am actually handling the current situation extremely well, and my business is thriving. Before the coronavirus outbreak, my husband was traveling for work weekly. When he wasn’t traveling, he would be working at his company’s office near Utrecht so he wouldn’t come home until around 6:30 pm each night. Now that he’s working from home, we are all able to spend so much more time together with our two daughters (we also have another little girl, Sloane, who is 21 months old). I’ve always been able to work with my clients virtually as many of them don’t actually live in Amsterdam, so that hasn’t been a difficult transition for me. In terms of routines, I wouldn’t say that I am strict, but I definitely have a flow of what needs to get done daily. When you have two toddlers running around all day, you sometimes just have to go with the day and not put too much pressure on it. Because I do have two little ones, a lot of my work is done in the evenings which is totally fine for me right now.
HA: Why Lullaby Luu? What brought you to infant and child sleep consulting?
KL: When I had our first daughter, I really had no idea that getting a baby to sleep would be so difficult. I think I kind of just assumed that it would happen naturally, but it didn’t. I was exhausted all of the time, and when Maxine (our first daughter) was only 9 months old, I found out I was pregnant with our now youngest daughter, Sloane. I knew I had to do things differently, and so I did. After Sloane was a few months old, I knew that becoming a sleep coach would be an amazing fit for me and that it was something that I was super passionate about. Sleep really is the foundation of health, and nobody (not even moms) should go long periods of time feeling exhausted. So that’s what brought me to this industry: being an exhausted mother myself!
HA: What is the current state of Lullaby Luu? Do you have six and 12-month goals for your business?
KL: Currently my business is doing really well, and I have a constant flow of clients every month, but I also have big visions for where I want my business to go in the next 6 to 12 months. I want to grow my business to the point where in 12 months I’m doing more group coaching and able to help more women than I can with the one-on-one coaching style that I do now. While I love one-on-one, I’m starting to realize that my time is limited, which puts a cap on the clients that I can work with each month. I’m super excited about these plans!
HA: What kind of obstacles do you face in your company? How do you handle them?
KL: The biggest obstacle that I have in my company is probably working through the mindset shifts that a lot of mothers have. Many of these women are exhausted and struggling to stay sane during the day (because they’re not getting the sleep that they need), and they feel like they’ve hit rock bottom. Because of the exhaustion (which I can completely relate to), a lot of these mothers feel like their little ones will never be able to sleep through the night or take a decent nap for instance, and so their mindsets are coming from a place of discouragement and negativity. I try to encourage the families that I work with to practice keeping an optimistic mindset and to even say things like, “my child is a great sleeper, and I am teaching them these skills now,” etc.
HA: What has been your most successful moment so far? And how do you celebrate your wins?
KL: I honestly feel like every time that I wrap up working with a client feels like such a success. I love hearing parents tell me that they never thought it was possible for their little one to sleep through the night, and then by the end of week one or two of working together they’ve done just that. There isn’t anything specific that I do to celebrate my wins. That’s something that I definitely need to work on!
HA: How have you accomplished what you have? Did you go to business school? Did you wing it? Fake it till you make it? Get really lucky?
KL: I didn’t go to business school, but I have invested a lot of my time listening to, reading, and watching the success stories of other entrepreneurs, and am constantly thinking about the ways in which I can apply certain strategies within my own business. Working on my own mindset has been huge in terms of the growth of my business in the past few months though, and I think that mindset is really key to everyone’s ability to be successful. I also think that in order to accomplish anything (like to truly feel accomplished deep down), we all should be really thinking about whether or not we are passionate about what we do. I can relate to all of the women that I am working with as a Sleep Coach, and I am actually passionate about helping them because I know what it’s like to be in their shoes.
HA: How big is your team? And where are your team members located?
KL: Right now it’s just me.
HA: Do you have a favorite motivational quote?
KL: “You can’t fail at a job you were created to do.” Rachel Hollis
HA: What 3 tips would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? What do you wish you had known before you started?
KL:
Just start.
Look deep within yourself and pay attention to your thoughts and the stories you tell yourself about being successful. Do you truly believe that you can be successful? Do you believe in yourself? Many of us have so many limiting beliefs about ourselves and what we are capable of, and so we need to recognize those beliefs and shift them before we can truly step into our potential.
Choose something that you’re truly passionate about. Build experience and testimonials in your “social sphere” and then grow from there.
HA: How would you describe your working style?
KL: Some days are very focused, others very go with the flow.
HA: When you’re not working on Lullaby Luu — where can we find you?
KL: Running outside, at a park with my daughters, or scrolling through pinterest in search of another chocolate chip cookie recipe (I absolutely love to bake).
HA: How do you find work-life balance while being an entrepreneur?
KL: I actually sometimes struggle with this when I have a heavy client load. But I think that having boundaries is extremely important.
HA: What is your passion?
KL: My passion is to teach other moms that motherhood doesn’t have to be a struggle, specifically as it pertains to sleep but I have other ideas about how my business will transform in the future that may not be only sleep related.
HA: What inspires you most about Amsterdam? Do you have any favorite spots to work or hangout?
KL: What inspires me most about Amsterdam is the vast amount of things that there is to do and experience in the city. I love all of the parks here in the city, which is where I am usually hanging out with my kiddos.
HA: Anything else you’d like to add?
KL: I recently started a podcast called The Diaries of a Sleep Coach which can be found on all podcast platforms. Super excited about that! I am hoping to have more guests on the show and to have discussions that aren’t necessarily grounded in sleep only, but other topics that I know a lot of my listeners would be excited to tune in to.
Keep in touch with Lullaby Luu on Instagram, Facebook, and connect with Kai on LinkedIn.
