Mompreneur--Kim Root and Cottage Coastal

One ideal tactic for savvy mompreneurs is to start on online business such as an e-commerce website. We asked mompreneur Kim Root, who runs the online Cottage Coastal Store, to tell us a little bit about her background and her business.

I am originally from the Boston area. I attended Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. I lived in Marblehead, Massachusetts (North Shore) for a number of years after college and have always loved the coast and its offerings. I spent many summers as a child at Nauset Beach on the Cape which lead me to want to open a small online coastal décor shop in 2006.

 
My professional career has always centered around the hotel and resort industry. I began in sales at the Westin Copley Place in Boston. I moved to San Francisco from Boston back in 2000 and worked for Mandarin Oriental Management Group for a few years and then Auberge Resorts Corporate Office in Mill Valley. My husband and I married at one of Auberge’s properties, Esperanza, in September 2005.
 
We welcomed a son in October 2006—so to spend time with him at home and continue to work, I opened Cottage Coastal Store, Inc. with the help of my husband. We then moved to the Big Island in January 2007 for his new golf and residential development project named Kohanaiki. My husband lived on the island for 15 years prior as a golf professional and director of golf for Mauna Kea Resort. He is very happy to be back to the Hawaiian Islands. It is definitely an amazing experience.
 
You will find that I am trying to add more Hawaiian artisans and cant say enough about Malie bath/home/spa products, Muumuuheaven, and Meleana. I also work with a wonderful artisan out of Healdsburg named Jendala. I like products that are unique, quality made, and made from reclaimed/recycled materials. Almost all of the products are made in the USA (Cape Cod, Louisiana, Georgia, Maine, Long Island, Daufuskie Island, Hawaii, and Healdsburg as mentioned) with one artisan out of Tlaquepaque and another wonderful woman from Guadalajara.