Experts
Nina Bard is co-owner of BRD Sport, a family-owned company dedicated to health, fitness and lifestyle. She and her husband started the business 15 years ago, with the intention of private labeling a line of high-quality compression bracing made 100% in the USA. While accomplishing that, Nina says she soon realized their orthopedic supports needed to be sold direct to consumer. Their ideal client is an active person who needs help to remain active and relieve pain no matter whether the pain results from a medical condition or a sports injury.
According to Nina, “We provide the kind of bracing that helps keep people active, regardless of their age. Our products offer ‘Relief in Motion.’ People deserve access to products that really help them, whether the problem is a medical condition, injury related, proactive or recovery.”
While Nina’s husband supervises BRD’s manufacturing facility, Nina handles social media, sales, bookkeeping, advertising, invoicing, hiring and shipping, as well as marketing. An important part of her marketing role is recognizing niche markets their products can serve.
As an example, she says “I had many friends that were being injured and I kept hearing they were injured while playing Pickleball. There is a lot of lateral movement and they were hurting their ankles. That is when I looked into the sport of Pickleball and realized BRD’s products could help in many ways. This is a sport that is exploding and a great many of the players are Baby Boomers. We could help both preventatively and with recovery.
“I have worked with many of the pros in Pickleball and learned a lot about the game and the industry. We have met people in every state who are playing Pickleball and looking for ankle support. We like to say: ‘Don’t let pain keep you out of the game!’”
Prior to starting BRD, Nina held a variety of positions, both paid and volunteer, garnering a wide range of work experience in the process. Interacting with people has always been her focus. While she worked at Rutgers University, where she was involved in developing the first Physician Assistant (PA) program, and in a travel agency, she says it was at the bagel store she owned prior to started BRD, where she really learned to be an entrepreneur.
“We designed the property. I learned to hire and train people. I learned to operate machinery, order products, schedule, etc. The food business is very hard and I learned many more skills. Again, I interacted closely with all kinds of people. I was actively involved with both employees and customers.”
When she’s not working, Nina enjoys spending time with her six grandchildren.
