This Facet Hustle Highlight Q&A options Elle Rowley, founding father of Solly Child, an organization that produces sustainably sourced child wraps fabricated from 100% licensed TENCEL Modal and different child gear. In 2023, Rowley stepped away from her day-to-day function (she now serves the model as a strategic advisor and is on the board), and the corporate welcomed Nicole Newhouse as CEO to guide the subsequent stage of Solly Child’s development.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Solly Child. Elle Rowley.
When did you begin Solly Child as a facet hustle, and the place did you discover the inspiration for it?
After having my first child in 2009, I used to be stunned to discover a surge of artistic inspiration that I had by no means identified earlier than having youngsters. My husband was nonetheless at school, and I used to be hungry to start out one thing to complement our meager scholar revenue. By the point I used to be pregnant with our second little one in 2011, the net world was fertile floor for moms seeking to begin a facet hustle from residence. I attempted a number of various things, however I intuitively knew that there was a spot out there when it got here to aesthetically pleasing child gear, so I used to be fairly centered on that house all through my being pregnant.
I cherished carrying my first child, and I would heard that wraps had been essentially the most snug method to put on an toddler, so being industrious and broke, I made two wraps out of low-cost jersey knit cloth — one for me and one for a buddy who was additionally pregnant. Whereas my crude prototype was removed from what the product turned, I may see the potential for this lengthy piece of material to truly be a vogue accent for the wearer slightly than “child gear.” What actually sealed it, although, was the primary time I timidly ventured out holding my toddler’s hand and carrying my child wrapped on my chest. Earlier than we left the entrance porch, he was asleep and respiration deeply on my chest. The rise in confidence that I felt with every step was palpable. I felt liberated, and on the similar time, I would by no means felt extra related to my child. I knew I used to be on to one thing.
What had been a number of the first steps you took to get the facet hustle off the bottom?
I discovered a cloth provider within the cloth district of Los Angeles, bought a number of thousand {dollars} price of material (due to bank cards and a mortgage from my in-laws), purchased a used serger on Craigslist for $50 and opened an Etsy store. Then, I started working largely when my infants had been sleeping. I turned our home right into a manufacturing unit to make the primary 50 wraps. I signed up for each native handmade market that I may discover, which did not garner nice gross sales outcomes, however the suggestions I obtained from folks in actual life was invaluable. Lastly, in a choice that felt reckless on the time due to the fee, I employed my favourite photographer to take photographs of me carrying my son. I had a pleasant digital camera and will have “made-do” by myself, however I knew that having lovely photos would assist compensate for the various different areas the place the model was weak.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Solly Child
What had been a number of the greatest challenges you confronted whereas constructing the enterprise, and the way did you navigate them?
Development is dear: I had no capital aside from the $4,000 mortgage for material, and finance isn’t my space of experience, so I knew I would wish a really money flow-positive enterprise mannequin. Within the first three years, it was very difficult to finance our development, however I can see what a present it was now to have that constraint. As a result of we had no factoring phrases with our suppliers or credit score traces, we would must pay a hefty deposit on our manufacturing after we submitted the acquisition order. Then, we would pay the rest of the stability upon completion. This made development sluggish, and we had been consistently underselling. As demand for the product grew, we began putting all the things on preorder on our web site, which gave us sufficient to pay for the order. This made it so our clients had been primarily funding our development.
How lengthy did it take you to see constant month-to-month income? How a lot did the enterprise usher in at that time?
Gross sales had been rising 12 months over 12 months in 2013, however we had been nonetheless solely grossing a number of hundred thousand {dollars} a 12 months and taking residence lower than $100,000. Each day gross sales had been nonetheless very inconsistent, which made it troublesome to have plenty of confidence in hiring staff and even believing that this was something greater than a facet hustle. I used to be hitting a wall of exhaustion when my husband and I made the leap of religion to deliver him into Solly Child with me. He’d completed college and was working with one other startup, however we each felt his time can be higher spent if we centered our efforts collectively. This shift instantly led to new development and imaginative and prescient. His assist additionally freed me as much as work extra on the enterprise slightly than in the enterprise. We then employed our first worker, Kortney, who took over customer support and success in a approach that freed my husband and me as much as deal with development.
Simply weeks after hiring Kortney, and days earlier than I had my third little one within the spring of 2014, we launched our spring assortment, and the demand went by means of the roof. Gross sales went from wherever between zero to $3,000 per day to $2,000 turning into our new day by day baseline — and releases bringing in tens of hundreds of {dollars} in a day. We hit $1 million in gross sales that November, and by the top of that 12 months, we knew this was rather more than a facet hustle.
You have since turned your facet hustle into a really profitable enterprise. What does income seem like now?
It has been wonderful to expertise the expansion we have now been in a position to obtain. To see this enterprise develop from my home to an Etsy store to reaching thousands and thousands of moms, dad and mom and households is really humbling. As we continued to construct the staff and discover our footing out there, some years, we noticed income double 12 months over 12 months. At this time, Solly Child operates at $10 to twenty million in annual income.
What’s your favourite half about working Solly Child?
As a mom of 4, connecting with, encouraging and offering merchandise for postpartum moms throughout a really transformational time of life has all the time been life-giving work for me. It’s going to by no means get outdated to satisfy a mom or father who says, “Your wraps modified my relationship with my child.” Understanding that our merchandise have the ability to alter the trajectory of a parent-child relationship is deeply rewarding.
Creating firm tradition and ethos was additionally very rewarding. I made our firm motto “small issues with nice love” a number of years in the past as a result of I maintain a deep perception that small issues performed thoughtfully create the most important and finest issues. That is related to rising a enterprise and equally related to elevating kids. Seeing this adopted and trickle down into each a part of the corporate as CEO felt very significant.
What does your routine seem like today? Are there any useful habits you’d advocate to different entrepreneurs?
Retaining a day by day routine is my finest recommendation. I’m an enormous believer in getting up earlier than your youngsters (until you will have an toddler — then sleep as a lot as you possibly can!), exercising, preparing for the day and taking not less than half-hour for non secular or meditative apply.
It was simple within the early days to fully neglect myself to satisfy the wants of my household and the enterprise, however I strongly consider that we’d’ve grown quicker and with extra intention had I taken higher care of myself from the start. I used to be working on empty all the time, and it nearly broke me within the first two years. What’s extra is that the enterprise was not stronger due to my “sacrifices.” I turned very depressed and anxious and eventually shared this with my husband. We made a self-care plan collectively, and all the things shortly improved in my life, personally and professionally.
What’s your finest recommendation for others hoping to start out a profitable enterprise of their very own?
We’re usually inspired to “suppose massive” with regards to enterprise, however generally, considering “small” is the right method to start — primarily as a result of it’s going to get you to start. I do not suppose I might have had the arrogance to start out a multi-million greenback, world firm on the age of 25, however I did not must. I simply wanted sufficient confidence to make the primary 50 wraps to assist pay the hire and a honest want to deliver moms and infants nearer by means of the product. That was all I wanted to get the ball rolling, after which my confidence and imaginative and prescient expanded with the corporate. We type of grew up collectively, Solly Child and me.
