There’s No Monkey Business Here! (Part 2)
And we are back with Cheryl from Monkey Doodlez. We finished up our chat with this fabulous Mom-Entrepreneur by talking about her choice in materials for her products, Canadian manufacturing (& why it’s important) and advice to Moms thinking about their own business.
Thanks for joining us again, Cheryl.
Tell us about choosing cotton for the absorbency layer in your All-in-One Diapers?
In a market of polyester, I am often asked why we strayed from the pack and went with cotton for absorbency. The answer is simple; comfort. Anyone who has ever had to wear polyester underwear knows what I’m talking about – they just don’t feel good. They’re hot, sweaty, sticky and generally unpleasant. Now, if you compound that and were to wear 5 layers of polyester (a typical design of a bulk produced AIO/pocket diaper, just imagine how that would feel, and then think about wearing that 24 hours a day for the next 2 ½ years. Or, think about wearing cotton undies – which would you choose?
Here is a challenge for you: The next time you’re in the drug store, check out the label on a tube of yeast infection cream. What you will read: To avoid reinfection (of yeast), wear cotton underwear. Interestingly, yeast infections are also quite common with disposable wearing babies.
Cotton is a wonderful fabric; it’s a natural, soft, absorbent, breathable, it does not trap heat and at the end of it’s life cycle it can be popped in your back yard compost! Bamboo also offers many of the same properties as cotton and will make its Monkey Doodlez® debut in our new patent pending trainers this summer.
So now we know the anwer to “Why cotton?”. Now tell us “Why Canadian manufacturing?”
As much as possible, we purchase our goods from Canadian manufacturers and distributors. Each and every product is manufactured in Canada; all in the Toronto area.
While there are many economical benefits to moving production and sourcing overseas, we have taken a firm stance to keep our products as Canadian as possible. It is very important to us to support our community and the Canadian economy by providing jobs and business to other Canadian businesses. Having everything made locally to us also enables us to ensure favourable working conditions for all of our staff and we are able to monitor every step of production and make immediate adjustments if needed. I know each and every one of my employees and contractors which allows for open communication and a sense of team work, you can’t put a price tag on that. Because we have such close proximity to all of our production, we are able to provide very flexible working conditions and we proudly cater to the working parent lifestyle; many of our staff are able to work from home and in many cases, they set their own hours. This results in a wonderful opportunity to achieve work/life balance and the end result of having happy employees is reliability, consistency and excellence in quality. Of course it means a bit more work on the management side, but I think it’s well worth it.
The down side of keeping things in Canada is the costs. All of our employees earn fair wages, and in addition to labour, our materials costs are significantly higher than they would be if we moved production overseas. However, despite having significantly higher manufacturing costs, our products remain very competitively priced, even with our foreign made competitors, without compromising on quality. Keeping things in Canada is very challenging as more and more of the manufacturing sector is moving overseas. To keep businesses and jobs in Canada, please take the time to read the label and buy Canadian made products.
We’ve now learned a little about you and your successful business. What advice do you have for Moms who are venturing out to start their own business?
Being a mom is a big job. Starting and running your own businesses is a big job. Doing them both at the same time really seems to defy the boundaries of possibility, but yet here we both are. I think the most honest thing I could say is that it’s hard. It’s an amazing, rewarding, challenging journey, but it is indeed a steep road to climb. When I started, I had visions of this beautiful intermingling of my two worlds where everything ran on a schedule and I had time for everything. The reality however, is a little bit different.
Probably the most important thing when you’re starting out is to make sure that you are engaging in something that you are truly passionate about. You will be relying on that passion to get you through the hard days (and I promise, there will be many of those!) and to inspire you on the good days.
Next, you need to make sure you have a support system; not just for your child and child care, but for yourself. It’s very easy to lose yourself in the role of mother and business owner and run out of time for yourself.
And of course, your partner needs to be supportive; physically and emotionally. This may mean that they are going to take on additional chores, more time at the park with the kids, or even changing their work hours to accommodate for your new work schedule.
Running a business is a real job. Running a business from home doesn’t make it any less important or any less work and certainly not easier. Running a business from home with your children at your feet is a feat reserved only for the bravest, most daring and most determined individuals. To put it into perspective for those that really don’t get it, tell them to take their children to work every day and then excel at their job and parenting at the same time.
Mompreneurs are truly a special breed.
The last thing, and maybe most important, is have a good sense of humour. Laugh at the small joys each day brings and don’t sweat the small stuff!
Thanks again, Cheryl. It’s been great to get your insights and hear advice from an experienced voice!
