Interview by Mallika Malhotra, The Brand CEO
Mallika Malhotra: Thank you for being here! Let's kick it off by introducing yourself, stating your pronouns, and talking a little bit about your business.
Cyndi Prince: My name is Cyndi Prince, my pronouns are she and her. My business is LooHoo, we started in 2010 and we’re based in Camden, Maine and we primarily make wool dryer balls. We also make wool pet toys, and we also offer curated gift boxes online. We work with retailers nationwide, and then we also just sell directly from our website.
MM: I know that your business is very much a mission-driven business. I’m curious about why you started LooHoo in the first place and then I’d love to hear about the evolution of your business.
CP: I was looking for an alternative to a dryer sheet, I was pregnant at the time, and wanted to cloth diaper our son. With cloth diapers, they take a long time to dry in the dryer and they need to be absorbent. When you are using dryer sheets or fabric softeners they leave a coating on the clothes, and they leave them nonabsorbent, which is the exact opposite of what you want from a cloth diaper. I also did a lot of reading, especially as a new mom. I'm sure a lot of people experience this, how, when you look around your house, there are a lot of dangers for a newborn toddler. One of the things I really started to look into was all the chemicals in a lot of the cleaning products that we have, including dryer sheets and fabric softeners.
That’s when the light bulb went off, that was something we definitely had to make a change to in our household. We needed something different because of the idea of getting rid of fabric softeners, but having stiff clothes coming out of the dryer was not appealing to me. I started to do a lot of research and that's when I learned about what a wool dryer ball was. This was almost 13 years ago now, and 13 years ago people didn't really know exactly what this was. It was still a really new concept for a lot of people. Those who knew about it were mostly moms, especially cloth-diapering moms.
I originally ordered some online but the ones that I got fell apart after I used them for a while. So, having this crafty background and always loving to make things, I thought I could come up with a way to make it myself. I tried and it was horrible, they turned out so bad. I almost wish I had kept them over all these years because of how horrible it was. Then I started to try to figure things out and finally came up with a way to make them, and I wanted them to be super durable as well. I was trying to balance all those things of making sure you get all the benefits but that they were still going to be something that lasted a long time.
MM: Do you have a product design or development background for you to think about having a little lab in your home and trying to figure out how to make this? I mean, that's incredible!
CP: It's funny, I don't have any kind of lab design background or anything like that. I do have a science background and an art background. I have a degree in each. I feel like that creative side gives me the permission to experiment and the scientific side of me wants to write down all the details and make sure I figure out; what did I do here? What can I change there? It’s like being in the kitchen, you give yourself permission to try and fail and be excited about moving on to the next thing. That was always the way that I approached things and still do today a lot of times. I like throwing that super practical side out of it and just giving it a try. Especially having kids, I feel like you kind of just do that, experimentation and imagination and giving things a try is definitely something that you always encourage.
Our first dryer balls that finally worked turned out well and I was going to run with it as a business. The other reason why we started, was when I looked online at dryer balls 13 years ago, there were only a few people and places where you could get them from and they were always sold out. I saw that the demand was there, but the people who were making them could not keep up with it. That's where it was a green light in so many different ways. I had gone through a business course during this time as well and had a completely different business idea, then I became pregnant and my life changed. This felt like the right kind of business to pursue, and I got started from there.
MM: How long did it take from idea to product in the marketplace?
CP: When we say product in the marketplace, it wasn't like we were on store shelves, so it didn't have the packaging and barcodes and all the other stuff. From product to be able to sell it on a website, it was probably around six to eight months. At the time, I was doing this during my son’s naptime and after he went to bed, and that was all I could muster for building the product. Now I am able to get them out much sooner.
MM: From making it yourself and fast forward to now, how has your business evolved?
CP: It's still a home-based business, but I have a number of people to help me that will manufacture the balls. I have people that will come in and help ship products, and people who help with social media. So I have a bigger team now, which is really nice. It's not just me figuring out everything, which certainly was the case in the beginning. When it first started out, too, I sold them online through our website, but now we work with a number of retailers, which was something I didn't really factor in initially.
MM: How has your role changed? What hat do you wear mostly now having a team, versus wearing multiple hats before?
CP: Making the product is time-consuming, so that's where I spent a lot of time. It’s nice to be able to take myself out of that role now and focus more on sales, going to the shows, and developing and cultivating relationships. I think that’s such a crucial part of a business, which is what I spend a lot of my time on now. It’s interesting to see how it grows and what changes and what does need to be done. It’s always funny when I have to fall back into the roles of Day One as well. All part of being a small business.
MM: Exactly. That's the beauty of a small business, you can still wear those hats if you need to. What about your mindset and thinking around your business? How has that changed from 13 years ago to today?
CP: I was probably in a fear state a lot in the beginning. I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, wondering whether I'm going to have enough money to make it work, how much money was in the bank and I was always trying to figure it out, even though it was building momentum. Now it feels like a comfortable business where we’re generating revenue throughout the year and able to sustain the business itself and able to look at growth opportunities, which is really exciting.
I have more confidence and I have learned so much over the years. It's unbelievable the thick and dirty lessons that you have to learn and then the easier ones that come along too, but you can't help but gather so much information and learn from so many other businesses as well, which is always a fun part.
In the beginning, even though I took business courses and did different things I almost felt like I was still by myself. Having a team, having mentors, having networking groups, and things like that, you finally kind of branch out. I’m so much more comfortable reaching out and connecting because I know how important that is. In the beginning, it was definitely a lot of hesitancy. It's like, “Oh, I'm just this teeny tiny business. I don't have a place next to these other people that are generating some serious revenue.”
“There are always other people out there to support you.”
MM: You mentioned there were a lot of lessons learned along the way, what was one of the bigger challenges that you faced in your entrepreneurial career?
CP: Adding people to make a team felt like a bit of a challenge, especially with my personality type of, I'll-do-everything-myself-if-I-have-to. But I know I shouldn't, I know I don't need to. There are always other people out there to support you. That was a really good and hard lesson, where it was writing job descriptions, finding and interviewing people, and trusting that they are going to do what their expertise is. And not always having to be in the driver's seat, which is my favorite place to be.
MM: It's exhausting, though. Learning to delegate and then not micromanage is so hard, but it's so necessary for your growth, you can't be doing what they're doing. That's the whole reason for hiring a team.
CP: That's exactly it. I think that is a big lesson to learn and one that you probably have to keep reminding yourself of every time you're adding people and coming into a new growth opportunity and trying to figure it out. I think that's definitely one of the bigger challenges, at least that I keep thinking about in today's scope of my business.
MM: In the last few years, what is a win that you're most proud of when it comes to your brand?
CP: We were in Oprah Magazine in April 2020. To be in that magazine had been on my list for 10 years, so that was a huge win for us. It came at the time of the pandemic. The magazine itself showed up in my mailbox the last day my son went to school in 2020 in person. I'm holding this little golden nugget that I've been working toward for so long, so happy and so sad and so torn at the same time. I felt like I didn’t have anybody to share this with because the world was shutting down.
MM: Oh, my gosh, the timing on that wasn't great, but it doesn't matter if you have Oprah's seal of approval that can go for years and years!
CP: It’s a wonderful thing and something that I am very, very proud of. I also won an Eileen Fisher grant, somewhere around 2013-2014, which was enormous. To be recognized by this company that I so admire. They do so much for the bigger picture than just their clothes. They brought the winners down to New York, it was such a neat experience to be amongst these other business winners. Then to be within their company culture, which is lovely and beautiful.
MM: That's so great! Scaling often is a challenge, right? How did you move from being a business in Maine to going nationally or globally? What helped you scale? Where did you see the most growth from? What kind of marketing activities helped get you outside of the state of Maine?
CP: I certainly think that from the beginning, we primarily made wool dryer balls our main product and the biggest focus. It seems so simple, it is this simple little object, but we (our team) always focused on creating this bigger thing, because it is bigger than this little ball. We’ve always had a bigger mission of what LooHoo really is about. I think being consistent with blog posts, and e-blasts makes a difference in how your following grows. I also think that partnering with different businesses and having different collaborations that we've worked on over the years have connected us with companies across the United States. This includes the retailers that we've worked with, they have helped us enormously to expand our brand. We work with a lot of stores on the West Coast, which is so wonderful, even though I've never stepped foot in them, they've done so well with our products.
MM: I think consistency is key to always having that really strong message and you're blasting out all the touch points, but your storytelling is so much bigger than the product like you said. Having this really rich and purpose-driven mission so that other collaborators and retailers can jump in on that has probably helped extend your reach beyond selling in Maine. It's bigger than the wool dryer ball. I think you've done all the right things to push your brand outward so that many people can purchase from you and be part of the mission. Curious, where do you see your business in the future? You said you started with one simple product, you have some dog toys, but are you going to stay focused in terms of the product offerings? Or do you have the vision to expand bigger?
CP: I definitely would love to add a couple of different things here and there with the products that we offer. I still love the idea of simplicity, I think being so focused on what we do helps us and helps me focus on the business in a more single-minded way. We are coming up with a couple of different ideas for growth opportunities that we're working on. I do see some very thoughtfully curated housewarming gifts that we want to put together, collaborating with some other wonderful companies with sustainable products that we love and admire. But there are only a few products that we're really thinking about pursuing which I'm really excited about.
MM: Do you want to be in more retailers or bigger retailers?
CP: I like the bigger retailers, and eight years ago I would have said yes, definitely that is where we were heading. Now after all these years, we work with so many smaller, wonderful stores that do so well with our product. You realize that sometimes you get lost in the mix in some of the bigger stores. We do work with Whole Foods, which I'm grateful for. The places that I want to work with are the companies that are in line with our vision and our values. If Patagonia called me up today and said, I really want to do something, I'd be like, “Oh my gosh, I've been waiting for this call for so long!” Like Eileen Fisher, we've worked with them before as well, it’s the bigger brand missions that are phenomenal at helping the planet, helping women and children. Those are the people we'd love to focus on. The Zero Waste stores and the ones which are popping up all over the place throughout the US, which is wonderful, are the stores we love to work with. Their customers are walking in, they know what the store is about. It’s always nicer when we do find that happy medium between the big giants and the little ones and the ones that do phenomenally well.
MM: I love that! Let's put it out to the universe. Patagonia, we are waiting for you! Maine Vibes Mag is all about good vibes, what gives you good vibes and feelings?!
CP: When I'm hanging out with my family, I love spending time with them; going for walks, things like that, I love working out; the community that we have, within the gym that I belong to, brings me a lot of joy. Cooking, I absolutely love gardening, I can't wait for spring.
MM: Any advice that you would give your younger self about life or owning a business?
CP: You're going to fail, it’s inevitable, but it's what you do on the other side of that failure that’s what counts. Be humble in that moment of the failures, and know that you grow from it as well. Being open to building a team earlier would be my other advice. I think that you always think, “I’m so small, I can't afford something.” But a lot of times you can and you can figure out how to collaborate with people to get the help you need. I think that that maybe would have changed the trajectory of LooHoo a little bit of how and when we started to grow.
MM: That's great advice. I love the one about failing. I think when you're younger, failing feels like it's the end, but as you grow older and wiser you realize failing is an opportunity to reframe it as lessons that you need to learn to get where you need to go. So, Maine has lots of women-owned businesses. Who are your favorite women-owned businesses?
CP: The list is so long, which is one of the things I love about this statement! I’m so grateful that there are so many small businesses around here. Jill McGowan, is a beautiful designer in Portland. Angelrox, Roxi Suger in Biddeford, these phenomenal women that are designing beautiful, comfortable clothes. I love being able to support them as well as making sure my wardrobe is filled with women that I know and love. Jess Shepard, runs Uproot Pie Co., it's a mobile woodfired oven, she's incredible, a rockstar, and doing so many incredible things. The list is so long! It’s endless here and so wonderful. I think it’s so important to support one another.
MM: Why do you think there are so many women-owned businesses here in Maine?
CP: I think women-owned businesses, in general, are growing by leaps and bounds. In Maine, it's a place where you piece things together initially until you can maybe figure out exactly what you can do full time. Starting a business, even if it's small, and even if you do keep it small, it's still something that is manageable. I know so many people with businesses right in their homes, even pre-pandemic, that was a bigger trend for people. Maine is also a supportive state, the number of free resources out there is endless. If you want to start, run, and own a business, and look and take advantage of all those resources, you would have that support from the state.
MM: I agree. Being new to the state, with CEI, the SBA, and then even some of the local towns have their own resources, it's amazing to me. People take advantage of it as a collective. I feel like it's really a place to build a community around the resources, which is great. Okay, so the last question, has anything surprised you about your business or your business journey?
CP: I don't think it's a surprise, but things come up, even on a weekly basis, I'll give you a couple of examples. When I first needed a barcode, you know, you can Google things and look, but I emailed another business that I admired in Portland.
I asked her about the barcodes and wasn’t sure she would respond. The warmth and openness and generosity of people surrounding you, where they're like, “Oh, my gosh, welcome to the business world. Here's what I have for you for resources, reach out if you have any other questions.” I think that was one of those things where I was like, wow, this is amazing that people are there to support you, even strangers that I didn't even know initially. That is my attitude going forward as well. I have people that I don’t know that will call or email with random questions and I am happy to help in any way because I know what it's like, I've been there. I've probably asked the exact same question. It’s all those little things, I think there's a wonderful kind of warmth and so much support is out there for you when you need it
MM: Yeah, that idea of paying it forward. If someone helps you, you help others, and we all sort of lift each other up to get to where we want to be, which is so true. Thank you, Cyndi! What an amazing business you have, you’ve grown so much and should feel so proud, it’s incredible.
Thank you to Cyndi Prince for sharing your amazing story with us and to Mallika Malhotra for contributing to Maine Vibes Magazine!
Instagram: @loohoowooldryerballs