This Side Hustle Q&A features Founder Elle Rowley Solly, darling, a company producing sustainably sourced baby wraps, fabricated from 100% certified TENCEL modal, and other baby items. In 2023, Rowley stepped away from her day-to-day role (she is now a strategic advisor to the brand and serves on the board), and the company welcomed Nicole Newhouse as CEO to lead the next phase of Solly Baby’s development.
Photo credit: courtesy of Solly Baby. Ella Rowley.
When did you begin Solly Baby as a side business and where did you discover the inspiration for it?
After having my first child in 2009, I used to be surprised to discover a surge of creative inspiration that I had never experienced before I had children. My husband was still in school, and I wanted to start something that will complement our modest student income. By the time I became pregnant with my second child in 2011, the online world had change into fertile ground for moms who wanted to start working from home. I attempted a few various things, but intuitively I knew there was a gap in the market when it got here to aesthetically pleasing baby products, so I focused on that area throughout my pregnancy.
I loved carrying my first baby and had heard that wraps were the most comfortable way to carry a baby, so being busy and broke, I made two scarves out of low cost jersey fabric – one for myself and one for a friend who was also pregnant. Although my crude prototype was far from what the product would change into, I saw the potential for this long piece of material to actually change into a fashion accessory for the person wearing it relatively than a “baby gear.” But what really sealed the deal was the undeniable fact that for the first time I timidly dared to hold my baby’s hand and carry him wrapped on my chest. By the time we left the porch, he was sleeping and respiratory deeply on my chest. The increase in self-confidence I felt with each step was palpable. I felt liberated and at the same time I had never felt more connected to my child. I knew I used to be onto something.
What were the first steps you took to break away from the side hustle?
I discovered a fabric supplier in the LA fabric district, bought a few thousand dollars value of material (thanks to bank cards and a loan from my in-laws), bought used fabric on Craigslist for $50, and began an Etsy shop. After that, I worked mostly when the children were asleep. I turned our house into a factory where I made my first 50 wraps. I registered at every local craft fair I could find, which didn’t have great sales, but the feedback I received from people in real life was invaluable. Finally, in a decision that at the time seemed reckless to me due to the cost, I hired my favorite photographer to take photos of me in costume with my son. I had a nice camera and could “do” something myself, but I knew that having beautiful photos would help make up for the many other areas where the brand was weak.
Photo credit: courtesy of Solly Baby
What were the biggest challenges you faced while building your online business and how did you overcome them?
Growth is expensive: I had no capital apart from a $4,000 loan for fabrics, and finance is not my area of expertise, so I knew I would want a business model with a very positive money flow impact. For the first three years, financing our growth was a big challenge, but now I see what a gift it was to have such a limitation. Since we had no factoring arrangements with our suppliers or lines of credit, we had to pay a high deposit for our production when placing the order. We will then pay the remaining balance upon completion. This slowed growth and we were consistently underselling. As the demand for the product increased, we began pre-ordering every little thing on our website, which was enough for us to pay for the order. As a result, our customers essentially financed our growth.
How long did it take for you to achieve stable monthly income? How much did the company earn at that time?
In 2013, sales were increasing year over year, but we were still only making a few hundred thousand dollars a year and taking home lower than $100,000. Daily sales were still very inconsistent, making it difficult to have much confidence in hiring employees or even imagine that it was anything greater than just a side hustle. I hit a wall of exhaustion when my husband and I took a leap of religion and took him with us to Solly Baby. He had graduated and was working at one other startup, but we each felt his time could be higher spent if we focused our efforts together. This change immediately led to recent development and vision. His help also freed me from work ON business, not IN business. We then hired our first worker, Kortney, who took over customer support and order achievement in a way that allowed my husband and I to focus on growth.
Just a few weeks after Kortney was hired and a few days before I gave birth to my third child in the spring of 2014, we released our spring collection to huge demand. Sales went from zero to $3,000 a day to $2,000, which became our recent day by day baseline – and the publications are bringing in tens of 1000’s of dollars a day. We had $1 million in sales in November, and by the end of that year we knew it was greater than just a side business.
You have since turned your side hustle into a very successful business. What does revenue appear like now?
It was great to experience the growth we were able to achieve. Watching this business grow from my home, through my Etsy shop and reaching tens of millions of moms, parents and families has been truly humbling. As we continued to build the team and establish ourselves in the market, we saw revenues double year over year for several years. Solly Baby currently has annual revenues of $10-20 million.
What is your favorite a part of running Solly Baby?
As a mother of 4, connecting with, encouraging, and providing products to postpartum moms during a very transformative time in their lives has all the time been life-giving work for me. It won’t ever get old to hear a mother or father say, “Your scarves have changed my relationship with my child.” Knowing that our products have the power to change the trajectory of the parent-child relationship is extremely satisfying.
It was also very rewarding to develop the culture and ethos of the company. A few years ago, I established the motto of our company: “Small things with great love”, because I deeply imagine that small things done correctly create the biggest and best things. This is vital for the development of the company and equally vital for raising children. Seeing it’s embraced and trickle down to every a part of the company as CEO felt very meaningful.
What does your routine appear like now? Are there any helpful habits you’d recommend to other entrepreneurs?
My best advice is to stick to a day by day routine. I’m a big believer in waking up sooner than kids (unless you have a baby – then get as much sleep as you’ll be able to!), exercising, preparing for the day, and devoting at least half-hour to a spiritual or meditation practice.
In the starting, it was easy to completely neglect myself to meet the needs of our family and business, but I firmly imagine we might have grown faster and with greater intention if I had taken higher care of myself from the starting. I ran on empty all the time and it almost broke me for the first two years. Moreover, the business was not stronger because of my “sacrifices.” I felt very depressed and anxious and finally shared it with my husband. Together we developed a self-care plan and every little thing in my life quickly improved, each personally and professionally.
What is your best advice to others who want to start their very own successful business?
We’re often encouraged to “think big” when it comes to business, but sometimes considering “small” is the perfect way to start – mainly because it can provide help to get began. I do not think I’d have had the confidence to start a multi-million dollar, global company at the age of 25, but I didn’t need to. I just needed enough confidence to make my first 50 scarves to help pay the rent, and a sincere desire to bring moms and babies together through the product. That was all I needed to get off the ground, and my confidence and vision expanded with the company. We type of grew up together, Solly Baby and I.
This WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS® this text is a part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.