Category — SK Business

First of all, we launched our fall line of SkinnyKidz belts, meaning the remainder of last season’s styles are on clearance!  REALLY cheap.  Like, no profit but hoping they’ll sell so more people gain exposure to the product, cheap.  Jena has done an amazing job keeping things moving and picking the cutest new styles.  She’s also coordinated the next 2 charities, which are AWESOME organizations.  Check out the new styles and the sale belts if you get a chance. 

A little explanation of the video below, which probably doesn’t look like much to you but makes me roll around in laughter…we were at a mall playground the other day and there was a bully.  He would stand on the highest point of a play structure, bate littler kids in, then push ‘em off or just get nasty with words and demands as they approached.  The ultimate Napolean.  I’ve said this before, but my 3 kids are usually like a little gang.  They travel in a pack, they have each other’s backs, and they’re often in their own world even when there are tons of other kids to play with.  They choose each other and they stick together.  It’s so freakin cute how unified they are – best of friends and they have such cute little relationships with one another. 

Anyway, Fin and Shane decided to take on the Playground Bully the other day.  My kids don’t know what a gun is; we aren’t gun people or gun supporters.  You’re shocked, I know.  Seriously.  But I say that because they invented this way to annoy the living shit out of the Playground Bully that totally looks like they’re pretending to shoot him, even though they don’t know what that means.  They would point both fingers at him and say “be-ow, be-ow, be-ow” close enough to be insanely irritating, while never actually making contact with him.  Travis and I were watching and just laughing our assess off while this went on for about 5 minutes (until the kid’s head nearly popped off and he almost just gave up the spot at the top of the structure).  Finally, the kid got so frustrated he started to tattle to his mom.  That’s the part I sort of caught on film – watch Shane start looking all nonchalant when he thinks he’s getting busted.  It’s hilarious.

Today I felt almost like a normal person.  I got home early, after a “short” work day, only 10.5hrs (as short as they can possibly be – happens when the starts align and no one tries to die on me).  We went to City Park and took the kids on a pedal boat.  It was EXHAUSTING, but really fun and great exercise.  Then we visited our friends, Kaakpema and Sara, and met the cutest little peanut – their baby boy Desmond.  He’s in the NICU, but doing really well and we all hope he’ll be home very soon.  Fin stares at his picture constantly and Jack talks about meeting his “little buddy” often.  Congrats to Sara and Kaakp on their adorable addition!  

I’d have to say, it’s not a perfect reward / discipline system, but I don’t believe there is such a thing…however, the sticker charts have been easy and pretty effective for us so far.  I was worried the very 1st day when Fin bit Jack, then realized since she’d already lost her sticker, she might as well say “screw it” and just keep biting every time she got pissed.  I thought she’d cracked our system, but we seem to be back on track now (though she fell off the wagon once today).  Like I said, it’s not perfect;)

So guess whose last 3 poops have been on the potty?!  Shane’s first ever potty success was just yesterday, and it was quite exciting!  He had been trying so hard to go on the potty (we told him that was worth 5 stickers!) that it had been 2 days since he’d gone at all…so it was like twice as large.  After he labored and delivered, we cheered and everyone ran in to ooh and ahhh over its size.  We ran out to T@rget to pick out some big boy underpants for Shane.  Jack saw all the attention Shane was getting and said “maybe I could get new underpants since I pooped on the potty too,” then he added, in a melancholic tone while shaking his head in defeat, “but it wasn’t huge.”  Yes, everyone was impressed with Shane’s work.  He definitely earned those 5 stickers.

So it turns out, the secret to potty training is to just do nothing; if you wait long enough, eventually kids just potty train themselves and it’s totally stress-free that way.  For some (Fin) it happens by 22 months, for others (my boys) just before they turn 3.  As I tweeted, it’s one of those times when parenting can coexist with laziness.  A beautiful thing.  So the end of diapers is FINALLY in sight…until December.  I can’t believe we’re starting all over again!

So speaking of Shanie, we had a little family birthday celebration for him tonight (a few weeks early, but wanted to do it before I fall into the blackhole of residency…orientation starts tomorrow).  He got a basketball hoop, which we knew would be a huge hit.  He’s been obsessed with basketball for awhile (so random considering we’ve never exposed him to it).  He was adorable and SO SO happy with his little gift.  We let him take his basketball to bed tonight, so he’s up there snuggling with it right now.

I’m off to bed, but before you head there too, please visit Nicki’s blog!!  She’s running a SkinnyKidz giveaway right now, plus she wrote the best product review ever.  And don’t forget we’re having our Independence Day sale at SkinnyKidz right now and offering a super cute 4th of July belt, along with 2 other prints, for 25% off.  You have to order by June 28th to get them in time for July 4th, so hurry!

I wanted to update you all on some fun SkinnyKidz stuff that’s going on this month.  I have 3 big announcements.  First, we are having an Independence Day sale so you can deck your kids out for the 4th of July for cheap.  Jeans / jean shorts, a red, white, or blue top, and an adorable, Fabulous Fourth SkinnyKidz belt!  Voila: July 4th themed matching outfits.  This is the Fabulous Fourth belt we just introduced:

And a picture of Jena’s kiddos modeling it:

Our sale is 25% off the belts we think are “July 4th attire.”  They include the belt shown above, as well as the Play Ball belt and the Denim belt.  Just enter the coupon code “July 4th” at checkout (no quotes).  Order deadline to guarantee arrival for the 4th of July is JUNE 28th!

Secondly, I’d like to announce this month’s charity partner: Elephant Energy.  Elephant Energy is a really neat non-profit started by a friend of mine, Doug Vilsack, that promotes rural development and nature conservation through the dissemination of small-scale renewable energy technology.  Our donation will be earmarked for a project that will impact women and children specifically.  EE’s most recent project was bringing solar powered lights to a village in Namibia that has no electricity.  We picked a belt for this charity that would symbolize Elephant Energy’s logo and motto, and we think it’s super cute!  We’re offering the Elephant Energy charity belt with different button options:

Remember, if you buy this belt, 100% of proceeds will go to the charity.  Additionally, if you buy any other belts this month, 10% of the proceeds will also go to Elephant Energy, since EE is June’s charity partner.  It’s a great time to shop!

Thirdly, we are SUPER excited to announce that we have launched a bigger belt size!!  Many of you inquired and requested, so we took it to heart and have designed an X-large SkinnyKidz belt to fit kids who are ages 6-10.  We have heard from a lot of parents, particularly with kids in school uniforms, that it is a challenge to send a kid to school with a belt that matches and isn’t a pain for the teachers to put on and take off at bathroom time.  Enter the SkinnyKidz solution!  We are now offering the size XL in solid colors (denim, khaki), as well Camo and the Fabulous Fourth print (that way even your big kids can be coordinated with  / match your littles on July 4th)! 

Thanks for your support and encouragement.  We are hoping for another good month.  We would love for you to add our SkinnyKidz blog to your RSS feed, follow us on twitter, facebook, or join our newsletter!  

update: just want to remind you all that the GIBTK charity belt is only available until June 1st and in limited quantity {hint: order soon!}!  Also, if you haven’t entered yet, the SkinnyKidz belt giveaway ends 5/7.  Follow SkinnyKidz on twitter & facebook, sign up for our newsletter, and add SkinnyKidz blog to your Google Reader!  For all of my friends, family, and bloggy buddies who have come out in strong support of our launch, you are SO deeply appreciated!   For those of you who have already made a purchase, especially my adorable little brother, Jer, who bought all of our belts and is now looking for kids to give them to, we love you!  Jena and I have put a lot of ourselves into this company and product, and this is only the beginning.  The momentum and wonderful feedback you all have given us has helped tremendously.  Keep spreading the word, especially if you spot a plumber under the age of 6 (sorry Christina, we’re talking about expanding sizes to include older kids!).

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Jack: “Mom, look at this boo boo on my foot.  The skin is still hurt.”

Me: “Yeah, but it’s getting better.  The amazing thing about the human body is that it can repair itself.  Right now, cells in your skin are sending signals to their friends to come and help it make new skin.  How cool is that?”

Jack: “Wow.  It heals itself?!”

Me: “Yup, the human body has amazing healing powers.”

——FLASH FORWARD ABOUT AN HOUR——-

Shane and I were choosing his outfit for the day.  We were sitting behind his bedroom door, which was ajar, looking in his closet.  Jack came tearing down the hallway and flung the door open with all his might.  I lunged, to keep it from hitting Shane, and blocked it with the outside of my wrist, which hurt!  I overdramatized slightly to make my point, since we have told the kids a kazillion times about playing with the doors like that.  When Jack saw me tending to me wrist, his instant response was:

“Mom, remember: the human body has AMAZING healing powers!”

Good thing he thinks quickly on his feet.

Today is the official SkinnyKidz website launch!  In 2008, I started working on developing a toddler belt that was both functional AND adorable, since traditional belts are a hassle and completely impractical for infants/tots in diapers, potty training, or newly potty trained.  I often get about a 30 second warning to get my toddlers on the potty before I have to change their clothes; if I had to fiddle with a belt buckle in order to get pants down, I’d be doing a LOT more laundry.

Instead, I needed something that didn’t cross the midline, and because I’m SUPER lazy busy, I also wanted it to be completely machine washable, adjustable, and durable!  On top of that, I wanted a cute, boutique-type look.  After a lot of experimenting with different materials and closure mechanisms, my business partner and close friend, Jena, perfected the prototype.  For all those moms who share our plight, we present to you the solution for your young plumber: the SkinnyKidz belt.

What is a SkinnyKidz Belt?

It is fabric-lined elastic that uses buttons as closures to cinch the pants snuggly around the child’s waist without crossing the midline.  Because the belt does not cross the midline, it does not have to be “unfastened” in order to pull the child’s pants down for diapering or potty training.  There are 2 button holes, making the belt adjustable.  Because the belt’s elastic is lined with preshrunk fabric and it uses buttons, rather than other closure mechanisms, it is completely machine washable and very durable!  We believe once you put a SkinnyKidz belt on your child’s pants, you’ll never want OR need to take it off!

SkinnyKidz belts come in 2 sizes: 9mo-2T and 3T-6.  They are comfortable, easy to use (click here for picture and video demos), and ridiculously stylish with the funky prints and coordinated buttons.  Please check out our many adorable girl, boy, and unisex prints and be sure to check out our charity belt too, as 100% of proceeds from that will go to this month’s charity sponsor, Giving it Back to Kids.  SkinnyKidz is guilt-free shopping since 10% of our overall monthly proceeds, in addition to 100% of charity belt proceeds, goes to our charity partner that month.

We are starting up affiliate and wholesaler programs, so if you are a SAHM looking for a way to make some money, this is your gig!  Every single time I go out with Jack, Shane, or Finley in a SkinnyKidz belt, I end up answering “what is that and where can I get one?”

PROMOTIONS:

• Orders over 3 belts receive free shipping
• The GIBTK Charity Belt print is in limited quantity, so hurry and order now!  If we run out, we will replace it with a new print.

WHAT’S UP FOR GRABS IN THIS GIVEAWAY:

• Winners’ choice of a SkinnyKidz belt (excluding the Charity Belt)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

• Drop us a comment by May 7th telling us your favorite print from the SkinnyKidz Girl Belts or Boy Belts page
• Winners will be drawn at random and announced May 8th
• Earn 1 extra entry for each of the following: follow us on Twitter, fan us on Facebook, blog about our giveaway, facebook our giveaway, tweet our giveaway, or sign up for our SkinnyKidz newsletter (on our website) – please link to this post and www.skinnykidz.com
• Earn another 2 entries for adding our avatar button or logo button to your sidebar (just copy the text in the box below & paste it into a text widget on the sidebar of your blog):

<a href=”http://skinnykidz.com” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/lauriegood/skinnykidz-boy-web.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”SkinnyKidz”></a>

<a href=”http://skinnykidz.com” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/lauriegood/skinnykidz-web-1.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”SkinnyKidz”></a>

• Remember, each entry requires a separate comment to be counted…so don’t forget to come back and tell us (in individual comments) how you earned all your entries!

May 1st is a HUGE day for me.  Let me just tell you how much I don’t want to turn 30…but, as my father-in-law would say, the alternative is worse!  It’s also a MONUMENTAL day because Mayweather and Mosley are fighting (if you don’t know by now, we’re way into boxing over here).  What a birthday present!  Plus, our friends Nick and Hillary will be in town to celebrate with us and we’re SO psyched to see them.

Another REALLY big event in my life is happening on May 1st: Jena and I are launching our company and announcing our product & website to the world.  We have been anticipating and working towards this for a long time (invention dates back to fall 2008), and it’s been a LOT of work!!  We’re just excited about FINALLY getting to the fun part – marketing and selling our product. 

I always thought you just invented something awesome and then never really considered what happens next; this process has taught me that inventing is the easy part, but the series of steps between product development and being ready to “go-live” and actually sell the invention is where the real work comes in.  All the thought, money, and time spent on market research, pricing, website, logo, packaging, naming, shipping details, return policy, business address, product manufacturing, marketing strategy, government regulation compliance, product photography, patent/trademark/copyright issues, etc. is enormous. 

We are fortunate to have had some wonderful people offer to help us along the way, and we wouldn’t be here without them.  A special thanks again to Sheryl, who helped me refine the idea and have a place to start.  My friend, Kate, who designed the cutest logo for us has been instrumental; we are hugely indebted to her for all her help.  She created the most adorable logo, tag line, and little avatars for us!  Here’s a sneak peak of our little avatars we use on a lot of our marketing tools and website, but you’ll have to check back to see our invention and company logo / name  / tag line:

I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY on my blog for our launch, so please please come back this weekend and check it out!  Just to tell you a little bit about our company, Jena and I wanted to find a way to incorporate charity into our business model, and I think we found a great way to do that.  Each month, we’ll have a charity partner.  One of our product prints will be a specific charity print, chosen with the particular charity partner in mind, and 100% of proceeds from the sale of that item will go to the charity partner for that month.  Additionally, 10% of our overall proceeds will go to the charity partners.

I think you will all be VERY excited to learn who our first charity partner is!!  Especially if you have a heart for Vietnam, are an adoptive parent looking to give back in an impactful way, or just appreciate and want to support strong humanitarian efforts.  We are psyched to be working with this organization and hope you all will come out in strong support too.  Everybody wins here! 

Anyway, it would be the greatest birthday present ever if you all would just stop by this weekend and support us, even with just a comment telling us your favorite of our products – we will be using your responses as a tool to help us gather info on which prints are most popular, and therefore, where to focus our production efforts.  The more input we have, the more helpful that information will be.  Jena and I would truly appreciate it.