Maybe your little one is loving joining you for yoga, or has learned yoga in school and is introducing YOU to the practice! In any case, wouldn't it be fun to let them have their own little mat that they can roll up and store and call their own? Local mom Erin Molnar was feeling that way, and went searching for a mat that would work well for her three-year-old. It turned out, there weren't a lot of options on the market, and the ones she found were either made of unsafe materials, or were just not that cute. So, she and her husband set about sourcing and designing their own mats and have now created Sweet Lime Co.! Erin took a few minutes out of her *busy* schedule to chat with me about this venture.
Erin and her husband Alex are serial entrepreneurs who have owned a chocolate shop, a coffee roasting company, and other ventures. With a 3 year old (August) and an almost one-year-old (Edison), working from home can be a challenge, but she relies on daycare a few days a week and family the other days so she can focus on her job and on building Sweet Lime while still having time to spend with her kids. "I save a lot of time not commuting," Erin noted. "That could easily be two hours a day."
Erin describes herself as "moderately crunchy," and says that while she's not "a yogi," she enjoys the practice of yoga and has loved seeing her oldest get into yoga as well. Her circle of friends are also into yoga, and when she went searching for a cute yoga mat for her son and nobody could point her to one that fit her needs, she decided this was the venture she was ready to take on. She and her husband, who works in supply chain management, "went down the rabbit hole" of product manufacturing, Amazon selling and product design. They sourced the materials, going with thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), which is recyclable, BPA-free, hypoallergenic, lead-free, and closed cell so it won't absorb bacteria. It's also lightweight, a key component for a mat designed for kids!
I asked Erin the question we all want to know: "How do you do it?" She emphasized the importance of having passion for what you are doing as a mompreneur. If you're passionate about something, she told me, you will make time for it. “I'm excited about a kids' product. This fits our lifestyle" she said. “I am a marketer, and I like doing all the marketing and branding around it.”
Erin and her husband Alex are serial entrepreneurs who have owned a chocolate shop, a coffee roasting company, and other ventures. With a 3 year old (August) and an almost one-year-old (Edison), working from home can be a challenge, but she relies on daycare a few days a week and family the other days so she can focus on her job and on building Sweet Lime while still having time to spend with her kids. "I save a lot of time not commuting," Erin noted. "That could easily be two hours a day."
Erin describes herself as "moderately crunchy," and says that while she's not "a yogi," she enjoys the practice of yoga and has loved seeing her oldest get into yoga as well. Her circle of friends are also into yoga, and when she went searching for a cute yoga mat for her son and nobody could point her to one that fit her needs, she decided this was the venture she was ready to take on. She and her husband, who works in supply chain management, "went down the rabbit hole" of product manufacturing, Amazon selling and product design. They sourced the materials, going with thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), which is recyclable, BPA-free, hypoallergenic, lead-free, and closed cell so it won't absorb bacteria. It's also lightweight, a key component for a mat designed for kids!
I asked Erin the question we all want to know: "How do you do it?" She emphasized the importance of having passion for what you are doing as a mompreneur. If you're passionate about something, she told me, you will make time for it. “I'm excited about a kids' product. This fits our lifestyle" she said. “I am a marketer, and I like doing all the marketing and branding around it.”
Ready to get a Sweet Lime yoga mat for your own family? Sign up to be first to know when they officially launch. You can also pre-order and support their Indiegogo campaign!
