Ep 113- Leading with Love: Building a Family Business That Scaled with Julie Friedman

Transcript

Transcripts are generated by machine learning, so typos may be present.

Chris Hanslik: Julie, thanks for coming to Building Texas Business. It’s great to have you here.

Julie Friedman: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here.

Chris Hanslik: I can’t wait to start because I know you are known as the “Play Dough Lady.”

Julie Friedman: Yes.

Chris Hanslik: Please introduce yourself and your company to the audience and tell us what you do.

Julie Friedman: I’m Julie Friedman, also known as the Play Dough Lady. I started a business called Young + Wild & Friedman about ten years ago, which is crazy to me.

Chris Hanslik: Mind-blowing, right?

Julie Friedman: It really is nuts. When my daughter was young, she wasn’t speaking. I was a young mom, only 23 at the time, and none of my friends had kids yet. I wondered if she should be talking. I remember going to the park and seeing another little girl her age who was already talking.

Chris Hanslik: And that is when the mom anxiety hit, right?

Julie Friedman: Oh, yes. I went home and told my husband I thought she should be talking. He suggested asking the doctor, who said she might just be delayed. We pushed it down the road, but when she was three and still wasn’t talking, a behavioral therapist came to our house for a two-day evaluation. She played with her to determine if it was autism or apraxia. Eventually, she noted that my daughter had anxiety and an oral motor speech disorder, which ended up being apraxia of speech. She suggested sensory play to help calm her anxiety and encourage language development. Back in 2015, sensory play wasn’t the buzzword it is today. I read about how it could help with cognitive development and alleviate anxiety. I started making homemade Play Dough because she hated the smell of the store-bought version.

Chris Hanslik: That is a very distinct smell. I don’t think it’s changed since we were kids.

Julie Friedman: They actually have a patent on that smell. Some people love it; some hate it. I realized I could make my own using flour, oil, and salt. I gave it to her while it was warm and added lavender essential oil. She loved it and played for hours. I decided this would be my way to incorporate sensory play. One day at Ikea, I saw some clear boxes and thought they would be a cute way to store the dough with little toys to create a theme. I made a baking-themed kit with vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate dough, along with cupcake liners and rolling pins. She spent hours making cookies and cakes. When I posted it on Instagram, it blew up. Everyone thought it was the cutest thing and asked me to make kits for their children. I started selling to friends, created a basic website, and used a PayPal link for payments. I told my husband people were actually buying these while I was in the kitchen making dough like a crazy lady. After hpying a launch on Instagram, I suddenly had 16,000 followers. My first sale of 60 ocean kits sold out in 30 minutes. Two weeks later, 100 baking kits sold out in just one minute.

Chris Hanslik: Wow.

Julie Friedman: I thought my website had glitched, but I really had 100 orders.

Chris Hanslik: And it just grew from there? Yeah.

Julie Friedman: Yeah. So it’s been a wild ride.

Chris Hanslik: That is amazing. So clearly you always intended to be an entrepreneur and a businesswoman.

Julie Friedman: Not really.

Chris Hanslik: I’m kidding.

Julie Friedman: No, I really just wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

Chris Hanslik: What a cool story. So, the sensory play helped your daughter; she is speaking and doing well now?

Julie Friedman: She’s great. She’s 13 now. She’ll be 14 this summer.

Chris Hanslik: Is she embarrassed now when you tell the story?

Julie Friedman: Not really. I think she actually loves it.

Chris Hanslik: Does she have a title within the company? No.

Julie Friedman: She’s very shy.

Chris Hanslik: Chief inspirational officer or something, right? She was the inspiration.

Julie Friedman: Totally.

Chris Hanslik: I love that. You started just trying to keep up with demand. When did it occur to you that this was a real business requiring structure before it ran away from you?

Julie Friedman: I remember sitting at El Tiempo with my husband. I was launching mermaid kits that night and had 250 of them prepared by myself. I used to go to Ikea and buy clear bins by the palette. No one helps you at Ikea.

Julie Friedman: So it’s me.

Julie Friedman: It was just me. I had a baby in a carrier and another in the cart while I loaded hundreds of bins onto a push pallet. People would ask what I was doing, and I’d say I was just hustling. I would unload them at home and line them up all over my house because I didn’t have enough tables. I would cover every square foot of my house to prepare 100 kits at a time. I eventually ordered a massive dough-making machine that sat in the middle of my kitchen.

Chris Hanslik: And that’s where the magic happened.

Julie Friedman: It became part of our home. I had to have a 220-volt outlet installed in the kitchen.

Julie Friedman: My husband was like, what are you doing to our house?

Julie Friedman: I worked while my kids were at “Mother’s Day Out,” frantically packing boxes to get them off the beds before they returned home.

Chris Hanslik: So back to El Tempo and margaritas.

Julie Friedman: We launched the mermaid kit that night. My phone was going crazy, and we sold all 250 in one minute. I realized how many we could sell if people were fighting over them in the Instagram comments. There was a whole aftermarket developing. People love a good supply-and-demand story.

Julie Friedman: Right.

Julie Friedman: I remember sitting there and deciding I needed to lean into this and focus on growing it. And I did.

Chris Hanslik: That is awesome. What were some lessons you learned moving forward to build the business? You mentioned you don’t consider yourself a “business person,” which makes your story great. Many people are intentional about business, but for others like you, a passion or a spark just takes off.

Julie Friedman: Until recently, if people asked what I did, I would just say I’m a mom. I wouldn’t even say I had a job because making Play Dough didn’t feel like work. I was just so passionate about it. I’m a scrappy person; if I want something, I will figure out how to get it. It certainly wasn’t easy.

Chris Hanslik: So some tenacity, perseverance. Yeah, totally.

Julie Friedman: When I think back to those early years, I can’t believe I didn’t quit. My husband had a full-time job and couldn’t help me then. I had three young kids and was hauling 50-pound bags of flour through Costco. I would fill my car to the ceiling and unload them myself. It was a ton of work, but it really paid off. My drive came from seeing how much it helped my daughter.

Chris Hanslik: That’s great. Well, so many people I talk to say that it’s like, if you have passion for something, just do it.

Julie Friedman: Yeah.

Chris Hanslik: Don’t overthink it, just do it. Eventually, you have to backfill and put proper controls in place as you scale. You have obviously crossed that bridge and now have a team. How did you figure out who the right people were and where you needed help?

Julie Friedman: It was a godsend. I had a nanny helping me who quit right before spring break. I was in the thick of it and needed help. She had connected me with a woman named Gloria, a cafeteria lady who helped me make Play Dough in the afternoons. When I called Gloria in a panic, she sent over her daughter, Valeria, who was home from college. I immediately loved her; she was such a go-getter. She started working for me part-time and became my partner in crime. She paid close attention and did everything exactly as I would. To this day, she has hired every single person that works in my factory.

Chris Hanslik: No way. So she became a permanent employee, obviously.

Julie Friedman: She runs my entire operation as the general manager. She is an incredible people manager. She was studying computer engineering and when she got her degree, I offered to pay her more than any other job so she would stay. Her mother thought she was insane for choosing a Play Dough company over engineering.

Chris Hanslik: For a Play Dough lady, yeah.

Julie Friedman: Valeria believed in me and this business. Now, her whole family works for me—her aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters. It’s a large family, and they all contribute.

Chris Hanslik: That is amazing.

Julie Friedman: It’s so great. Her dad does all of that.

Chris Hanslik: So your company holiday parties are like their family reunions.

Julie Friedman: It is literally like a Solano family Christmas party. It’s the best.

Chris Hanslik: You were very particular about how things got done. Sometimes that prevents a founder from growing. How were you able to let go so the business could scale?

Julie Friedman: I had to let go one finger at a time. I was very specific about how pieces were faced so the kits looked clean. Eventually, I realized other people could put toys in a box just as well if I trained them. Letting go of small tasks freed up my time for more important things. It didn’t make sense for me to be the one buying all the flour anymore. We eventually got a Sysco membership, so now they deliver everything via an 18-wheeler. Regarding the boxes, we have custom ones made now. Every Ikea in America knew me because I was having boxes shipped from every location to my house. It was ridiculous.

Julie Friedman: I had to take one finger off at a time. It was a very like, you know, I was like, well, all of the pieces have to be exactly like this and facing this way. So when they open it, it looks clean and nice. And, you know, and I just slowly had to like, let go of little things. And I’m like, other people can put toys in a box. I am not the only person that can put a toy in a box the right way. And so it’s like, if you train people, it can be done. And I think just knowing that, you know, if you’ll take the time to teach somebody to do it right, it can be done, you know? And I think just like letting go of little things so that you can free up your time to do things that are more important. Like for me at that time, it was, know there was a time when i was like okay it doesn’t make sense for me to be the one pulling all the flour like i can pay somebody to go do that or you know we finally got a cisco membership and so now i don’t have to deal with that but you know they deliver it to you now right they bring the 18-wheeler and they unload it so much better and the plastic boxes yes we actually have custom boxes made now we’re so legit um yeah ikea disaster yeah they probably miss your business oh they quit yeah they sent me a baby gift from Ikea when I had my fourth kid. Like literally, every Ikea in America knew me because I was shipping those boxes from every location in the United States to my house. I had my cousin in LA shipping them to me. My mom was driving to the San Antonio Austin once. It was ridiculous, the things we did.

Chris Hanslik: That’s funny.

Julie Friedman: When COVID hit, Ikea stopped being able to supply those boxes. Fortunately, I was already in the process of getting a custom mold made, or I would have been doomed.

Chris Hanslik: That leads well into understanding your cost structure and supply chain. Relying solely on Ikea was dangerous.

Julie Friedman: It is. And it’s stressful.

Chris Hanslik: Yeah. So what, I guess, kind of any lessons learned from that? Or you think about, Lessons learned along the way where you made a mistake and, or, or hit a roadblock and what you learned from it and grew from it. And you and the business are better because of it.

Julie Friedman: Yes, it was stressful. It is very expensive to open a custom mold—about $50,000. We invested in one in the United States and another in China so that we had two different suppliers.

Julie Friedman: Right.

Julie Friedman: And then you have to, you know, so we had to invest, we invested in a mold in Texas or in the United States. We have like an injection molder. We built the mold out there. And then we also did one in China so that we had two different suppliers.

Julie Friedman: Okay.

Julie Friedman: Because if something, or, you know, we were, we were getting deliveries from both of them because we were like, Hey, you know, we can’t, I mean, with the tariffs and stuff.

Chris Hanslik: In the last couple of years with the tariffs.

Julie Friedman: If we hadn’t had the backup mold in the U.S., we would have been in trouble when container shipping costs tripled. We also focus on redundancy at the factory, ensuring at least two people can perform every job.

Chris Hanslik: Yeah. So good redundancy.

Julie Friedman: My husband emphasized that we need two options for everything. For example, our marketing lead is currently pregnant, so we are ensuring someone else can cover her role. I wouldn’t have thought of that without his advice.

Chris Hanslik: I think that’s great. COVID. I would, I would guess that your business went up because all these kids are at home with nothing to do and the parents or moms are like.

Julie Friedman: That is when my business truly went viral.

Chris Hanslik: Yeah. And how were you able to keep up with the demand in light of all that?

Julie Friedman: It was hard. In the beginning, my kits didn’t look great. We recently posted a comparison between the first St. Patrick’s Day kit I ever sold and the current version. I was so embarrassed by the old one that I offered a free new kit to anyone with proof of purchase of the original. It was a great way to build customer loyalty.

Chris Hanslik: What a great, I mean, great customer loyalty. Right.

Julie Friedman: Great customer base.

Chris Hanslik: So I’ve been reading something recently and it’s, I love it because it kind of connects with, with my core, but it, you know, and there’s a lot more talk about it, but it’s about introducing and bringing love into the experience at work. Right. So that your, your employees and your customers love the experience. And that’s different than like, or. And so, I mean, you tell that story in this, it’s a Harvard Business Review article, but there’s a book about love as a change strategy or strategy for change. But that kind of thing, right? Those customers you will have forever and they will tell all their friends, right? You don’t have to do an ounce of marketing past what you just did.

Julie Friedman: Yeah. And yeah, I think that that is a really cool.

Chris Hanslik: strategy because even just in life it’s like love is like foundation for like all that is good in life and so that’s so it makes like counterintuitive like nobody thinks to incorporate that into their business but that makes so much sense except they should right because we don’t it makes sense to me because the businesses are made up of humans yeah so we bring we bring our human experience to work every day so why should we then close it off yeah why not embrace it because that’s what makes people so good uh-huh and if you give them that opportunity they’re going to be that much better at what they do, which means they’re going to make your customer experience that much better and they’ll come back.

Julie Friedman: It has always been important to me to treat my employees like family. I’m on their team and willing to do any job they don’t want to do. We have an incredible environment, and I don’t think anyone has ever quit.

Chris Hanslik: Most founders say they treat employees like family, but in your case, you actually employ a whole family. I hope they treat you like family too!

Julie Friedman: Well, I feel like we are family. I consider them my family.

Chris Hanslik: You’re an honorary member.

Julie Friedman: I’m basically an honorary Solano. We have a special working environment with a lot of love there.

Chris Hanslik: So let’s talk a little bit about leadership. you know, you obviously have some natural leadership qualities in you to even, you know, do this and have it take off. But how would you describe your leadership style? And how do you think over the last 10 years or so that’s evolved?

Julie Friedman: I’m assertive and extroverted, so people always know what I think. I don’t spend much time making decisions. Successful entrepreneurs are often quick to decide; ruminating can lead to second-guessing your instincts. I trust my gut and move forward, which avoids analysis paralysis. I also have high energy and wake up ready to go every day.

Chris Hanslik: You know, fast forward this episode to her to listen to that part.

Julie Friedman: That energy serves an entrepreneur well. I’m very productive and able to focus deeply on tasks.

Chris Hanslik: Clearly, doing all 200 units by yourself, right?

Julie Friedman: I’ve hired well, and when you have a good team, they are easy to lead.

Chris Hanslik: It’s so true, right? And I love what you said earlier too. I mean, It takes a little luck as well, right? So if it weren’t for a nanny leaving on spring break or whatever, you may never have met.

Julie Friedman: Yes. If I hadn’t met Valeria, I’d be doomed.

Chris Hanslik: You need a plan, but you also need the ability to adjust as dynamics change. Being stubborn about a decision can be detrimental if the situation requires a shift.

Julie Friedman: Since I don’t have a business background, I’m very willing to listen to guidance. My brother-in-law is a serial entrepreneur, and I call him whenever I need to talk business. However, branding this business has been easy because it is an extension of who I am. I don’t follow a specific format; I am my own audience, so it comes naturally.

Chris Hanslik: It’s coming natural. Yes.

Julie Friedman: It makes it genuine and authentic.

Chris Hanslik: Love that. I know how to talk to myself. Makes it very genuine, right? Authentic. It does. So let’s talk about your other full-time job as a mother, right? And you’re a mother of four.

Julie Friedman: Yes.

Chris Hanslik: That’s no easy task in and of itself. So I have to believe there’s a lot of listeners that would be interested to know, how have you done it?

Julie Friedman: Yeah.

Chris Hanslik: How have you kept the kids fed and clothed and on schedule and run this business?

Julie Friedman: To be honest, I don’t always get it all done.

Chris Hanslik: We’re going to start there, though? Yeah. And no one’s perfect? No. Because, I mean, don’t you know people in your circle that have anxiety over not being perfect? And it’s like, it’s okay because we’re not.

Julie Friedman: I’m a “Type B” person and low anxiety; it takes a lot to stress me out. That helps with both four kids and a business. In the beginning, my lawyer would call with “huge problems,” but I’ve learned to let things roll off my back. If the factory isn’t on fire, we can work through it.

Chris Hanslik: We can work through it.

Julie Friedman: I also have a lot of help. I have a nanny for household chores and to help with the kids. My husband is incredibly supportive. Early on, when making Play Dough seemed like a joke, he encouraged me. When our house got too crowded, I rented a nearby house to run the business for six months before getting a warehouse. He spent his weekends alone with the kids so I could work. I wouldn’t be here without his support.

Chris Hanslik: Well, I think that’s a good, again, going back to being authentic and real, a good message is you don’t have to do it all. It’s okay to ask for help. You can’t do it all. Yeah.

Julie Friedman: It’s not possible to do it all yourself; there aren’t enough hours in the day.

Chris Hanslik: Right.

Julie Friedman: Even for someone as high energy as me who can’t sit still, like I always have to be doing something. There’s still not enough.

Julie Friedman: Having help means that when I come home from work, I can hang out with my kids instead of cleaning or worrying about dinner.

Julie Friedman: I feel like I’ve been swimming upstream for the past eight years. We are finally at a place where it doesn’t feel that way, though Valeria might disagree! It’s a blessing to have such demand. For a long time, we had no paid ads; it was all organic through Instagram. People love founder-led businesses.

Chris Hanslik: Isn’t that crazy? That’s certainly been a change in our society. I see it. Actually, I have a daughter that has a business art and paint.

Julie Friedman: Yes.

Chris Hanslik: And it’s all on Instagram. And it’s crazy. She paints party banners.

Julie Friedman: Yes.

Chris Hanslik: I’ve seen them.

Julie Friedman: I knew I was going to say I need her info.

Chris Hanslik: Okay. She’s on Instagram. I can’t wait.

Julie Friedman: I’ll give her a follow.

Chris Hanslik: Yep. There you go, Holland. Shout out to you, Holland. Yes, totally.

Julie Friedman: It has been natural growth. We invested in Meta ads a few years ago and found we could control our growth by adjusting that spend. A huge opportunity arrived this year: we are launching into all 1,800 Target stores. If someone had told me years ago that I’d be in mass retail, I wouldn’t have believed it. We’ve created unique products for them under the Young + Wild & Friedman brand.

Chris Hanslik: And you don’t have to go to Target starting in July to see those unique, special things.

Julie Friedman: They will be there. We even have an end cap display coming for Christmas. It’s going to be surreal.

Chris Hanslik: That’s awesome.

Julie Friedman: Yeah.

Chris Hanslik: That is so cool.

Julie Friedman: We’ll be great.

Chris Hanslik: So how has it been? managing that conversation and the negotiations with a national retailer?

Julie Friedman: I have an incredible business partner. I hired one of my best friends a few years ago because I was becoming spread too thin with product design and supplier communications. She is creative and highly organized.

Chris Hanslik: I’m pretty sure people will look at you and say the same thing, Julie.

Julie Friedman: She’s my right-hand woman. She took the lead on the Target project, managing the admin and the relationship. Without her, this wouldn’t be happening.

Chris Hanslik: That’s amazing. Well, that’s cool. And kudos for you for… again, figuring out where you needed help and reaching out for it.

Julie Friedman: We also hired a wholesale manager. We dipped our toes into retail last year with small boutiques and have grown to 2,000 stores in one year. We are now in every state.

Julie Friedman: Wow.

Julie Friedman: You can even find our kits in nice gas stations on the way to Austin.

Chris Hanslik: Not Bucky’s?

Julie Friedman: Not Bucky’s yet.

Chris Hanslik: They’re going to make a Bucky’s brand.

Julie Friedman: I want to make them a Bucky’s slime. Wouldn’t that be so cute with little beaver and stuff in it? I feel like we can do it.

Chris Hanslik: My sense is they’ll probably just make it themselves. I know. Take your idea.

Julie Friedman: They’ll be like, great idea.

Chris Hanslik: Right. We’ll just put a beaver on it.

Julie Friedman: The retail aspect has been huge growth, which is why we hired our wholesale manager. You have to hire people when you need them.

Chris Hanslik: Yeah.

Julie Friedman: We run thin; I prefer keeping a small team.

Chris Hanslik: You’re not in a particular family. Apparently you don’t have a shot at getting a job.

Julie Friedman: Only if your last name is Solano!

Chris Hanslik: Solano. Yeah. Sorry. Right.

Julie Friedman: Funny.

Chris Hanslik: Julie, what a fascinating company. When you need to recharge, what do you like to do with your family?

Julie Friedman: Summer is usually our slow time since there aren’t many big holidays. Holidays are when we really blow up; Easter is almost as big as Christmas.

Julie Friedman: Right.

Julie Friedman: We take the kids to Montana every summer. I put my phone away, read books, fly fish, and spend time outside.

Chris Hanslik: That’s awesome.

Julie Friedman: I was never a mountain person before, but now I am obsessed. I slow down and unplug. I tell my team I am off the grid, and that is where I revive myself for the year.

Chris Hanslik: That’s great. What a great way to do it.

Julie Friedman: Oh, it’s the best.

Chris Hanslik: So, last question. You prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue?

Julie Friedman: Tex-Mex for sure. Give me the queso.

Chris Hanslik: Queso in the mar. Well, you said, you know, this thing all launched at El Tiempo. So, it was a precursor to that answer, I guess.

Julie Friedman: Filet mignon fajitas at El Tiempo!

Chris Hanslik: There’s one right down the street.

Julie Friedman: I’ll stop by on my way out.

Chris Hanslik: Yeah, yeah. Well, Julie, this has been so fun. Thank you. Congratulations on all the success. Can’t wait to see what this does beyond Target and everything else.

Julie Friedman: We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.

Chris Hanslik: All right. We’ll be watching. Take care.