February 2, 2004
Lobster tale | A chat with Krystal Coombs, owner of LitL Snookums Kids 'n Kitchen in Lincolnville.
By Rebecca Norling
Founded: September 2002
Revenues, year one: $30,000
Projected revenues, year two: $45,000
Address: PO Box 126, Lincolnville 04849
Phone: 789-5860
Describe what your company does.
We make Maine-themed infant clothing and accessories, and Maine-themed kitchen accessories. By Maine-themed, I mean fabrics that scream Maine: lobster, moose, blueberries, lighthouses. I have subcontracted, home-based stitchers, all in Waldo County, that sew the various fabric products, and I hired an artist to design images that are then silk screened onto the infant clothing.
The most popular sellers of the last year are my two novelty bibs, which retail for about $15. One is a moose face, and the antlers go up around the neck. The other is a lobster bib, so it's a lobster body, and the claws go up around the neck.
What's your highest-priced item?
I have a moose head apron that retails at about $35.
Describe your company in three words.
Fresh, fun and cute.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
I've been a wholesale gift rep for about three years ˆ my card is marked "CLO,"or chief liaison officer, because I am the liaison between the retailer and the wholesaler. I rep close to 100 companies at this point, everything from candles to jewelry to furniture, and about a quarter of those are Maine companies.
Last September, a Maine-made company similar to [LitL Snookums] that I represented decided to discontinue doing wholesale, so I said, "I could find people to do this." Little did I know, it would take up more time than I expected.
What was the biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
Fortunately, I already had a good idea of the market because I had sold similar products. The designer and a really accomplished stitcher fell right into my lap, so the challenge was finding enough time to do my real job that I make money with. Time has been a real issue.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
I personally financed it, and I would say between getting trademark approval and getting catalogs, graphics, that type of thing together, it was probably between $3,000 and $5,000. But then there was tons of outlay of money to get inventory and fabrics together ˆ roughly $10,000. My joke is that I sold $30,000 and it cost me about $38,000 to do it.
What have you achieved since opening?
A really good sense of being a gainful employer of individuals in Waldo County. It's also really nice to be able to supply a product that is in fairly high demand. Maine-themed infant products are extremely hard to find.
What could this company become?
Honestly, I developed this company to sell it; I never had intentions of making this a full-time job for myself. My biggest wish for this company is for a home-based sewer or artist to purchase it and really take it beyond where I am right now.
What could stop you?
Time. LitL Snookums did about $30,000, and the company that I just took on as a representative does between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. So it's likely that I'll have to drop about 50% of the companies I represent now.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business, and what you learned from it.
I over-purchased cardigans in the beginning. I bought out a remaining cardigan sell-out, so I got a really good price on them, but I have way too much inventory left. The majority of my sales start in January and stop in August, so I had more inventory going into the slow time than I would like to have had. I would rather have liquid money than have it tied up in inventory.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
I would utilize it to find more ways to employ Maine people.
Cross-country or downhill?
Cross-country all the way. I'm scared of downhill.
Revenues, year one: $30,000
Projected revenues, year two: $45,000
Address: PO Box 126, Lincolnville 04849
Phone: 789-5860
Describe what your company does.
We make Maine-themed infant clothing and accessories, and Maine-themed kitchen accessories. By Maine-themed, I mean fabrics that scream Maine: lobster, moose, blueberries, lighthouses. I have subcontracted, home-based stitchers, all in Waldo County, that sew the various fabric products, and I hired an artist to design images that are then silk screened onto the infant clothing.
The most popular sellers of the last year are my two novelty bibs, which retail for about $15. One is a moose face, and the antlers go up around the neck. The other is a lobster bib, so it's a lobster body, and the claws go up around the neck.
What's your highest-priced item?
I have a moose head apron that retails at about $35.
Describe your company in three words.
Fresh, fun and cute.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
I've been a wholesale gift rep for about three years ˆ my card is marked "CLO,"or chief liaison officer, because I am the liaison between the retailer and the wholesaler. I rep close to 100 companies at this point, everything from candles to jewelry to furniture, and about a quarter of those are Maine companies.
Last September, a Maine-made company similar to [LitL Snookums] that I represented decided to discontinue doing wholesale, so I said, "I could find people to do this." Little did I know, it would take up more time than I expected.
What was the biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
Fortunately, I already had a good idea of the market because I had sold similar products. The designer and a really accomplished stitcher fell right into my lap, so the challenge was finding enough time to do my real job that I make money with. Time has been a real issue.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
I personally financed it, and I would say between getting trademark approval and getting catalogs, graphics, that type of thing together, it was probably between $3,000 and $5,000. But then there was tons of outlay of money to get inventory and fabrics together ˆ roughly $10,000. My joke is that I sold $30,000 and it cost me about $38,000 to do it.
What have you achieved since opening?
A really good sense of being a gainful employer of individuals in Waldo County. It's also really nice to be able to supply a product that is in fairly high demand. Maine-themed infant products are extremely hard to find.
What could this company become?
Honestly, I developed this company to sell it; I never had intentions of making this a full-time job for myself. My biggest wish for this company is for a home-based sewer or artist to purchase it and really take it beyond where I am right now.
What could stop you?
Time. LitL Snookums did about $30,000, and the company that I just took on as a representative does between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. So it's likely that I'll have to drop about 50% of the companies I represent now.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business, and what you learned from it.
I over-purchased cardigans in the beginning. I bought out a remaining cardigan sell-out, so I got a really good price on them, but I have way too much inventory left. The majority of my sales start in January and stop in August, so I had more inventory going into the slow time than I would like to have had. I would rather have liquid money than have it tied up in inventory.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
I would utilize it to find more ways to employ Maine people.
Cross-country or downhill?
Cross-country all the way. I'm scared of downhill.
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