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Founders Taggies, Inc
One day, Julie Dix noticed that her infant was more interested in the satin tags on toys than the actual toy itself, so she created a soft blanket with tags along all four sides. The moms in her child’s playgroup all wanted one, including Danielle Ayotte, who suggested they start a business together. When the blankets sold out in two hours at their first craft show, Julie and Danielle knew they had a winning idea and Taggies, Inc. was formed. The family of Taggies products, which now includes toys and apparel as well as blankets, is based on scientific data published in The New York Times Science section proving the calming effects of security blankets on infants. Lauded by caregivers and parents, Taggies has been featured extensively in a variety of print and electronic media, including Inc.com, USA Today, Time Magazine, Entrepreneur, People, Parenting, Fit Pregnancy and Women’s World.
Julie Dix was a stay-at-home mom with a master’s degree in elementary education who had taught school for ten years. Danielle Ayotte was also a stay-at-home mom with a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature with experience working for a home health care company. Neither one had entrepreneurial aspirations until Taggies. Julie says, “An idea presented itself and we took it.”
Using personal funds from their savings accounts to launch Taggies, Julie and Danielle made the satin-tagged blankets in Julie’s basement and sold them for profit right on the spot. They sunk all the money back into the company, fostering its growth from those profits. In addition to participating in craft fairs, the women handpicked local shops to sell Taggies and were excited to hear from owners that they “hadn’t seen anything sell this fast since Beanie Babies.” Still, Julie and Danielle paced themselves and the business, taking things slow and doing it on their own. After all, they were juggling preschool children along with running Taggies.
After a few years of Taggies sustaining itself and growing solely through its own profits, it was time to expand. Around Taggies’ third year, Julie and Danielle sought financial support from a local bank, signing the credit line application “with great anxiety.” Throughout ten years of continual growth, they moved from Julie’s basement into five different locations and finally in their current office location they are outsourcing the product manufacturing. Taggies is still a privately held company.
Ironically, the choice to obtain a loan created Julie and Danielle’s biggest business challenge – managing Taggies’ growth; specifically, having enough inventory and staff to keep up with the demand. They have expanded their business at their own pace, being very selective about where to offer Taggies, often saying “no” if the opportunity didn’t promote Taggies’ premium brand status as a top floor company.
Being mothers themselves, Julie and Danielle have always made sure their products exceed all applicable safety standards set by the regulatory bodies in the United States, Canada, Europe and all territories where their products are sold.
Julie and Danielle are also committed to giving back through Taggies’ Tags of Love™ Charitable Giving Program. When a customer purchases an item from the Tags of Love™ section of the online catalog, Taggies matches it with another item, donating both to a facility or program of Taggies’ choice.
Julie and Danielle’s ultimate vision for Taggies is to continue their success, grow the company and expand globally to reach new markets. Admittedly, they “still have a lot of little hands to reach,” but the duo is ready for the challenge. After all, Taggies speaks a universal language.
What we learned from Julie and Danielle: “It’s important to keep your eye on the big picture and not get consumed by the stress of the moment. Always know your big goal at the end of the day. Entrepreneurs can get really muddled down with day-to-day tasks. After all, in any given day an entrepreneur can be writing checks, cleaning toilets and making sales calls.”
On Being Entrepreneurs
“It’s not about the money. For us, being entrepreneurs is about the creativity and challenge of bringing a quality product to market.”
Ask, Learn and Grow
“We’ve been fortunate to be able to make strategic decisions and had the luxury of growing slowly. Part of that was learning about intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks and patents. Today that’s an important part of business. We had to learn everything as we went along, so ask for help when you have to. Leverage your networks.”
When Recalls Happen
“A few years ago there were a number of recalls happening for toys and children’s products. There were many concerned parents out there. We always have a focus on safety, and we’ve done a lot that wasn’t required of us. This conscious, sincere commitment to quality and our customers’ kids’ well-being has established us as a trusted brand.”
This Featured Lady was profiled by Megan L. Reese, WORDrobe™ Stylist for Her Write Image in West Grove, PA.
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