Episode #142: How To Start A Toy Business At 7 Years Old with Zoe Oli
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You have to be an adult to start your own business and make your toy ideas real, right? Today’s guest proves that completely wrong. At just 7 years old she recognized an important gap in the toy industry and, with the help of her mom, created a line of toys to empower young black and brown girls. Now 10, today’s guest offers toy industry experts and newbies some sage advice.
At 7 years old, Zoe Oli’s mom bought her a black doll. There was just one problem. The doll had straight hair. Zoe wanted to see dolls that had hair just like hers: curly, and sometimes braided. So, her mom helped her to create the brand Beautiful Curly Me. Zoe has written two books: Beautiful Curly Me and Say It, Show It - Gratitude and Kindness Journal. They also have a line of dolls with different skin tones and natural hair styles including braids and afros. Beautiful Curly Me also sells hair care products including a matching bonnet set for kids and their dolls. The dolls have been featured on Oprah’s favorite thing, and Zoe has even made an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show. Clearly, this girl is going places.
In this episode, you’ll learn the history behind the brand and the process of creating a business as a 7 year old. You’ll also find out some wise advice that applies to anyone in the toy industry, young or old.
EPISODE CLIFF NOTES
Learn the struggles that led Zoe to want to create something to help raise black and brown girls’ self-esteem. [00:02:40]
Find out why toy creators could consider kids' perspectives when making their products. [00:03:18]
Learn the first thing Zoe and her mom did once they decided to start a business. [00:04:54]
Find out how Zoe felt when she saw the first sample of her product. [00:05:58]
Learn how Zoe’s mom helped her stay balanced as a kidpreneur. [00:06:54]
Find out the hardest part of creating a business as a kid. [00:06:16]
Learn why it was so easy for Zoe to find other kids that related to her product. [00:07:04]
Find out how Zoe and her mom got the word out about their dolls. [00:07:34]
Learn about Zoe’s biggest TV and social media appearances. [00:07:52]
Find out Zoe’s advice for both kid and adult entrepreneurs. [00:10:03]
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Visit Beautiful Curly Me’s website by clicking here.
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: So I wanna start with your toy story. What inspired this doll line or business idea?
[00:00:05] Zoe Oli: So when I was six years old, I didn't like my hair and I was still straight like my classmates. And so my mom did everything she could to help me. And one of the things she did was get me a black doll. I loved her, but she didn't have hair that looked like mine. And I wanted dolls with curls and. Until my mom went back to the stores and could not find anything that met my demand. I decided I wanted to start my own business and do something about it.
[00:00:32] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 142.
[00:00:38] Jingle Intro/Outro: Welcome to making it in the toy industry, a podcast for inventors and entrepreneurs like you. And now your host, Azhelle Wade.
[00:00:49] Azhelle Wade: Hey there toy people, Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of The Toy Coach Podcast, Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. Our guest today is young entrepreneur named Zoe Oli. She's a 10 year old CEO of Beautiful Curly Me and Atlanta based toy and media company on a mission to still an inspire confidence in young girls. Zoe founded her company at the age of seven with her mom's help after overcoming challenges with self-esteem. Along with her line of dolls. Zoe's also the author of several children's books, including Beautiful Curly Me and say it, show it a guided gratitude and kindness journal for kids.
[00:01:33] Now Zoe and Beautiful Curly Me have been featured on various media outlets, including Forbes, Good Morning America, People, The Kelly Clarkson Show. I featured them in Access Daily and she was recently named a time and Nickelodeon Kid of the year finalist. Now in line with Zoe's mission to raise the next generation of curly and confident girls for every doll purchased on beautifulcurlyme.com, one is donated to a young girl in need. Now, Zoe is a rising sixth grader who loves reading art music and all things stem. She loves tennis, traveling, giving back to her community. She's passionate about inspiring girls to dream big and pursue their goals. So we're gonna talk about what keeps this little girl fired up to create her own successful doll line. Zoe, welcome to the show.
[00:02:21] Zoe Oli: Thank you so much for having me.
[00:02:23] Azhelle Wade: It's great to have you here. So I wanna start with your toy story. I said in the intro that you started this business when you were seven, because you were overcoming some self-esteem issues. I wanna know what was life like for you at seven? What inspired this doll line or business idea?
[00:02:40] Zoe Oli: So when I was six years old, I didn't like my hair and I was to show straight like my classmates. And so my mom did everything she could to help me. And one of the things she did was get me a black doll. I loved her, but she didn't have hair that looked like mine. And I wanted dolls with curls and braids. And so my mom went back to the stores and could not find anything that met my demand. I decided I wanted to start my own business and do something about it. And so my company Beautiful Curly Me is a brand on a mission to instill and inspire confidence in young black and brown girls. And we have toys as well as empowering content.
[00:03:18] Azhelle Wade: Okay. So you started the doll line because you hated your hair. Your mom got you, a black doll that finally you loved, but you still were like, this doesn't make any sense. Did that black doll have straight hair?
[00:03:30] Zoe Oli: Yes. So the black doll had skin like mine, my skin color, but it had straight hair that was flow down its back. And I really wanted a doll that had curls like mine or braids that I get too. So, and my mom didn't even realize it. She was like, oh my gosh. So she was just trying everything she could to help me so.
[00:03:51] Azhelle Wade: I love hearing this from the perspective of a kid, because the doll designers or toy designers sometimes don't think about all of the details like that, like straight hair versus curly hair. And why that's important. Do you remember how you felt when you realized like the doll's hair was still different than yours, even though the skin was the same as yours?
[00:04:12] Zoe Oli: I felt really curious. And then when I realized that later that there were actually no dolls with curly hair, I felt, wow, this is terrible. I need to do something about this so.
[00:04:24] Azhelle Wade: So tell me about that, how did you find out there were no dolls with curly hair?
[00:04:27] Zoe Oli: When my mom went back to the store, she looked everywhere and there were no dolls with curls or with braids. And so she came back college and I was like, mommy, I wanna start my own business and I kept on. At first, my mom didn't really take me seriously. She was like, uh, okay.
[00:04:45] Azhelle Wade: Yeah, you're seven.
[00:04:46] Zoe Oli: And so I kept on asking her, mommy, I really wanna do this. I wanna start a business. So she was like, okay, we're gonna do this together. And so we started it.
[00:04:54] Azhelle Wade: Where did you get the idea to start a business? Like, why is that where your, your head went?
[00:04:59] Zoe Oli: I just thought that, I guess if the big companies like Barbie or a LOL or an American Girl didn't have it. Then I wanted to be the person to have it, to make sure that other girls can find dolls with relatable skin tones from relatable hairstyle so.
[00:05:19] Azhelle Wade: So what was the first thing that you did when you, when your mom finally believed you, that you really wanted to start a business, what was the very first thing you guys did?
[00:05:26] Zoe Oli: We started researching. So like, we didn't have any experience in the toy industry at all. So we definitely did a lot of research trying to find a manufacturer and people who could help bring our vision to life.
[00:05:41] Azhelle Wade: And then once you found your manufacturer, what'd you do next?
[00:05:44] Zoe Oli: We talked with them. We talked with a designer too. I talked with them about how I wanted the hair to look and the skin tones. And then we work with the manufacturer to find the match we liked.
[00:05:58] Azhelle Wade: Do you remember getting the first sample?
[00:06:00] Zoe Oli: Yes. I remember that moment so clearly, and it felt so awesome. Like, oh my gosh, this is really gonna happen. And she was so great. I still have her.
[00:06:09] Azhelle Wade: Oh, wow. That's so nice. Okay. So tell me while you were building your brand, did you ever struggle focus in?
[00:06:16] Zoe Oli: I would say my mom made it clear that she still wanted me to have a regular childhood, but also made sure that I was still running this, running this company. And so I definitely manage it like at school, okay I'm focused on school. When I'm doing my extracurricular activities, I'm focused on them a hundred percent. And then I do have time every day or I can just sit down and relax and play with my friends and stuff.
[00:06:43] Azhelle Wade: So you never struggled focusing and you were always really good at keeping on task?
[00:06:48] Zoe Oli: I would say in the beginning it was a little bit hard, but I think, um, now I've definitely found a balance.
[00:06:54] Azhelle Wade: So what was the hardest part about making your own doll line?
[00:06:58] Zoe Oli: The biggest challenge was like balancing, so definitely balancing, but now I've done the hank of it.
[00:07:04] Azhelle Wade: And what was the easiest?
[00:07:06] Zoe Oli: Finding other girls that I can speak to and relate to, because this is like definitely a worldwide issue. Girls' confidence is definitely a worldwide issue. So finding girls that related to me and who really loved the brand and wanted to support was definitely the easiest part.
[00:07:23] Azhelle Wade: How did you find people that love the brand and wanted the brand? Cuz that's really hard for people starting their own business. They don't know how to validate their idea and make sure it's something people like. So how did you do that?
[00:07:34] Zoe Oli: Um, we started with a lot of focus groups. We got, um, family and friends together to discuss okay, what they liked about the product, what they didn't like to really help us figure out, figure that out. And then we did a lot of marketing and spreading the word about our business was definitely helpful.
[00:07:52] Azhelle Wade: What was the first biggest feature you got for your dolls?
[00:07:55] Zoe Oli: First feature? Oh my gosh. That was so long ago. I think we got a, I wanna say it's Voyage Atlanta, some kind of online article about us, which was so amazing. I felt so excited interviewing them.
[00:08:10] Azhelle Wade: And what was the biggest one so far?
[00:08:12] Zoe Oli: I would say I got to speak with Cheryl Sandberg.
[00:08:16] Azhelle Wade: Oh, and then that's so cool.
[00:08:17] Zoe Oli: I did an Instagram live with her and then I, yes. And then I also got the opportunity to speak with Kelly Clarkson on the Kelly Clarkson Show.
[00:08:27] Azhelle Wade: That's awesome. Did you struggle getting people to buy your dolls when you first sold them?
[00:08:31] Zoe Oli: I would say not really because like, as family and friends got the product, they spread the word and they spread the word. So it was really word of mouth. And then we launched on several, um, social media platforms. So that was also very helpful. And in the beginning before COVID we did a lot of vending shows. Uh so that was helpful for me to get out there and speak to customers face to face.
[00:08:56] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Those vendors shows are the best for that for getting customer feedback. They'll tell you if they think it's too expensive, the hair's not soft enough. They'll tell you everything.
[00:09:05] Zoe Oli: Yes. We actually just did a couple of shows. I haven't done a show since COVID so that was an experience.
[00:09:12] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. I'm sorry. Maybe we'll come back and a couple years. Now okay, tell me some of the coolest moments you've had being a kidpreneur? Cause it like, what do you love about being a kidpreneur?
[00:09:24] Zoe Oli: I like inspiring. I do a lot of, I talk with kids. I talk to schools. And I love that. Being able to inspire other kids as well as inspire the girls, to feel confident themselves as well as inspiring kids to start their own business. I love that I'm able to do that.
[00:09:41] Azhelle Wade: You love just talking about like how, how you've done this and inspiring them to do their own thing?
[00:09:46] Zoe Oli: Yes.
[00:09:47] Azhelle Wade: Do you have any other ideas for future toys? That's different from a doll with, with curly hair?
[00:09:52] Zoe Oli: We are right now launching, uh, plush dolls. Ooh. And we're doing puzzles as well so.
[00:09:59] Azhelle Wade: Okay, That's exciting. Good luck.
[00:10:02] Zoe Oli: Thank you.
[00:10:03] Azhelle Wade: All right. Now you've gotta give advice. Everyone listen up this little, little girl. Who's 10 years old wise, beyond her years, you speak so eloquently. Zoe, from her three years of experience working in the toy industry, building her own brand. She's gonna give us some advice. So, Zoe, what is the best piece of advice that you received when you first started your toy business?
[00:10:25] Zoe Oli: I would say mindset is key and just get started. I actually, um, love to say, don't wait for the perfect wave, just surf. So just get started.
[00:10:36] Azhelle Wade: Oh, I love that. Don't wait for the perfect wave, just surf. Do you surf?
[00:10:41] Zoe Oli: No.
[00:10:41] Azhelle Wade: No. You're like maybe one day. I mean, you're young. You could still surf one day. That is great advice. And then what, tell me some good advice that maybe kept you motivated recently. Did you ever have like a moment you were like down and someone gave you some good advice or good motivational words?
[00:10:58] Zoe Oli: I would say done is better than perfect is one of mine, cuz a lot of us try and make everything has to be perfect. Every detail has to be the best done is better than perfect is one of my best ones.
[00:11:13] Azhelle Wade: So if there was another seven year old listening right now, or a 10 year old, your current age, what would you tell them to do to get started with their toy idea? If they had a toy idea.
[00:11:24] Zoe Oli: I would say always remember that there are people out there that are willing to help you and support you. And there are a lot of communities and race resources that will be very helpful. So always remember there are people, it could be your parents. People like you, um, Mrs. Azhelle, and so many people that are out there that are willing to help you. So always look for help.
[00:11:48] Azhelle Wade: Okay, great. And Zoe, I normally ask my guests what toy blew their mind as a kid, but you are currently a kid. So what toy is blowing your mind right now, other than your own?
[00:11:58] Zoe Oli: I would say snap circuits. They're like a little geo board that you can build like an alarms or fans. I actually have two kids at home and it always amazed me how, like you can engineer so many things with like just a few tools.
[00:12:13] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Oh, that's really cool. What do you, I gotta, I have a new question. I don't normally ask my guests. Zoe, what do you wanna be when you grow up?
[00:12:21] Zoe Oli: I want to be an entrepreneur. I also wanna write more books. So an author. I don't know what life will bring. So I'm just excited and enjoying life now and whatever I wanna be. I I'll try. I remember like when I was seven and eight every day, I'd be like, okay today. I wanna be a chef and tomorrow I wanna be a lawyer and next day, a doctor. So I definitely know that the possibilities are endless, so.
[00:12:48] Azhelle Wade: Oh my gosh.
[00:12:48] Zoe Oli: I can do anything.
[00:12:49] Azhelle Wade: Zoe, you are an inspiration. You are so cool, calm, you collected well spoken and 10. I've gotta talk to you again when you're 20, cuz I can't even imagine who you're gonna be then if this is who you are already right now is just brilliant.
[00:13:04] Zoe Oli: Thank you.
[00:13:05] Azhelle Wade: Yeah. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the listeners before we wrap up today?
[00:13:10] Zoe Oli: I would say you can learn more about me on my website beautifulcurlyme.com. And I also have Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest at Beautiful Curly Me and I would say to the kids and also to the, um, adults that are listening right now. If you dream, remember if you dream big and you work hard, anything is possible.
[00:13:33] Azhelle Wade: You heard it here, Zoe says just stop letting your dreams waste away in your mind. Go after it toy creators. Zoe, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm gonna share links to your Instagram and your site over on thetoycoach.com. It was a pleasure having you. I wanna see your toys and some major retailers soon I hope. So if there's any way we can help, let us know. If you want Zoe in your store, reach out to her.
[00:13:57] Zoe Oli: Thank you so much for having me.
[00:13:59] Azhelle Wade: Yes.
[00:14:00] Zoe Oli: This was a great experience.
[00:14:01] Azhelle Wade: It is a pleasure. Thank you so much, Zoe.
[00:14:05] Well there, you have it toy people my interview with Zoe Oli of Beautiful Curly Me. Now, after my interview with Zoe, her mom sent me a quick message and said, oh, we forgot to talk about the two initiatives that Zoe is doing with her Beautiful Curly Me dolls. Well, let me tell you guys about them now, because Zoe does not want any other girl to feel the way she did at age six, Beautiful Curly Me launched their BA a doll, give a doll initiative.
[00:14:36] What's that? Well for every doll purchased on their site on beautifulcurlyme.com. One is going to be given to a young girl in need. Dolls are given to girls in foster care and shelters all over the United States. Even if you don't have a little one in your life, you can still be a part of their mission to empower young girls by purchasing a doll to be donated on your behalf, through their gift, a doll option at Beautiful Curly Me. There you go. Two ways that you can give back and make sure that no other little girl felt the way that Zoe did at age six.
[00:15:18] Now what we learned today is you can start your toy business at any age. If you are a parent listening to this episode and your kid has an idea for a toy, I hope you found inspiration in this episode to get started. If you need some help, I want you to reach out to me. I would also like to recommend that you check out Toy Creators Academy over at toycreatorsacademy.com, that program will show you how to vet your ideas and make sure it's one that people want and find a manufacturer who can help you make those ideas come true and build the pitch materials.
[00:15:53] Whether you have to build a pitch deck for toy buyers. Or you wanna pitch to toy companies for something called licensing, all of that, and more is waiting for you inside of Toy Creators Academy and a self-study version of that program will be available soon. So I want you to head over to toy creator's academy to check that out. Before we wrap up today's episode, I wanna give a shout out to Huey. I hope I'm saying your name right listener to the podcast. Who's also joined Toy Creators Academy who says, great podcast, not just for toymaker. I just discovered this podcast a week ago and have been listening from episode one.
[00:16:33] The host Azhelle is amazing. The advice she gives for coming up with ideas, planning, and keeping things organized, how to approach and talk to people, how to handle failures are all topnotch and, and can apply to anyone in any business. Thank you so much for that review, it means so much to me. And it really helps the show. Now, if you are listening to this podcast and you love this podcast, but you haven't left a review yet. What are you waiting for?
[00:17:03] Your reviews pop up on my phone every time a new one comes through and it puts a huge smile on my face and keeps me coming back week after week with toy tips and informative guests. So if you love this podcast, head over to the ratings and review section, wherever you're listening, and please leave us a stellar review. As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week. I'll see you later toy people.
[00:17:42] Jingle Intro/Outro: Thanks for listening to making it in the toy industry podcast with Azhelle Wade, head over to thetoycoach.com for more information tips and advices.
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🎓Learn more about how you can develop and pitch your toy idea with Toy Creators Academy® by clicking here to visit toycreatorsacademy.com and join the waitlist.
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