Making learning fun sparks specialised education business!

Women to Watch

4 Aug

Tracy Morgan (aka Mrs Squoodles) from Squoodles Educational Resources shares how her award-winning business thrived over covid, the challenges they face with two distinct customer bases (b2b, b2c) and how she helps others to play and make learning fun!

What’s your biz?

Squoodles is an online business specialising in Educational Resources for children aged 1-14 years.

Launched in May 2013, the business has grown over the past 12 years servicing Early Childhood Centres, Primary Schools and Kiwi families alike.

Originally known for our wooden toys and puzzles, our range has increased to over 1,600 unique products listed online. Quality and affordability, along with fantastic customer service for our customers, is our goal.

Who do you work with? What sets you apart?

Childhood Centres, Primary Schools and NZ families are our B2C customers. At the moment, their challenges are around the economy and cost of living crisis. Money is tight and we get that. We supply affordable, quality educational resources that fit comfortably in the middle of the range lines - so customers can rest assured that their purchase from us adheres to NZ/AUST safety standards - unlike some cheaper offshore versions (eg Temu).

Our B2B customer base is retailers - both brick & mortar as well as online - throughout NZ. This part of our business has been steadily growing over the past few years and projected to be even more so going forward. Being the exclusive Australasian Distributor for brands like Fun Factory and Viga Wooden Toys, Constructive Eating dinner sets and Baby Ink Inkless Printing Kits means we are able to offer a product range to select retailers.

We do not wholesale to the ‘big boys’ (as in The Warehouse, Farmers, etc). As a distributor of premium products, most with niche markets, the decision was made to protect our brands and retail pricing by only supplying smaller retailers, health professionals, or specialized children’s stores. By doing this, we have ensured that our products cannot be discounted and devalued by only selling on price.

What sparked the idea behind your business?

Squoodles was born in 2013 after talking to parents in my coffee group. All were discussing that it was so hard to find quality wooden toys that didn't cost the earth. Starting my own business hadn't even entered my mind until that time - but I sourced a manufacturer, designed and launched the website and started four months after that initial conversation.

The saying 'just do it' was what I lived by, and I've learned as I've grown, making mistakes along the way. Along with the support of networking groups and some of the amazing women in business who I now consider very close friends, Squoodles is the success it is today due to the support I have in the background.

What does a typical day look like for you as a business owner?

A typical day varies! Like some, I'm a mum of 3 busy boys, wife and business owner - so the mum/life juggle is real.

I tend to start around 5am with clearing emails and getting orders packed for the first morning courier. To be honest, I get more done in those two hours than a whole day at times!

7am-9am is all about kids and getting them to school

9am - 230pm is spent content creating, ensuring accounts are up to date, answering emails, packing orders, dealing with customers and suppliers..... it's pretty full on.

3pm kids come home from school and the mum taxi starts taking them to their various sports.

And then I usually work from around 430-6pm finishing up bits and pieces.

I'm more of a morning person, so I prefer to get up early, rather than work late.

What are some of the key milestones in your business journey so far?

Key Business Achievements and Results

• From 2013-2019 our sales increased on average 33% annually.
• 2020 saw a 113% increase on the previous years sales due to covid
• 2021 -2024 as seen our sales increase approx. 15% annually
• We currently have over 260 five-star Google reviews from our very happy customers.
• Finalist in the 2014 Westpac Business Awards (West Auckland) in the Excellence in Strategy and Planning category.
• Finalist in the 2019 David Awards in the Most Outstanding Triumph Over Adversity category.
• Finalist in the 2023 Waipa Business Awards, four categories (Customer Choice, Digital Strategy & eCommerce, Innovation and Adaption, Excellence in Small Business.
• Winning the Digital Strategy & eCommerce and Innovation and Adaption categories in the 2023 Waipa Business Awards

What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced so far - and how have you overcome them?

When covid hit was the biggest challenge to date. When covid hit in March 2020, schools and ECE centres closed and parents and carers were made ‘teachers’ to home-school their children.

Due to the processes and procedures we had in place, Squoodles was able to start trading almost immediately with approval by MBIE, being an online Educational Resource business. Our relationships with the Centres and Schools meant that they were able to direct the parents to our site to help set up their learning stations at home with age-appropriate activities, stationery and workbooks.

Forward planning for the annual Baby Expos also meant that we had full stock on the shelf at this time. The Expos were cancelled, but it allowed us to supply NZ Families with the educational necessities to get through this hard time with their children. Dean (Mr Squoodles) was very quickly inducted into the daily running of the website, while I did all the admin, picking and packing of orders. Due to the covid restrictions, only the two of us were allowed to work in the business.

During this time, we did half our annual turnover of the previous financial year in April 2020 alone along with an 800% increase in the quantity of orders compared with the same month the year previous.

April 2019 orders: 130
April 2020 orders: 1157
Our success in dealing with this sudden surge of orders was by having processes in place to cope with the influx. A huge upside with us trading during the lockdowns was we were keeping three of our NZ suppliers also in business. From the time of the first lockdown, and throughout April 2020, they were only supplying Squoodles as we were their only retailer trading (with MBIE approval). Five years down the track, this has cemented our relationship with these local businesses as we continue support each other.

What are you most excited about in your business right now?

Future goals are to grow the B2B side of the business even further - both with more exciting new product ranges as well as expanding the number of retailers we currently supply.

Processes and a plan are in place to ensure numbers are worked towards and achieved. It's an exciting time of growth as we come out of two years of recession.

What’s worked best for you to build brand awareness and get customers?

Outsourcing my weaknesses so I can concentrate on my strengths!

Ensuring I work with the right people who also see my vision and can help it come to fruitian. I'm also very conscious that customers buy off people, not necessarily businesses - so to put my face on social media, the website, emails and make myself (as well as Squoodles) more personal to them, makes it more likely to build trust with the consumer.

A huge percentage of our customer base are regulars, which we love.

What is one of the important lessons you've learnt as a business owner? What advice would you share to someone starting out?

Important lesson - just do it! Make a decision. You've got a 50/50 chance of getting it right. If you get it wrong - learn from it and don't do it again. If you get it right, pat yourself on the back and continue :-)

As for someone starting out - do your homework! Speak to other SMEs and find out what is really involved with running your own business. It's not as easy as sending an order out the door.

How does being a part of She Owns It help you in your business journey?

I've been a part of SOI from the beginning, and even before when it was called WE (or something like that). Running a business by yourself, with no one to talk to during the day except the cat can be quite hard.

Having an online community to ask questions of, and get support from, has been invaluable. Even just having access to the platform to see what others are talking about makes you feel part of a team.

SOI has such a wealth of knowledge in it, I would think it's one of the most important marketing decisions to be part of.

⚡️ FAST 5:

1. One thing you’d tell your younger self starting out?
Don't think it - Just do it!

2. Your favourite biz or personal development books or podcasts?
I'm a terrible person who doesn't real biz books or listens to podcasts! Although I did find the auto-biography of Michelle Obama really inspiring.

3. How many tabs do you have open right now?
Over two screens..... too many - they make a very pretty rainbow!

4. What's your go-to power song?
Don't Stop The Music by Rhianna

5. A quote you love and why?
"You don't know what you don't know" - this is our Squoodles motto.
But I also like "Never underestimate your strength, never overestimate your weakness” - both hang on the wall above my desk.