Small Business Finalist Spotlight: GloveStix
Thanks to Krista Woods of GloveStix LLC! Congratulations again.
Register here for the Small Business Awards on November 2, 2017.
1. Tell us your story of how your company got to where it is today?
GloveStix were invented out of necessity 2 years ago. As a mom of 3 athletic children I was tired of dealing with the horrendous odor of my kids athletic gear but it was my youngest sons Lacrosse gear that finally did me in. I was tired of wasting money on chemical sprays that didn’t work so I decided to invent something myself! You cannot stop a mom…on a mission.
GloveStix hit the market in June of 2015 and are designed to sit inside the gear when it’s not in use. GloveStix will inhibit 99.9% of odor causing bacteria growth, while absorbing moisture and deodorizing with absolutely no chemicals! When I first started, my family and I would set up and sell at Lacrosse Tournaments. The feedback we received not only from the parents, but also from the kids, was awesome. Customers we met starting sharing our Facebook pages and recommending our product, teams started reaching out for bulk orders and even retailers were hearing about us and wanting in. It was incredible to see our organic growth happening and since we are a small business start up this was exactly what we needed.
This quick growth gave me the courage to enter a Mompreneuer contest on NBC’s Today Show and… I WON! I presented GloveStix live on National Television on April 21st 2016 and it was America who voted me to the finals where I was picked as the overall winner. That sent me immediately to sell live on QVC and I completely sold out… in 7 ½ minutes! It was an incredibly surreal experience! Since then I have been running GloveStix with the mindset of… “What’s next? What can’t I do” and a “bring it on” type attitude. In the past year I have won 4 more awards, come out with a second product and transformed GloveStix from a fun hobby to over a half million in sales, 123 retailer partners and been chosen by Amazon as an Amazon “Choice” product.
2. What would it mean to you and your company to win a Small Business Award?
When you start a business like GloveStix from the ground up, with absolutely no experience whatsoever in product development or manufacturing it is very scary. You make a lot of mistakes and have to learn to get over them quickly. Winning a Small Business Award from my home County would truly solidify the “why” to start one. It would prove to everyone that we can do or be anything we want when we work through our fear and push through our mistakes to keep going. I hope to be that example for all small business’s because if I can win… so can you!
3. If you weren’t running your own business/working at this business, what would you be doing?
My true passion is people and I absolutely love training and mentoring. That is what I will be back doing one day. I love to inspire people to get out of their comfort zones and truly understand themselves and others.
4. What book are you reading right now? I pick up books often… but then I struggle to finish them! LOL. I am currently half way through about 4 books but my absolute favorite (yes I finished it) is The People Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman.
5. If you have 24-hours off, and your family was out of town, what would you do?
Most likely I would call friends and go brewery or winery hopping.
6. What is the smallest thing that has made the largest impact on your business?
The words of affirmation and the encouragement I get from others. To hear someone say they are “proud” of me or “inspired” by me is all it takes for me to push harder. People say I inspire them but what they don’t know is… they are actually inspiring me!
7. What was a childhood dream that you had? My ultimate childhood dream was to be the first female sports broadcaster because 30 years ago, only men were broadcasters. I would go to Redskins games with my family every Sunday and look down at all those men on the field and say, “I will do that one day!” I never got to do that obviously, my life took me in a different direction, but check out all those females now! Yup…I could have done it.
8. Who is the one person that has influenced you the most in your career? Jesus! He influences me everyday and I could not have come this far without my faith.
9. What is your favorite thing about running a business in Loudoun County?
Definitely the support of the people. It has been absolutely incredible the amount of support I have had since day one. This community is truly amazing!
10. If you’re not in the office where can we find you? Either at my sons sporting events or hanging out with my hubby or friends. I like to get out and I am always up for a good happy hour.
11. What is your favorite weekend activity in Loudoun County?
I work a lot and often times its on weekends but when I am not working my husband and I will hop on a bike and hit the W O & D trail and ride to Leesburg or Purcellville areas. Sometimes we don’t know where we are going to end up… we just go. (Yes often times it’s a brewery) We are so lucky to be surrounded by so much fun and I am always up for the adventure.
Thanks to Krista Woods of GloveStix LLC! Congratulations again.
Register here for the Small Business Awards on November 2, 2017.