There are so many reasons why I wanted to talk to this Mom Entrepreneur. First, the product – UVSkinz – swim shirts and shorts with UPF 50 protective fabric – is something I am familiar with, having seen my son run around all summer in the one we purchased at Costco. Second, the cause that the founder, Rhonda Sparks, is so committed to for personal and, shall I say, maternal reasons – of protecting our children from the harmful UV rays. Finally, it’s the entrepreneurial spirit that I know will help this company prosper. Perhaps, this is how all ideas with staying power are born – there is a need, there is an inspiration, and there is something great to offer. Read my interview with Rhonda Sparks, founder of UVSkinz, to get a look into the life of this Mom with big ideas.
You started UV Skinz when you lost your 32-year-old husband to melanoma. How did you come up with the idea and what gave you the strength to push through?
Darren was diagnosed with melanoma (skin cancer) at the age of 27 and we had two little boys (and added a third boy a few years later). We would take the kids to Hawaii each year since they were little and on one of these trips we discovered ‘rash guards’. Since we had this ‘heightened awareness’ from Darren’s skin cancer incident, we would put the boys in rash guards for more sun protection than just lathering on the sun screen every couple of hours. They weren’t ideal as they were made of heavier fabric and were very skin tight (as a traditional rash guard wasn’t made for sun protection but more for ‘chaffing’ and irritation the surfers would get while on their surfboards). But, because of the rash guards (and their inadequacies), the whole concept of using a protective fabric rather than sunscreen lotion came to be. Darren and I purchased the URL ‘UV Skinz’ years before his death, in hopes of creating this company together, but ultimately, we spent the last few years of his life fighting his disease and unfortunately losing the battle on September 14, 2001 (just three days after the September 11th tragedy with the Twin Towers). After a few years of grieving and taking care of our three little boys (they were 1, 3, and 6 at the time of his passing), I decided to take back up the challenge of starting the company. UV Skinz became ‘official’ in 2005.
What gave me the strength to ‘push through’ were the three boys and Darren’s spirit. From our experience, we knew how much innocent ignorance there was about how dangerous a sun burn could truly be. I wanted to help change that ignorance by raising awareness on the need for proper sun protection.
With a product for the outdoors, you must be a person who likes to spend time outside. True or false?
I do like to spend time outside but I am by no means an ‘athletic’ person. However, my kids and all of their friends (and any kids I see!) LOVE being outside and they hate having to stop their playtime while outdoors so it was even more motivation to come up with something for parents to put on their kids, keep them protected from the sun, and didn’t have to stop their playtime by having to apply and re-apply sun screen every couple of hours!
What makes UV Skinz unique?
My passion! My team’s passion! We create every single swim shirt, every single product with the idea in mind that we are potentially saving someone’s life! In fact, we even have a graph we put up on the wall each year that measures how many ‘skins saved’ each week. Of course we are concerned to turn a profit, but ultimately it’s the social awareness and mission to ‘get kids covered’ that help us do this.
I’ve also been an entrepreneur my whole life (from lemonade stands as a kid to running my own business as an adult) and so I recognize the importance of providing a high quality, unique experience for our customers. This is why we go the extra mile with our rigorous testing, product details such as flat lock stitching through our entire swim shirts, raglan cut sleeves (for ease-of-motion), and even a ‘name tag’ placed in the back of the neck of the kids shirts for parents to keep track of their kid’s belongings easier. We also package each order with ‘sunshine’ and we include fun coloring pages for the kids and educational pieces for the parents. We take every opportunity to make sure our customers know how much we appreciate they have chosen us for their families sun protection needs!
Can you share with us how much you had to spend before you started seeing revenue come in?
Oh boy. That would be an interesting topic to get into as I didn’t realize how much capital I would truly need to pull this off! As I mentioned, I own other businesses but they were service driven, rather than product driven so I had a huge learning curve ahead of me with knowing all the ins and outs of running an inventory based business. When all was said and done, the first few years took over $400k of my own money, but if I had planned better, had better budgets in place, I could have reduced this amount. We did not start recognizing a profit until 2008.
How long did it take you to get the product off the ground?
It’s been a gradual process due to the external circumstances of taking care of Darren through his cancer treatments, raising three little boys, and then going through the grieving process myself after the loss. UV Skinz officially became a company in May 2005 and has seen a steady increase in sales each year.
What are the most popular designs and items from UV Skinz? Do you do your own design?
Yes, I do my own designs (with the help of a graphic artist as I don’t know how to use any of the design software!) and I have a great time each year trying to anticipate colors and designs of the season. But, even with all of that, our best selling pieces have been our solid and 2-color swim shirts in traditional blues and pinks. Although, each year’s design swim shirts are right behind the solids in sales. We also see slightly higher sales in our long-sleeves vs. short-sleeves, which works great for me as it means more skin is protected!
What has been the most challenging moment working on UV Skinz so far? How did you deal with it?
Being undercapitalized! With my service driven business, there are no costs associated with producing a product. With UV Skinz, we must first produce the product and typically we won’t see a return on that production for over four or five months! Plus, we are a seasonal company. Our busiest times of the year are May through August, with November and December falling right behind. To help with these issues, I’ve been forced to put structured budgets in place and run as lean as I can in the months when we don’t see much in sales. Also, in these last couple of years where we’ve had larger orders from some big players in the industry, I’ve looked to private funding. Ultimately, I am looking to build a solid relationship with a bank that believes in my abilities and will grow with me.
Can you remember the time when you knew your company was a success? What was most gratifying?
I’ve always known I would pull this off as the mission behind the company and the products speak for themselves. But, it was really affirming when we opened up a People magazine last year and Matthew McConaughey’s little boy, Levi, was wearing one of our UV swim shirts! We also see Marcia Cross’ little twin girls in our outfits a lot.
Do you work with American Cancer Society? How much time do you spend on the sun prevention education?
When Darren first died, my brother and I started a non-profit in honor of my husband that allowed us to make some major contributions to ACS and other worthy organizations. For UV Skinz, we work with many non-profits throughout the year in donating product for under privileged kids and for the ‘melanoma walks’ that take place all over the nation in May. We use EVERY OPPORTUNITY we can to bring awareness to the need for proper sun protection. We will be having our second annual Save a Baby’s Skin this May that we feel really helps bring the awareness front and center. May has been coined the Skin Cancer Awareness Month by ACS so we do our part by giving away a free baby skinz UV swim shirt with every order in hopes that the customer will ‘pay it forward’ and give it to a baby in need or use it on their own baby. Last year’s campaign was a great success and we anticipate that this year’s will do the same.
With summer just a few months away, what can parents do to help protect their children from the harmful UV rays?
Stay sunburn free! And the best ways to do this are to use proper sun protection in the form of UV swim shirts for outdoor play, good quality sunscreen for exposed areas, hats and sunglasses for the head and eyes and, if possible, to stay out of the sun from the most UV intensive hours of 10AM to 2PM each day. Also, find shade whenever possible such as under a large tree, a pop-up or even an umbrella. We have some great sun safety tips on our website such as Sun FAQ’s and Top 10 UV Protection Tips that we encourage our customers to read.
What’s next for UV Skinz? Are you planning any new products?
My main goal is to be the number one sun protection company in the nation. We want UV Skinz to be the ‘name’ associated with all UV swim shirt brands, like Kleenex is the ‘name’ associated with all facial tissue. We want to be the ‘Wonder Bread’ of sun protection! Our tag line says it all… we want to Get Kids Covered! all over the Nation. I want every family to understand the importance of using a UV Skinz like they understand the importance of using toothpaste and we hope to do this by bringing out high quality, affordable, and fashionable products every year that our customers feel they can’t be without.
Do you have a set schedule or a flexible one? How do you decide when to work?
As a business owner, there really is no ‘off’ button you get to push for not working. My company is living inside of me all day, every day. But, with raising five kids (I remarried four years ago to an AMAZING man and we’ve added two more beautiful babies to the family!), I love being able to take what time I need to be with them and be a part of their school activities, etc. As an example, I may work during the day while the kids are in school, head home for after school projects, dinner, and bedtime routines, and then get back on the computer at night to work through pending projects. I also bring my 4-month-old, Cassidy, (a girl after having FOUR boys!) to work with me and I usually never work on the weekends as that is my family time. As for the UV Skinz office, it’s opened Monday through Friday, 8AM to 6PM.
Do you have any favorite business and other resources that have been most helpful?
I’ve been fortunate to have some great women/mom’s believe in me and support my growth. Some of the ones that come to mind are Hillside Artisans, Eco Baby World, Celebrity Baby Scoop, and Mom4Life.
Do your kids get involved in the business?
It’s funny that you ask this question because my kids now run away whenever they see a UV Skinz and a camera in my hand! My kids are my main models (see pictures) and my older two boys (now 12 and 14) have worked in the office during the summertime, pulling orders and doing miscellaneous projects.
If I asked your kids, what kind of Mom would they say you are?
Fun, easy going, available to talk about anything and strong. I had the best conversation with my oldest son the other day where he said “Mom, I hope when I grow up I’ll be as great as you.” Doesn’t get much better than that!
Can you offer any advice to moms who are eyeing entrepreneurship?
Have patience! Nothing happens overnight. Know what your goals are from the beginning. If you want to work for yourself so that you can have more freedom to be with your kids, then make sure you start a business that can allow more opportunity for this to happen. And know that there are pro’s and con’s to both working for yourself and working for someone else. Personally, I know that I am highly unemployable. It’s a genetic flaw. This is why I KNOW I’m destined to work for myself.
You can learn more about UV Skinz on their website: www.uvskinz.com or find them at a local retailer.
