Marta's incredible adventure:
The founder of Woodhoodz SuitAbilities started out just trying to protect her young daughter from the cold. Iris Winston reports.

The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, November 30, 2002
Page: K1 / FRONT
Section: Careers
Byline: Iris Winston
Source: The Ottawa Citizen
Series: Entrepreneurial Spirit - Successful Small Businesses

Protecting her young daughter from the cold turned out to be the beginning of Marta Wood's "incredible adventure'' as an entrepreneur.

"I really didn't choose to start a business,'' says the 44-year-old founder of Woodhoodz SuitAbilities, which now has 16 different product lines, retailing from $13 to $52, on sale in the Home Health Care division of Shoppers Drug Mart stores. "It all started because my daughter got a little touch of frostbite on her cheek and I decided to make something to keep her warm that she could not pull off.''

That wraparound fleece covering with no loose ends for a toddler to tug at was the model for Ms. Wood's FaceEssential mask. She then created fleece protectors as the need arose: wrist warmers ("for when my little ones started building snow castles and needed something to protect the space between the ends of their coat sleeves and their mittens''), bed socks, elbow and calf warmers and headwear for other family members and palm protectors and gloves for people in wheelchairs.

"Everything was developed out of necessity and love for somebody, and it just grew and grew,'' says Ms. Wood.

The transformation from a hobby, on which she spent $20 for a roll of fabric, to a business, in which she has just invested $44,000, came about after she read about the government's Self Employment Assistance Program. She discovered that she was eligible to apply as she had been on maternity leave within the specified period. It was close to the wire, she recalls. "I found out that I had three days before my eligibility was up.''

She also learned that a seasonal business venture was not on the SEAP agenda. Therefore, Ms. Wood focused on making her products useful year round by "designing and crafting therapeutic and assistive fleece accessories to help people with physical disabilities, joint, circulatory and respiratory problems deal with the cold."

"I kind of grew into this business backwards,'' says Ms. Wood, explaining that her market research in developing her business plan (a mandatory part of SEAP) convinced her that there was a need for her fleece warmers.

"Over four million Canadians have some form of arthritis and more than two million have diabetes. Over 10 per cent of Canada's children have asthma. I came up with an enormous number of people who could benefit from my products.

"But,'' adds Ms. Wood, a former waitress and office worker, "even though the numbers I had gathered showed that there was a large target market for the products, and the people and associations who used them liked them, I still didn't know whether they would be viable in a retail setting.''

Therefore, she sought advice from experts in the field. She called the marketing heads of two major drug store chains, Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharma Plus.

"I was not trying to sell. I was asking for their opinion and advice,'' she says. "I just wanted to show them the products and have them tell me if I had a good idea and what it would take to get my products on the shelves of their stores. If they had said it wasn't good, I thought it would be easier to change direction earlier rather than later.''

However, when Ms. Wood showed her samples, both companies expressed interest in the various fleece accessories.

"I was impressed with what I saw,'' says Jeff Preston, marketing director for Shoppers Home Health Care. "What makes Woodhoodz SuitAbilities different is not only the obvious medical benefits and the uniqueness of the designs, but also the quality of the workmanship and the level of customer service.''

Following a positive response to a test selection of various warmers and slippers in three stores in Ottawa and Kingston last winter and at the 2001 Innovative Health Care Solutions trade show in Toronto, Woodhoodz was taken on as a regular supplier for the entire Shoppers Home Health Care division and a number of the products are featured in the national Shoppers Drug Mart flyer that was distributed in mid-November.

At this point, "everything I make goes back into the company and I haven't taken anything out. It wouldn't have grown to the level it has unless I'd done that,'' says Ms. Wood, adding that she does not expect to draw a salary for at least another year.

Currently, the company, which is still a home-based business, has two employees, some $40,000 worth of workshop and office equipment, $30,000 in product and a heavy working line of credit.

"I have to guarantee adequate inventory and the stores are mandated to carry a core order of 59 units and to sell that amount two and a half times in the next six months,'' says Ms. Wood, who is also required to pay a marketing fee to the Shoppers chain.

Sales projections indicate that the $17,000 worth of pieces sold during last winter's three-store pilot is a small proportion of the anticipated number for this year's sales. "We could get orders for 10,000 units a week,'' says Ms. Wood. "The calf cuddlers and joint wraps are user friendly. Kids think they're cool. Grandma thinks they're cool. Athletes need them to keep their muscles warm. Some doctors are writing prescriptions for these things and some insurance companies are reimbursing patients, if they're deemed essential. The company just seems to have taken off and is kind of feeding on itself.''

The next stage for Woodhoodz, which has several trademarks or patents pending ("It's not an expensive process if you do it yourself,'' says Ms. Wood), is to prepare to move the manufacturing plant or expand her home to accommodate the stock and factory. The other priority is to donate a portion of profits from sales of designated products to charity. Woodhoodz supports the Canadian Paraplegic Association, the Asthma Society of Canada and the Stephanie Gaetz Keepsafe Foundation.

Also on the agenda for Ms. Wood is telling others "how to do what I just did. Take a good idea, help people, believe in yourself. I don't feel that I sell anything. I try to help people and the more I do, the more sells and keeps coming back.

Woodhoodz SuitAbilities is at 29 Coldstream Drive, Munster. The telephone number is (613) 838-2330 and the fax number is 838-2337. The e-mail address is woodhoodz@suitabilities.com . The Web site is www.woodhoodz.com .

Illustration:
• Colour Photo: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen / Marta Wood displays some of the head, hand and leg warmers that she designed so they wouldn't slip off children or the disabled.

Idnumber: 200211300019
Edition: Final
Story Type: Business; Series; Profile
Note: Profile of Marta Wood
Length: 1060 words
Illustration Type: Colour Photo