IAM065 – Founder of Apparel Company & Helps Young Children with Exercise & Eating Habits

Lori Tobin is the founder of SporTobin, a Hull-based apparel company specializing in workout clothing made in the USA for adults and children since 1991. Lori has spoken actively on the South Shore and beyond about healthy eating habits and exercise, especially in young children. She has also been involved in many causes and created and continues to teach her keepgoingkidz exercise class at the elementary school in Hull, Massachusetts.

• CEO Hack: Running everyday, meditating and writing goals and aspirations
• CEO Nugget: Ask customers, “What do you need next?” Be open to learning and being ethical
• CEO Defined: Wearing a lot of hats, acting with integrity, looking forward

Website: https://sportobin.com
Website: http://keepgoingkidz.com
Book: https://amzn.to/2QDhTnJ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SporTobin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SporTobin/

Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I am CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Lori Tobin of SporTobin & KeepGoingKidz. Lori is great to have you on the show.

Lori Tobin 0:39

Thank you. Thank you. I'm thrilled to be doing an interview with you Gresham.

Gresham Harkless 0:43

I'm thrilled to have you here too. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Lori so you can hear about all the awesome and phenomenal things that she's doing. And Lori Tobin is the founder of SporTobin, a Hull-based apparel company specializing in workout clothing made in the USA for adults and children since 1991. Lori has spoken actively on the South Shore and beyond about healthy eating habits and exercise, especially in young children. She has also been involved in many causes and created and continues to teach her KeepGoingKidz exercise classes at the elementary school in Hull. Lori is great to have you. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Lori Tobin 1:22

Yes, I am.

Gresham Harkless 1:23

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, the first question I have was just to kind of expound a little bit more upon your bio and hear about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

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Lori Tobin 1:31

Okay. Well, let's see. First, let me preface that I've been running for a long time. And I've been sewing since I was a small child. So I was running with a running club. And I had a race that I was running in, and this woman and at the end of the race, track me down and said, I want a pair of those leggings, where did you get those? And I had made them. So I knew right away that I you know, had some people that wanted my clothing. And so that helped.

So anyways, that's how I began because that was back in the Oh, the early 90s. And so I started producing clothing and selling them to runners, I would go to road races and sell and then I would also go to health clubs. And I've done a pan-mass challenge is a big ride and its benefits. Dana Farber, here in Massachusetts, I sold at their Expo as well. And then from the health clubs, a woman was working with a 3-Day. And she got me hooked on the 3-Day and that was wonderful. These women who were walking to survive, of them were survivors. Some of them were walking for loved ones. And I went to this first Expo and they bought all of my clothing. I had nothing left. And then I asked, Hey, do you have some more of these? So they did.

So I started doing more of the expos. And I traveled around the country speaking and selling. And that's really how I began. My husband whom I'm married to now started my website in 97. So the women that were doing the walks in California could order directly from me. So if I wasn't there, they could still get the clothing. So that's how I began.

Gresham Harkless 3:05

Nice, nice, nice. That's a great story to hear, especially how it started when you were just wearing something and you were just trying to wear something for yourself. And then all of a sudden someone says, Hey, I like that. And then you said, hey, well, I can get that for you. And things start to kind of snowball from there. So I think is great to kind of hear how you got started and how that kind of ballooned from there. So what I wanted to do was kind of drill a little bit deeper to hear a little bit more about SporTobin and what you're doing with KeepGoingKidz.

Lori Tobin 3:28

Okay, well KeepGoingKidz. It's another when about, let's see 97 I believe it was so the breast cancer walks I was doing but I had an elderly family member get ill and my mother-in-law. And so she needed me to take care of her. My husband's a sea captain. So he was home for a month and gone for a month and I also had a young son.

So I started doing kids' clothing and I also at the school that he belonged to because my son could not sit still. So I started a program and I did it for free for the first year. We had 40 kids show up at the gym. So I started running them around the gym, and we have a whole program had some other moms helped me. And so from that, I also started cooking because I have a new kitchen because we had moved in between here. And so I brought the kids some of the kids from my exercise class and I taught them how to cook and we filmed it through Hull cable so I have cooking exercise. And I have a book a short book that I had done as well. And I thought I'm gonna see if I can get this a little bigger.

So I ran into a producer that was producing Wahlberg's program and he hooked me up with Alicia, the good nature dog. And so we have been working on this project for a while and getting it. Her production company produces movies, television shows all kinds of things. So That's how KeepGoingKidz is going from my house, a gym into a program. So I'm very excited about it. It's evergreen. We're going to be working with kids probably four or five-year-olds right up into fifth grade.

So that's about 11-year-olds, teaching them how to cook healthy meals, and teaching them how to do some fun exercises around the house. I don't know if you know, but a lot of families don't cook, and they don't know how to cook. So if your kid knows how to cook, then that means they can take care of themselves. And they can also cook for the family. And it's a great way for families to be together and enjoy each other. And kids learn a lot of things from cooking and cleaning. And you know, the exercise part makes them feel good.

Gresham Harkless 5:28

Yeah, and it makes perfect sense. And you get the opportunity to kind of take control of your health as well, too, because you are making and preparing exactly what you're going to put into your bodies. And to learn that at a very young age, you're creating a lot of foundational skills that those kids can use that will live healthier lives, you know, down the line when they become adults, and they get a lot older, and they start to age. So I think it's phenomenal what you're doing. And you know, working with kids is always near and dear to my heart. And we talked about that offline. And so I think that's phenomenal about that new project that you're working on.

Lori Tobin 5:56

Thank you. Yeah, no, I'm very excited about it. So that's in the pre-production stage. But I'm betting that it'll probably be ready because the website's almost ready to launch. And within the next two months, so once that happens, I think everything else will move pretty quickly.

Gresham Harkless 6:13

Nice. Yeah, that's how it always seems to work. So cool. Well, I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce, or kind of your maybe superpower or your differentiator for your organization, which you feel makes you unique.

Lori Tobin 6:25

Okay, well, one is we're made in the USA. Secondly, we always give back. So we have scrap fabric and scrap fabric, I donate to teachers, art teachers, in my community, so they can use it as well. We always partner with different organizations to donate back to the kids and the programs. And my clothing last, which is kind of unique.

So I had a woman who called me back probably about seven years ago, she had a pair of my leggings for 20 years, but they had finally worn out and she wanted another pair. So I should have said, Can I get your name and address so I can put you on my website. But she mentioned her.

So my clothing lasts. And I use really nice fabrics. So they work they dry quickly. And they wash well. And so it's something you can wear for exercise, but it's the high fashion these days. athletic apparel.

Gresham Harkless 7:19

Yeah, absolutely. When especially everybody working out and wearing their yoga clothes, and in a lot of their sports clothes, just walking around, you know, whether it be a grocery store anywhere they're putting those things on. So it's great that you have created something, but also people can use it for as long as they have.

Lori Tobin 7:33

Yes, exactly, exactly. So that's what makes me unique.

Gresham Harkless 7:37

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. And what I wanted to do is switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an app or a book. But the idea is, is something that makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Lori Tobin 7:48

Okay, well, I run every day. So when I go for my runs in the morning, and I'm working on some type of project or something that's just not working, sometimes, you know, you've got to figure out how to get this. And that done, I'll go for my run, and it'll pop so that running that exercise, and that blood activity to my brain really helps me hone in and figure out ideas and figure out things that need to be done.

So that's very, very important. I also meditate, I meditate in the mornings as well. And that helps focus me and I write out like what I want, you know, one year, three years, five years, 10 years from now. So I'm always moving forward as to where my business is going, what we're up to, and what's our next event. Do we add a new product line? So that's really it, but it's the running that really helps tremendously for me.

Gresham Harkless 8:39

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I always myself always say, you know, I want to try to vibrate higher as much as possible, and that some of those activities definitely help you to do that, where you're getting the blood flowing, you're starting to think on a higher level. So I think those are phenomenal CEO hacks that people kind of take into account in their business and in their lives. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this might be a word of wisdom or piece of advice that you might have for other entrepreneurs and business owners.

Lori Tobin 9:03

Okay, so you want to feel a need for you, whatever you're doing, it's like people, I'm making a lot of clothing for kids and kids grow constantly, so they're always needing more of it. So that's one of the things it's cold in my neck of the woods in the wintertime. So I have heavier fabric so parents like that. I'm not I always ask my customers, what do you need next? What would you like to say? And I can ask my customers and they will tell me, they'll tell me what they like and they'll tell me what they don't like so because you're in business to you know, make a profit or make money. But you also are in a service business, what does your customer want and need? So that's very, very important to me. And also be open to learning and just be ethical as well. That's very important.

Gresham Harkless 9:49

Yeah, I think those are phenomenal CEO nuggets, especially the idea of you know, being ethical and being and making sure that you're in line with your client. Whether you have a product-based business or you have a service-based business understanding. They both kind of intertwine. So if you're in a service-based business, you have to listen to your clients, and you have to provide great value and great service. So it's great that you have that as a foundational principle in your business, and also that you're reminding us that we need to do that as well, too, which is important.

Lori Tobin 10:12

Yeah, exactly.

Gresham Harkless 10:14

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, now my favorite question is, which is kind of like the definition of being a CEO? And we're asking a lot of different entrepreneurs and business owners to be on this podcast and attracting a lot of different quote-unquote, CEOs. So I wanted to ask you, specifically, what does being a CEO means to you?

Lori Tobin 10:30

Well, I get to wear a lot of hats. You know, you just treat me it's like, I'm the head of my company. So we always act with integrity, we always do what we're supposed to do in terms of if a customer is not happy, we do what we need to do to take care of the customer. And the CEO has to be again, looking forward, what are we doing next? What's going on, you know, in business, and things are moving on the internet, and then moving so quickly, it's you know, you have to constantly be trying to figure out how you can grow your market. And then there's that, that big company, Amazon, so you know, you have to set yourself apart from that.

So that's something that we're always working on. But CEOs have to just keep an eye on the big picture. And, you know, for me, it's just you just do the best you can every day to how you want to be treated, because nobody likes a jerk.

Gresham Harkless 11:22

Yes, sure, that's true. And, you know, whatever you put out comes back sometime. So if you put out that jerkiness, I guess you can say it, sometimes I can come right back to you and a lot of different ways. But I also love the fact that he talked about, you know, being able to kind of see things from a higher view and be able to understand like, where you're going and where you want to go, and also put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward, which is probably the biggest thing that you know, run into business or being an entrepreneur or business owner kind of causes you to do. So I think that's a great definition. I appreciate that.

Lori Tobin 11:49

Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 11:50

Cool, cool, cool. Well, Lori, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule. What I wanted to do, which pass you the mic, so to speak, to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know, and then also how best people can get a hold of you.

Lori Tobin 12:02

Okay, well, let's see, I would say you sportobin.com, and that's one T, and that's my website for clothing. keepgoingkidz.com and it's with a Z, but you'll probably print that up. But it's in that'll be the website, and that's coming together. So keep watching for that. And you know, it's going to be a busy year this year, I think, but I'm looking forward to it. It should be very exciting. I'm hoping it's going to spin into other things as well. So I don't know, just check out sportobin.com. That's the best way to reach me, lori@sportobin.com.

Gresham Harkless 12:37

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Yeah. So we will have those links in the show notes. So anybody can kind of click through and follow up with you and find out all the awesome things that you're doing. But I truly appreciate you for taking some time out and telling us how you know just starting out with yoga pants and now you have this kind of sports and health and wellness empire that you have in your building. So I think it's pretty awesome to hear everything you're cooking up and I appreciate you and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Lori Tobin 12:59

Gresham, Thank you very, very much. I appreciate you having me on your show.

Outro 13:03

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co

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