Yohoho Molding Dough for Kids

Hello everyone! More news on the YoHoHo Front! I am very happy to report that we attended our first trade show in January in Orlando. We were at the Convention Center with the Orlando Gift Show. I had not planned on taking my son Chase but being the determined young man that he is he packed his bag and loaded himself in the car. He informed me that “it’s my product too and I am going to the first show.”

So after some consideration and finding out that his school had some snowdays ahead, we decided that we would give it a try. I thought maybe the life experiences would help him understand a little better how big this product launch is.

I ended up being very glad that I brought Chase along with me. He proved to be a fantastic helper! As the show progressed, we were able to pull a lot of strings (it wasn’t easy!) to get him on to the trade show floor. We did manage it and he turned out to be the darling of the show!

At first he was a little shy and let me do most of the talking but by day two he was moving me aside saying “I’ll take this Mom”. Then with all of the pride and passion that a young boy could muster, he would proceed to tell the tale of our dough.

One thing I will say, the kid would have made a brilliant merchant in pirate days! He managed to trade almost as much dough as he sold! By the end of the show he had packed the car with all kinds of loot from disco balls to coconut monkeys!!

All in all it was another great learning experience for both of us as we get into this business and we’re very proud to say that you can now find Yohoho dough in 8 stores up and down the coast of FL. You’ll also find it in a beauty salon , a retirement home gift shop and a couple of pediatricians offices!!!! As you see, EVERYONE loves Yohoho Dough!

Our next move in letting the world get to know Yohoho Dough was a very successful trip to Savannah GA, Chase was not in attendance for this one but I had a booth at the Southern Woman’s Show. For those who do not know, these shows are presented all over the country and are geared to women in business. It’s targeted to women of all ages. I had so much fun at this event you wouldn’t believe it! It’s so exciting to see the products that women come up with and to enjoy the company of other women in business. I saw products that I had no idea even existed, but I loved them!

Yohoho was a smashing success. Everyone loved our concept of an organic chemical free alternative to Play Dough. The fact that it was a family friendly activity kit was truly big hit with everyone from grandparents to babysitters. Even daycare providers, teachers and homeschooling groups loved it. And of course, moms couldn’t get enough! I am now very proud to say that we’re in at least 200 different homes in and around the Savannah Georgia area!

As we continue to his trade shows and convention centers around the U.S., keep watching here and I’ll let you know when we’re going to be in an area near you so that you can come see us and try out the dough for yourself!

We’ve been on the road a lot lately hitting trade shows and talking about Yohoho Dough and we’ve been receiving a lot of interesting questions, so we thought it would be a good idea to share them here. (And of course we love talking about our dough!)

Q: Is it parent friendly?

Yes! It was created by a parent (me!) for projects with my kids, so I made sure it would work well for everyone. Though it looks like Play-Doh brand dough, because it is not laced with chemicals, it acts completely different. For example, when it gets dropped on the carpet (and of course, subsequently stepped on and ground into the carpet) Yohoho Dough is WATER SOLVABLE. So simply get some warm water, work it into the dough and it will come out nicely.  I’d recommend pulling up as much as you can first with a comb. It will get out more of the dough than using your fingers and loosen what’s left. Then use the warm water and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Q: Does it dry out as quickly as Play-Doh?

Another cool effect of our dough being not laced with chemicals is that it does not dry out as quickly. Even when bags or containers are left open, you won’t have to throw out hardened pieces and bits of dough (and throw out the money you spent on it either!)  Trust me, I understand this! I have bought enough mainstream Play-Doh to sink a pirate ship because my boys (as kids do) left the lid off the containers or left it lying around without putting it away and it dried out in a matter of hours.

With Yohoho Dough, it will develop a slight crust overnight, but all you need to do is work it a little and the moisture from the rest of the dough and the warmth of your hands will take care of that!

Q: (As asked by someone here on the blog) Can you bake it for long term craft projects?

Since Yohoho dough was designed for continuous play rather than craft projects, it’s not advised to bake it. As mentioned above, it doesn’t dry out easily, so it doesn’t work well on projects that you would like to keep on a long term basis. Use Yohoho Dough for every day play and molding fun with your kids.  Everyone will love it!
As we mentioned earlier, we’re doing a lot of travelling and talking about Yohoho Dough these days so keep an eye here and we’ll update you on our schedules. Keep sending in questions and letting us know what you think of the dough! We love to hear your stories!

Check it out -here’s a great story that was featured recently in the High Country Press!

http://www.highcountrypress.com/weekly/2009/02-12-09/yo_show_me.htm

The Palm family of Banner Elk is becoming local celebrities of sorts, thanks to their giving spirit and their new product called YoHoHo Dough that’s been hitting shelves all over the High Country and beyond.

Last Valentine’s Day, the family decided to make gifts for all their classmates by concocting a homemade play version of Play-Doh. Using a recipe they found online, the family made dough hearts and passed them out at school with the message, “Have a heart, from Chase and Preston.”

Then Holly Palm’s phone started ringing off the hook and the mother of two was astonished.

“The dough ended up being a huge success among not only his classmates, but their parents too,” said Palm on her blog. “We were soon bombarded with calls for the recipe. I was delighted to share and even more encouraged that parents still want to do fun activities with their kids.”

Parents were amazed at the quality of the dough and wanted to know where they could find it. Palm happily passed on the recipe and joked with her son about selling the dough. Chase loved the idea of having their very own product and started pondering the possibilities.

A few days later on the way to soccer practice, Chase told his mother the plan: the product would be a do-it-yourself kit called YoHoHo Dough and the logo would feature he and his brother Preston on the label dressed as pirates. He also informed his mother during their first impromptu business meeting that making the dough was just as much as actually playing with it, thus the idea of a kit.

“My eldest son, Chase, has always had a very strong entrepreneurial and generous spirit,” said Palm.

In a matter of weeks, the Palm family’s Valentine activity turned into a business venture with a 10 year old at the helm. Holly, who had recently sold her advertising business in the family’s former home of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, poured herself into the business of getting YoHoHo Dough on shelves and in homes.

“It’s so unique and different that it’s never been on shelves,” said Palm. “As far as we know, after lots of research, this is the only kit on the market.”

According to Palm, YoHoHo Dough kits, which contain enough ingredients for four pounds of dough, are certified organic. The ingredients have been chosen specifically for their lack of chemical preservatives, additives, pesticides and other things that would make the dough unsafe for children.

Palm also contends that the product has a smoother feel than that of other similar products and will stay hydrated longer, and won’t ruin your carpet.

“It’s really a very versatile product,” said Palm. “I’m real happy about the way it’s taken off.”

After months of developing packaging, trade marking the product, setting up the website and blog and ironing out various other new business wrinkles, the first finished kits of YoHoHo Dough hit stores in December. The kits are available in several locations in Banner Elk and can also be found at Green Mother Goods in Boone. Palm said that Mast General Store agreed to begin carrying the product this spring.

In recent weeks, the Palms have hit the road with their product, attending trade shows, knocking on the doors of local businesses and trying to develop a buzz through their website. While she planned to go by herself to one of the recent shows, Chase, now 11, put his foot down just before one of his mother’s recent trips.

“He got in the car and said, ‘I’m going to this trade show. It’s my product,’” said Palm.

Palm said that her son has proven to be a natural salesman, chatting up customers and making sales. Regardless of whether or not their product takes off and becomes a widespread success, the mother of two is just thrilled that a fun family activity has proven to be far more educational than she ever expected.

“If nothing else comes of it, he’s learned a lot about what it takes [to start a business],” said Palm.

To learn more about YoHoHo Dough, read the Palm’s blog or purchase a kit, click to www.yohohodough.com.

Hi my name is Holly Palm and YoHoHo Dough is my family’s company. Welcome! I thought for the first blog entry, I’d introduce myself and explain a little bit about YoHoHo Dough and how it came to be.

My eldest son, Chase, has always had a very strong entrepreneurial and generous spirit. In 2006 he and his younger brother Preston gave up their birthday gifts (not easy in young children!) and rose over $500.00 for a hospitality house. This year they did the same and raised $970.00 for the Grandfather Home for Children in our local area. Needless to say, my sons don’t do much that is ‘normal’ – they’re very creative and love coming up with new ideas!

So, one Valentine’s Day we decided to make homemade play dough as gifts for the classmates at my son’s school. The dough ended up being a huge success among not only his classmates, but their parents too! We were soon bombarded with calls for the recipe. I was delighted to share and even more encouraged that parents still want to do fun activities with their kids. With video games and dvd players and the ‘electronic age’ I’d thought that maybe parents doing activities with their kids was a lost cause. I was never more happy to be proven wrong!

As we fielded phone calls and began discussing the recipe with other parents, I joked with my son Chase that we could sell this stuff. Though I was laughing, his reply was “NO MOM! We need to make a kit and sell the kit! Part of the fun is making the dough at home!”

Lesson #1 You never know where opportunity lies.

It was a good idea and I told Chase to go for it. Imagine how thrilled I was when he did! In no time he had come up with the concept, logo and name. Pretty impressive for a 10 year old boy!

Lesson #2 Nothing happens over night

Along the way, Chase has learned (and so have I!) about the legalities of developing a product, marketing, salesmanship and business. With each lesson, he’s still ready to go. Why? YoHoHo Dough is awesome!

Lesson #3 Quality is the key

As we researched, discussed, and figured out our next steps, we decided to make the product organic. Chase’s little brother has issues with metals and pesticides, so it’s something close to home for all of us. Nobody wanted children playing with a product that was laced with heavy metals and insecticides.

And that brings us here….

What a journey it has been to watch Chase’s ideas come to fruition and grow into a viable product line! We are finally ready to take YOHOHO MOLDING DOUGH to market and no doubt there will be many more lessons to be learned along the way.

Thank you for joining us here and taking the time to visit our site and read our blog. We hope that you give YoHoHo Dough a try and we’d love to hear about how you and your children like it. We have a lot of huge things happening and we hope that you’ll come back in ‘09 and get hints and tips for your YoHoHo Dough but more than that, activities and fun adventures with your kids. We love to help people find the fun stuff to do with their kids!

We’ll be back after the holidays. Until then, have a very safe and fun holiday season with your family!

Holly & Chase Palm

Yohoho Dough Blog coming soon!