Posted 11:17 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011
[caption id="attachment_8071" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Danica Leigl, ’06, left, and Abby Kohlmann, ’06, wear the ponytail hats Leigl knits while marketing them on the UW-L campus during a visit in November. "]
[/caption]It was an accident that led Danica Leigl, ’06, to start an international, online hat company.
The first hat she ever knit was made with bright pink yarn and had a gaping hole in the middle. She laughed at the goofy mistake, pulling her brown curls through the cap.
To her surprise, she instantly loved it.
That was a holiday break from school at UW-La Crosse in 2003. When Leigl returned to classes wearing several of her handmade ponytail hats, fellow students started to ask about them. She began taking hat orders, but between books and her part-time job at the computer lab, she couldn’t keep up.
After graduation she continued to receive requests and one day on a Delta Airlines flight, she sketched a logo for her hat business on a napkin with the words Peek . a . Boos. It was March 2007 and Peek . a . Boos ponytail hat business was born.
Leigl’s business minor came in handy as she began to understand how she would manage finances. She learned about tracking inventory, hiring models and starting a website. She even attempted to mass produce the hats instead of hand making them, but was not pleased with the product.
“They weren’t cool anymore,” she says. “They were itchy, thin and smelt funny.”
[caption id="attachment_8074" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Danica Leigl, ’06, models the hats she makes."]
[/caption]She reverted to hand knitting every one, some days spending up to 18 hours knitting. Leigl, a chemistry major with a concentration in business, says she learned her work ethic at UW-L.
“I wasn’t a natural at book studies. I had to work at it. I spent hours in the chemistry lab,” she says. “Without a doubt, I feel that’s exactly what has helped me every day doing this.”
Her best advice for entrepreneurs is patience.
“I did it wrong first. Then, I did it right,” she explains. “The only thing I did right was not quit my job too soon.”
She still works part time managing the Asian Territory for the Materion Advanced Chemicals company. Her hat business, based out of Milwaukee, sells internationally online and started turning a profit for the first time this year.
Abby Kohlmann, ’06, a marketing major, assists Leigl with her online marketing strategy. The two have been friends since age 3. As a consultant, Kohlmann has worked with retailers across the U.S. and has used that experience to help her friend.
“To sell something I believe in and know is a good product with my best friend — I don’t know how I could ask for anything more,” she says.
The two returned to their alma mater to sell hats in November. The most exciting part of the business is seeing others enjoying the product, they say.
“I saw a women wearing one the other day at the crosswalk and I almost peed my pants,” jokes Leigl. “That’s what gets you through … spotting these out and about.”
After five years she feels all the hard work is starting to pay off. While she hopes the company continues to grow into full-time work, she wants to continue to have pride in her handmade product. She wants to keep the business close knit.
Find more online at www.peekaboos-hats.com
[/caption]It was an accident that led Danica Leigl, ’06, to start an international, online hat company.
The first hat she ever knit was made with bright pink yarn and had a gaping hole in the middle. She laughed at the goofy mistake, pulling her brown curls through the cap.
To her surprise, she instantly loved it.
That was a holiday break from school at UW-La Crosse in 2003. When Leigl returned to classes wearing several of her handmade ponytail hats, fellow students started to ask about them. She began taking hat orders, but between books and her part-time job at the computer lab, she couldn’t keep up.
After graduation she continued to receive requests and one day on a Delta Airlines flight, she sketched a logo for her hat business on a napkin with the words Peek . a . Boos. It was March 2007 and Peek . a . Boos ponytail hat business was born.
Leigl’s business minor came in handy as she began to understand how she would manage finances. She learned about tracking inventory, hiring models and starting a website. She even attempted to mass produce the hats instead of hand making them, but was not pleased with the product.
“They weren’t cool anymore,” she says. “They were itchy, thin and smelt funny.”
[caption id="attachment_8074" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Danica Leigl, ’06, models the hats she makes."][/caption]She reverted to hand knitting every one, some days spending up to 18 hours knitting. Leigl, a chemistry major with a concentration in business, says she learned her work ethic at UW-L.
“I wasn’t a natural at book studies. I had to work at it. I spent hours in the chemistry lab,” she says. “Without a doubt, I feel that’s exactly what has helped me every day doing this.”
Her best advice for entrepreneurs is patience.
“I did it wrong first. Then, I did it right,” she explains. “The only thing I did right was not quit my job too soon.”
She still works part time managing the Asian Territory for the Materion Advanced Chemicals company. Her hat business, based out of Milwaukee, sells internationally online and started turning a profit for the first time this year.
Abby Kohlmann, ’06, a marketing major, assists Leigl with her online marketing strategy. The two have been friends since age 3. As a consultant, Kohlmann has worked with retailers across the U.S. and has used that experience to help her friend.
“To sell something I believe in and know is a good product with my best friend — I don’t know how I could ask for anything more,” she says.
The two returned to their alma mater to sell hats in November. The most exciting part of the business is seeing others enjoying the product, they say.
“I saw a women wearing one the other day at the crosswalk and I almost peed my pants,” jokes Leigl. “That’s what gets you through … spotting these out and about.”
After five years she feels all the hard work is starting to pay off. While she hopes the company continues to grow into full-time work, she wants to continue to have pride in her handmade product. She wants to keep the business close knit.
Find more online at www.peekaboos-hats.com