Pat McCammon of Columbus
started her unique Hoopdaloop business just one
year ago and already has sold 5,000 of them
through word of mouth. She is moving to a larger
space in Edinburgh and is looking forward to
starting her own Web site to increase sales even
more.Dayla
Thurston
Hula hoop venture is being met with whirlwind
success
EDINBURGH - Most baby boomers
remember owning a bright, plastic hula hoop when they
were children, but the new breed of water-weighted
exercise hoops bears only a passing resemblance to the
originals.
Pat McCammon started her business
Hoopdaloop - in which she constructs, decorates and
markets the hoops - just one year ago this month in her
Columbus home, but she is already preparing to move to a
larger work area in Edinburgh- for the second time.
McCammon's success even led to dollars for the Shelby
County economy when she contracted with Shares Inc. to
fill the tubes with water and fasten the
tubes.
"I have health problems that make it hard
for me to hold a regular job, and it is important for me
to exercise, so I was looking for a business that would
combine a flexible job with something physical,"
McCammon said.
In fact, McCammon was told by her
doctor that she would never work again, but she decided
to prove him wrong. She surfed the Internet, looking for
home-business possibilities, and came across an article
about the weighted hula hoops.
"My husband was
not enthusiastic," McCammon remembered. "Even after I
opened the business and actually received my first four
orders, he warned me not to get too excited. He said, 'I
don't think there is much of a market for hula
hoops.'"
McCammon said that she and her
daughter-in-law and Hoopdaloop employee Natasha Roccki
have laughed about this comment many times in the past
year, as sales of the hoops have outperformed their
wildest dreams.
"We recently were working to
fill an order for 220 hoops for Hooters restaurants in
four states - the servers use them in the parking lots -
and we enjoyed teasing him about his comments," McCammon
said.
As her Tipton Lake home filled with hoops
to process this big order, McCammon realized that she
need to move out of the house, so she relocated to a
small store in downtown Edinburgh, and she is now
remodeling a larger space just a few doors away for
another expansion.
"We have already sold more
than 5,000 hoops, and once our Web site is up, we expect
to sell even more," McCammon said.
The rapidly
accelerating sales that Hoopdaloop has already enjoyed
are mostly the result of simple word-of-mouth
recommendations. McCammon is currently selling her hoops
to Curves - an exercise franchise for women - in
Indiana, Kentucky and Connecticut, and she is hopeful
that she can add more of them to her customer list. She
can ship the hoops anywhere in the country, but the
shipping adds about $10 to the $25 price.
One
reason for the popularity of the weighted hoops is the
claim that they can reshape the waistline, and a smaller
version can trim and firm flabby upper arms and
thighs.
"You feel it in your entire body,"
McCammon said of the hoop workouts. "It tones and burns
calories. The main movement is in the trunk and
abdominal area, and your legs also feed into the
circling rhythm and work hard to keep you stabilized -
and your arms are up in the air to keep you balanced,
too. Using upper- and lower-body movement, it is a great
cardiovascular activity that will leave you out of
breath."
McCammon recommends starting the hoop
workout slowly to avoid bruising or pain. Beginners are
cautioned to gyrate with the hoop only three minutes at
a stretch, working up to 10 minutes at a time. As with
any strenuous exercise, she suggests that customers
consult their physician before starting the hoop
routine.
She recently received a rave review from a
customer, Rita Lesnet, who claimed that she had lost 12
inches in her first two weeks of working out with her
hoop. She stated that she lost one inch each from her
neck, each arm, her bust and thighs, three inches from
her waist, two inches from her stomach and one-fifth of
an inch from each ankle.
After conquering a 1-
or 2-pound hoop, it is possible to move to 3 pounds or
even a 4-pound "double Dutch." Hoops are also available
at 1 pound for youths and half pound for smaller
children.
As McCammon's business grows, she is
realizing that she cannot do all the work herself.
Roccki recently quit her full-time job and became a
full-time employee of her mother-in-law's business
because of the increased sales.
The visual appeal
of the brightly colored hoops is undeniable, and
McCammon's strong color coordination sense from her
interior design background is one reason that the
designs are so pleasing. She uses an assortment of
different colored vinyl tape, wrapping various colors
around the hoops in intricate designs.
"I am so
particular, such a perfectionist, that it was hard for
me to let someone else decorate the hoops," McCammon
said. "But Natasha does a great job. Working with the
tape is not as easy as it looks."
Although a
plain hoop would obviously have the same slimming
capabilities as a beautifully decorated one, McCammon
knows that the attractive designs are one reason for the
popularity of the hoops.
"Some people just choose
their favorite colors, sometimes people want school
colors or trademark colors. Selecting the color is part
of the fun of purchasing a hoop," McCammon
said.
McCammon is hoping that customers wanting a
washboard stomach or just needing to shed a few pounds
or do a little toning will either call to order a hoop
at (812) 526-6755 or drop by her Edinburgh shop at 101
S. Holland St.
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