On the last day of the first month of 2014, Eric Siegel spoke to the Chicago creative community about Childhood. He is the founder and lead creative at a small sustainable and eco-friendly toy company, Tree Hopper Toys where he uses inspiration from his sons to guide his entrepreneurial decisions. He sees characteristics in them to mimic, and some to steer clear of but overall he preaches children should be inspiration to a burgeoning business.

"For kids, toys are the tools of the trade.”

Eagerness to learn

"Rid yourself of your pride, get on the phone and ask some honest questions.”

Eric learned the hard way that swallowing pride and simply admitting when you don’t know something is the best way to learn. Tree Hopper got its start selling to flash sale sites, and didn’t find out until after a few times around the merry-go-round that you can charge extra for shipping to the masses. Children have a knack for learning quickly. Sometimes little lessons like this one can be learned quicker if we approach them like our children do.

Fearlessness

Best paired with a bit of recklessness, being fearless allows you to take the necessary risks in starting a business. While on a little hike, Eric learned how fearless his son could be, not afraid to run through the woods. For Tree Hopper Toys it meant going into a highly competitive market with almost no knowledge of how it’s ‘supposed’ to be.

"You have to turn off the crap in your head. Kids don’t have crap in their head."

Playfulness

Kids have a relentless pursuit of wacky fun times. Having playfulness in your projects is very important. Although Eric agrees that all things are needed in moderation, he prioritizes setting aside time to tinker, explore and keep the playfulness going.

While being part of the  toy industry does help reinforce his sense of playfulness, sometimes during the manufacturing process he finds it more challenging but even more important to remember how to keep the process enjoyable. As important as it is to be open to lessons from children, it is also important to recognize how a child reacts to a situation.

"The highest of highs, followed by the lowest of lows.”

Rollercoasters

Children seem to have the best of time, followed by the worst in a matter of minutes. Eric showed us a photo of his son playing in a pile of leaves. It resonated with everyone that he was having the best time of his life. Eric explained that in a matter of minutes something small could crush his entire world, like getting the blue cup instead of the red cup.

Similarly for Tree Hopper Toys, it’s world suddenly collapsed when the cardboard caps to their Match Stacks toy came back in a bland  green instead of the bright green they had ordered. A few PMS degrees off put them up against the wall with customer orders and their reputation on the line. He called his wife, took a deep breath, and worked it out with the manufacture. He had to realize that he had the power to find a resolution.

Acting childish

Overall, starting a business, especially a creative one, takes acts of fearlessness, playfulness and a hunger for learning. So much of which we can pull from looking at the children of the world. When you observe kids, you observe their flaws and their glories. These parallels in childhood and business are essential for beginning a creative project.

Keep an eye out for Eric at Toy Fair this year in New York and snag a fun toy at treehoppertoys.com.