Still reeling from tariff punch, Busy Baby looks to international growth

The Supreme Court could issue its decision on tariffs any day now, but small business owner Beth Fynbo Benike isn’t waiting around. The founder of the Oronoco, Minn.-based Busy Baby recently established relationships with international distributors to sell her silicone suction placemats and other baby accessories in South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic. Next up: the United Kingdom and Europe.

In each exclusive distribution agreement, she’s working with other small businesses — two sisters in South Korea; a husband and wife team in the U.K. The initial orders are small, in the $20,000 range, but Fynbo Benike believes shipping internationally could be her best shot at stabilizing the business, which hit its peak in 2023 at $4.7 million in sales primarily through big box stores and Amazon. Revenue is down 50% this year, due to the higher costs from tariffs and months without product when she couldn’t afford to import from China. Fynbo Benike looked into American manufacturing but said it’s just not feasible for a small company like hers.

“If I survive,” Fynbo Benike told me this week, “International distribution is going to be a focus.”

Back in April, Fynbo Benike became the face of small business in the tariff debate when she posted on social media that she had to leave $160,000 of her play mats in China because she couldn’t afford President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports. Her story was shared on The Daily podcast from the New York Times, which thrust her into the national spotlight. She was the ideal spokesperson: a veteran turned mom entrepreneur who had been named a 2025 Minnesota Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. She joined Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith in Washington D.C. to speak out about the impact of tariffs on small businesses in May. She returned in November for a news conference before the Supreme Court’s hearing on whether a president can use emergency powers to impose tariffs on imports.

“This year feels like it’s been 10,” Fynbo Benike said. When the fluctuating tariffs dropped to 30%, Busy Baby was able to import enough product to last through Christmas. But Target did not renew Busy Baby’s contract, which will expire in March. “They said they’re going with more of their owned brands,” Fynbo Benike said. Walmart, on the other hand, “did me a huge solid,” Fynbo Benike said, by cutting Busy Baby’s distribution from 250 stores to 100 and adding a third product SKU. “This way, I can stay in Walmart and see if things normalize.”

Fynbo Benike could end the year with another publicity bump — the Daily recently called for an update on her business, which signals that she’s in the running for a replay over the holidays. The day her episode originally aired in April, she picked up $50,000 in online orders. But another strong day like that isn’t going to make up for this year’s losses. Fynbo Benike is trying to stay afloat by taking on paid speaking engagements. Her theme: “Things are always going to happen that you don’t expect. You can’t just quit.”

If you’re getting that end-of-the-year itch to clean your office, lean in, advises organizing expert Michele Vig of Neat Little Nest in Minneapolis. “It naturally helps you take inventory and reflect on what you’ve accomplished. It also sets the stage for you to actually rest over the break and come back strong in the new year.”

She instituted an annual December cleaning day at Caribou’s Brooklyn Center headquarters. No meetings could be scheduled, and everyone was asked to dedicate time to editing and clearing out their space. The company set out tables where employees were invited to donate items they no longer needed. “The whole thing created this really positive energy and a sense of shared momentum.”

By the way, Vig makes house calls, too. “Our home and work lives are never fully separate,” she said. “Cleaning out home clutter leads to better thought and focus at work … our bodies need somewhere to rest and when our homes are filled with too much clutter and noise, we can’t.”

Target’s SoHo glow-up: The Minneapolis-based retailer is enjoying some positive press this week following the reveal of its remodeled store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. The concept store is a complete flip from the typical city focus on convenience items to a spotlight on clothing and home with curated displays chosen by celebrities and influencers. At a preview event Monday, incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke told CNBC the SoHo location will serve as “a punctuation point” for Target’s broader push to win back its reputation for style and sharp merchandise.

Ford on farming: Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford spoke on behalf of the American farmer during a roundtable discussion at the DealBook Summit last week in New York. She joined the CEOs of PayPal, Southwest Airlines, Mattel, Nordstrom and GSK for a conversation on leadership and was asked about the most meaningful part of her work in eight years running the Arden Hills-based farmer owned cooperative. “I think we, certainly as Americans, need to understand the investments that are necessary to make sure our food system remains resilient,” Ford said. “I think we should be investing in it as we invest in all national security areas.” Listen to the conversation.

Toro expands portfolio: The Toro Company completed its acquisition of publicly held Tornado Infrastructure Equipment Ltd. The Calgary, Alberta company manufactures hydrovac excavation tools for underground construction, power transmission and energy markets. Toro CEO Richard Olson said in a statement that the addition of Tornado would strengthen the Bloomington-based company’s leadership in underground. The purchase price was just over $199 million.