 Hawai'i business on Think Tech Hawai'i. My name is Kat and I am your host for this program. Think Tech Hawai'i is currently live streamed on ThinkTechHawaii.com as well as on Think Tech Hawai'i's Facebook and YouTube channel. For today, we have Dr. Suma Metla, a licensed and trained physical therapist who specializes in pediatric care and the show is called Three Little Ducks. Suma, welcome to the show. Hi Kathleen. Thank you so much for having me today. Absolutely. So Three Little Ducks, tell us about your company. Yeah, so Three Little Ducks is really a resource to support families with their child's development from infancy through adolescence and our big focus is on that first year of life. Some of the services we offer are baby classes, which we call the little duck and me class, pediatric physical therapy services, Ohana family yoga classes, and also baby massage coaching classes. That's awesome. How did you come up with Three Little Ducks? It's very appropriate. I mean, I love ducks and I love rubber duckies and your logo is just adorable. I know I was like, can I get a sticker? But how did you come up with the name and the content? I definitely will have to give you a couple stickers next time I see you in person. The name came from, you know, I'm Indian, odd numbers are really special to us. So I wanted to have an odd number in the name. And I also wanted to think of something memorable for family and child. So most parents and children can remember ducks. It's a great way just to connect families even through the name. Wonderful. So Three Little Ducks Hawaii, are there any age restrictions or how old does a child have to be in order to partake in the services that your company offers? Yeah, great question. So each service kind of supports a different age group. So the little duck and me, the baby classes are from babies as young as three months up until 18 months old. So a year and a half. Our pediatric physical therapy services serves infants that are newborns can be straight from the delivery room all the way up to age 21. Our Ohana yoga classes are for families that have children between the ages of three and 10 years old. And our baby massage classes are also for like that two months to 12 month age range. That is wonderful. What inspired you to start it? Because your background is in physical therapy. Correct. And you specified it further going into pediatric care. So what inspired you to start Three Little Ducks? Yeah. So when I moved to Hawaii a little over five years ago, I was brought in to support the Department of Education for Maui County Schools. I also supported the early intervention program for Maui County. And here on a walk who I've done the same I've supported the DOE and early intervention. And I saw through, you know, working for the state and working for different government entities is that we don't have a lot of resources for families. I think a lot of families don't know what is typical for their child's development and what may not be so typical. So what I saw treating as a physical therapist system babies were coming to us a little later. And I wish that these families had some information on what their baby's development should look like. So they would notify someone like me or another healthcare provider to support them. And I think that if some of these families had that education, they may not have needed therapeutic intervention in the future. So tell us more about the services that Three Little Ducks offer. Yeah. So our little duck and me classes are all about teaching parents about developmental milestones. So we are split into three groups and they all have duck themed names. So our three to six month age group are called the hatchlings. And so with that group, we're really talking about tummy time, rolling and integrating that parent play with their newborn. And then the next group are hatchlings. So they are three to six to 10 months. And with that group, we're talking about sitting, prepping for crawling, just getting your baby more mobile. And then the last group are the waddlers. So 10 to 18 months. So with that group, the focus is on standing, cruising and walking. And within all the groups, it's all about teaching parents, not only about the developmental milestone, but also how to play with your baby. That's really key. And I think we don't talk about that enough here in Hawaii. Interacting with your baby supports your baby development. And that's not even just from my perspective, as a physical therapist, it's also important from that communication piece, from that fine motor, sensory motor piece, and development all across the board. Why is it important to have these services that you offer for the age group that you focus on? Yeah. So targeting at this age is really important because the younger you know how to work with your baby and play with the baby, that minimizes the opportunity for your baby to develop a developmental delay. And also is a great way just to build that bond with your baby from day one. I think that's really key amongst everything above like, you know, worrying about developmental delays or anything. Really having that bond with your baby from as soon as they come home with you is the most important thing. As far as costs go, did you give us like an idea of how much that would be and are there certain programs that you're aware of like insurance policies that cover the services that you offer for parents and families? So the little duck and knee class for a six week series costs $170 and a drop in class is $35. It is not covered by insurance because it's a parent playgroup. And then the physical therapy, we are working with HMSA and a few other health care providers to be covered by insurance. The Ohana Yoga we aim to partner with different community members, organizations to bring free programming to the community. Wonderful. Do you also work with groups and companies when it comes to your services in your business? So the Ohana Yoga classes, we are looking to work with different organizations. So recently we partnered with Salt at our Kakaako to provide a free Ohana Yoga class, which was amazing. We had a wait list within two days of notifying the public that the class was available. So we're hoping to work with other organizations to bring that type of service to the community. That's cool, Fuma. Let's go back to when you started, like how long ago was it when you started Three Little Ducks? Yeah, so we opened this year, January 2020, so we're pretty new. But we are building very quickly. We've already had a little duck and knee series in Kaimuki. And now we are launched in Kailua and we hope to stay in Kailua for a little while and looking to expand into Central Oahu soon. Wonderful. You said 2020, right? Or this year? This year, 2022. Okay, so we're still in the midst of recovering from the pandemic. And as you know, every time we hear it on the news, like a new stream comes out and it's like, okay, are we starting lower? But the challenge for businesses is going through that. What types of challenges have you ran into starting your business in this environment? Yeah, I think there's a lot of challenges, especially, you know, with, you know, should we be wearing a mask? Should we not be wearing a mask? Like what is social distancing in today's age? So I think that definitely proves to be a barrier to some families. They're nervous to come out into the community with their new baby. We're looking for spaces to host classes that where families can have plenty of space and have the option to wear a mask or not wear a mask. Yeah, we're trying to make everyone feel comfortable if they choose to come take a group class with us. I like that. Are you able to share some of the experiences that you've gone through, or like client experiences so far that have made you go, okay, I like now I know that this, like my services are needed. Like, are you able to share some of those stories? Yeah, I think so many parents have shared that they didn't know that they should start tummy time with their baby as soon as their baby is given to them in the hospital. I think that was like a huge education point for a lot of the families that come to class is that tummy time really can start on day one of your baby's life. That is awesome. Do you have anything upcoming as far as programs, and we can delve into that as a later part of the show, but are you able to kind of just do a summary of what you have planned on the horizon? Yeah, so the baby classes, we will be restarting another series in Kailua mid-August. That will be really exciting. And we are working with a couple partners I can't share just yet, bringing Ohana yoga to communities across the island. So you already talked about the family and, well, actually, did we go over that already? My apologies, the family Ohana yoga, how does that, is that for the whole family? It is for the whole family. So what I have seen as a society, not just here in Hawaii, but just in general is, you know, I think all of us are a little less active, whether that's because of going through the pandemic or, you know, we all just love our electronic devices more. And then also our children are having more stress in life. And we don't really have ways to talk about that or manage it. The yoga is a great way to talk about that healthy lifestyle, not just from that physical aspect of moving your body, but also from that mindfulness aspect, learning how to breathe and manage stress and creating that opportunity as a family also sets that example for the children in your life. Though parents are grandparents and uncle, they're all welcome to come with their children to come take class and practice together. That is so cool. I'm trying to pick because I have never been and I would love to see one of your classes these days. How does baby yoga work? So right now, the yoga classes are for children three to 10 years old. So they have some autonomy over their bodies. And it's really fun. Kids get to have, you know, full control over what they want to do in the yoga class, whether it is to run around in a circle or participate with us. Some of them choose to piggyback on their parents. So parents are doing downward-facing dog with the three-year-olds dropped onto their back. And then some parents like to support their children through yoga. So parents will help their kids get into stretches or will give them guidance to participate in some of the poses. And then we try to make it super fun if we're doing cow pose. Everyone is going to be making cow sounds. I should start doing that. Whether or not there are children around me, I should start doing that. We are going to go on break, but when we return, we'll go into more of the business aspect of Three Little Ducks. So stay tuned to Connecting Hawaii Business on Think Tech Hawaii. Today, our show is about Three Little Ducks with Dr. Suma Metla. And earlier, we were talking about developmental or babies and baby yoga. And we'll go into the business side of it. So, Suma, what was the first thing that you did when you were starting out this business? Which is very, very unique because like I know when I met you, I didn't know anyone else who had your business. So how and where did you start? Yeah, so I did do a lot of research into baby classes. I think on the mainland and abroad, baby classes are very popular and normal. Unfortunately, we don't have access to that in Hawaii. So I wanted to make sure what I'm doing is comprehensive for families. And then logistically what I did, I went to the state of Hawaii website, looked at how to form an LLC, went through that. And I also credit the Small Business Association, the YWCA, the programming that they do through MCBL and the Enterprising Women of Color for giving me a lot of resources on how to create my own business, how to build it, how to build a website, how to market. They've given me a ton of support with that. That is awesome. I know earlier I had asked you about challenges in starting a business during or hopefully at the tail end, but I'm just being optimistic at the tail end of COVID. COVID. But in general, what types of challenges have you ran into as a new business owner and as someone who is starting a business in Hawaii? I think the challenge that I'm facing right now is reaching new parents. And I think also educating our community here in Hawaii, the importance of learning about your child's development, the importance of going to a BB class. Like I mentioned, it's not something that we're used to having here in Hawaii. So really just bringing that information, education to our community is really the biggest hurdle I'm facing right now. What keeps you going? I know it's great to work with children and it's a very specific nature. So what is it about your industry that makes you go, this is what I want to be doing? Yeah, I think specifically with three little dots, what keeps me going is if a family gets to come take a BB class from me and learns about their child's development, that decreases the chance that they need to see me in six months in a year as their physical therapist. So I really want to be there at the forefront, at the beginning of a child's life to set the family up for success. To me, it makes me so much happier for a family to pay $35 to learn about that than to see me down the road as their physical therapist and have to be in their life for an extended period of time. I wish we had that when we were younger. But I say that a lot with a lot of services that I've been seeing coming up, but I am glad for our current and future generations that have people in businesses like yours to be able to assist them in having better lives. What are some lessons that you have learned so far? One, as a business owner and two, in the very specific business that you're doing. I think a lot of people want to feel heard and I think that's really important, not just for me to hold a microphone, but also to hand that microphone off to other people, whether that's families, other people in our community, our community leaders. I think that's really important. The other thing I've learned is that I'm an expert in one specific area of child development and I really want to bring in other people who are experts in other arenas of child development to support through our BB Crosses and other services we offer. I love that. I think you're an absolutely wonderful individual. Is there anything else that you would like to add or that I may have not asked about that you would like people to know about Three Little Ducks or yourself? I want people to know that Three Little Ducks is a really approachable community. Not only is the class for parents and families to learn about the child development, but it's really to build that community. I think when families have a new baby in their life, it can be isolating, it can be lonely, especially if you're from the mainland or if you recently PCS to Hawaii, it can be scary having your baby at home by yourself. So Three Little Ducks is another way to build that social community with other families who are in that same phase of life going through the same highs and lows of having a baby at home. And it's a great place just to share, not just to hear from me or the other experts that teach the class, but to hear from families and they have all their own tips and tricks. Recently we had a class where the mom sat and chatted about baby carriers and it was amazing and beautiful to see that happen. That is so cool. Do you come to homes as well, or do they go to the particular venues that you set up when it comes to your classes? Yeah, great question. So the Little Duck and Me classes are hosted at venues that hold large groups of people. And by large groups of people, I mean a maximum of 10 families in a class. It's not huge. But the physical therapy services are in home services. So I do come to the families, they don't have to leave their home. And then it's a great way for me to teach families how to support their child in their home environment with the items that they have at home. Great. We have a few minutes left. So if you were to actually let me break this down. What are some pieces of advice that you would like to give new parents? That's one question. And the second is, what would you like to tell people who may want to start a business based on their expertise and their education? Kind of, or very much like what you did? Yeah. So for families, like I mentioned, tummy time can start the minute your baby is in the hospital with you. And tummy time doesn't have to mean the floor. Tummy time could mean putting your baby on your chest. Another thing is talk to your baby. Make eye contact with your baby. Talk to your baby all day long. You may feel silly if you're home alone with your baby. But just talk to your baby. That's the best way to build that bond. Start developing communication with your baby. Be expressive when you talk to your baby. Make your eyes big. Then your pitch up and down as you talk to your baby. Just be really silly. Your baby loves to see changes in your face. And then recommendations for those who are experts in their field wanting to start a business, they go for it. I think my experience here in Hawaii has been incredible. There's so much support here. Like I mentioned earlier, I feel like I found so much support through the Small Business Association, through the YWCA. There's so many resources that are free or low cost here in the state. Wonderful. And Dr. Summa Metla, if people would like to learn more about you or three little ducks, how do they go about in doing that? Yeah. So people can follow me on Instagram at 3LittleDucksHawaii, all written out. Or you can find me on my website 3LittleDucksHawaii.com. You can feel free to email me or DM me. I'm pretty quick to respond. Wonderful. Thank you. Again, I think I already asked if there's anything else you'd like to add. Feel free to do so. We have a couple more minutes. What if not? Yeah. I mean, I want families also to know beyond infancy, maintaining that active lifestyle is really important. You, as a family member, whether your parent and D2-2 at home, you are setting that tone for your child. So if you go on a walk every day, you're setting that example for your baby, your child to go on walks every day and to be active. So something to think about. Thank you. And thank you again for being on today's show. We really appreciate you and your tips for parents and new business owners out there. So hopefully when people watch this, they'll be able to gain some useful insights from this program. So thank you again, Dr. Summa Metla, licensed and trained physical therapist, specializing in pediatric care. And thank you to the folks at Think Tech Hawaii for making shows like this possible. Thank you to Jay Fidel and the staff who helped us out today. We had Haley and Michael. So until next time, Aloha.