Wendy’s Gnome Shop Before Shark Tank
Wendy’s Gnome Shop is a small business in which the owner, Wendy Hoffmeister, makes and sells her handmade gnomes. While Wendy certainly makes a wide variety of unique-looking gnomes, they all have a few key features in common. For instance, the gnomes consist of a base of foam, cardboard, and wood, while the remaining features are made from cloth. Each of the gnomes have long, soft beards, as well as little hats that appear to be pulled down over their eyes. Each gnome stands at about 8 inches tall; however, they’re each unique in small ways. As it stands, Wendy makes anything from regular day-to-day gnomes to gnomes that are in celebration of different holidays. For example, she makes these gnomes for Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and even gnomes crafted in the spirit of the Christmas season.
Additionally, Wendy offers customers the option to essentially craft their own gnome. What this means is that customers can choose the Design-A-Gnome option on the company’s website. This will then take them to a screen where they can choose the theme, outfit, decorations, and even the features they’d like their gnome to have. The gnomes range from $30 to up to $40. Although these products may look like stuffed toys, they are not and should be kept out of reach of young children. Nonetheless, Wendy believes that her gnomes can promote wealth and good fortune when placed in one’s household.
Prior to beginning her gnome business, Wendy Hoffmeister was working as a labor and delivery nurse. She enrolled in Western Governors University, which is a private online-based Utah university, where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Science in Nursing. She also gained her master’s degree in Science in Nursing later. She went on to work as a registered nurse; however, she became a traveling nurse shortly after, which granted her the chance to help many within California and Florida. Eventually, Wendy moved to North Carolina, where she was an Assistant Nurse Manager. Charlottesville, North Carolina is where she started, and resides, her business Wendy’s Gnome Shop. 
Wendy’s Gnome Shop started with just the hobby of making gnomes because the founder liked how they looked. She thought they were cute. She began making them just for fun in 2019, while still working as a nurse; however, in 2021, she seized the opportunity and took a chance on turning her hobby into a business. This eventually led to her quitting her profession in nursing to work on her gnome’s full time. After some time, her daughter Amber joined her in the gnome-making business after previously working as a labor and delivery nurse herself. Now, they’re both running Wendy’s Gnome Shop full time. While this may be just a small startup business, Wendy and Amber are hoping to expand further in order to distribute their handmade gnomes further. For this, they will need a shark’s investment and intelligence to guide them on to their next big step. Now, the question is, will a shark think the gnomes are cute enough to invest in?
Wendy’s Gnome Shop on Shark Tank
Wendy Hoffmeister enters the Shark Tank with her daughter, Amber Hoffmeister, seeking a $200,000 investment in exchange for a 20% stake in her small business, Wendy’s Gnome Shop. Her asking investment implies that the business already has a $1 million valuation. Wendy starts pitching her gnomes to the sharks, explaining all the different varieties and themes of gnomes she makes. She then tells the sharks that making gnomes is a passion of hers that she enjoys doing because her creations help spread joy. She concludes her pitch by handing each shark a customized gnome, but she invites Barbara Corcoran to come up to the stage to try making one herself. 
Her business started with just a hobby of gnome-making and no more than $1,000 of her personal money. Kevin O’Leary asks Wendy about similar businesses, which the founder agrees that there are some; however, hers are unique. Once the sales are brought up, Wendy reveals that 50% of her overall sales come from purchases through her website, while the other 50% comes from purchases through her Etsy shop. The gnomes cost Wendy $3.50 to produce, which she then sells them for $35. Her customer acquisition is standing at about $5. The price of her gnomes catches Kevin by surprise. Continuing the topic of her sales, the founder mentions that she did $668,000 in sales within just 18 months.
Wendy chooses to share her story about her life before her gnome shop. She reveals that she used to work as a nurse and about how her daughter has chosen to follow behind her. Lori Greiner asks Amber, Wendy’s daughter, about her thoughts of her mother. She exclaims that she is quite proud of her. Daymond John then speaks up to ask Wendy how she has been able to start this business and make it a success. This is when she reveals that she had gotten divorced two years prior and that making gnomes has helped her through that. Daymond then asks the founder what she is looking into a shark’s investment for. She responds, saying that she needs help with her marketing.
Kevin is the first shark to make his departure from the deal after explaining that this just isn’t the right investment for him. Lori Greiner goes out next, although she likes the concept and thinks the gnomes are cute. The last shark to leave the deal was Mark Cuban. He doesn’t want to invest because the business is solely based on making gnomes from scratch, which requires specialized skills. Nonetheless, Wendy and Amber receive their first offer from Daymond, who offers them $200,000 in exchange for a 35% stake in Wendy’s Gnome Shop. Before they respond, Barbara asks Wendy about her net earnings. Considering they’ve appeared to be somewhat low; she would like to know why. The founder speaks up to inform the shark that this is due to Etsy fees. 
Although the Etsy fees concerned her, Barbara encourages Wendy to stop selling the gnomes on Etsy and then goes on to offer the entrepreneurs a $200,000 deal in exchange for a 30$ stake in the business, along with a $1 royalty per gnome sold. This leads Daymond to modify his offer to $200,000 in exchange for a 30% stake, along with a $.50 royalty per gnome sold until he is paid back. Between the two offers being presented, Wendy tries to counter-offer them both for a 25% stake, but the sharks say no. Ultimately, Wendy chooses to accept Daymond’s deal and Wendy’s Gnome Shop successfully leaves the stage with a deal in place.
Wendy’s Gnome Shop Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update
After leaving the Shark Tank with a deal from Daymond John, Wendy’s Gnome Shop has remained in business successfully. It appears the business is thriving now. In fact, following their appearance on the show, Wendy made Shark Tank-themed gnomes and added in a discount code. She also launched a “Gnome-of-the-Month” club on her website. After the episode aired, Wendy was selling more than 1,000 gnomes every day. That’s certainly a big step up from the 40 to 50 gnomes she was selling when she started her shop. As far as her recent sales go, the founder has continued to sell the gnomes on Etsy despite Barbara Corcoran’s advice, though most of the sales are from her website now. With the investment provided by Daymond, Wendy has made plans to open a new and improved production area; however, she’s also hoping to launch a store location soon as well. Although it has not been said exactly what her sales have reached as of 2024, it’s safe to say that Wendy’s Gnome Shop has become a success and will continue to thrive. 
