Beth Benike’s upcoming trip to Washington D.C. was supposed to be a celebration: In late March she was named Minnesota Small Business Person of the Year, and she decided to take her 8-year-old son Christian with her to the awards ceremony during National Small Business Week, May 4-10. “He’s made a lot of sacrifices, and he was proud of me,” said Benike, founder and CEO of Oronoco-based Busy Baby. “He can’t wait to wear his suit and bow tie.”

Christian is still going to accompany his mom to D.C., but the tenor is likely to be more tense than Benike could have imagined when she booked the mother-son trip just a few weeks ago. Benike, an Army-veteran turned inventor of the Busy Baby Mat, which she manufactures in China, became the national face of tariff turmoil for small businesses across America when she spoke out last week about the dire situation she finds herself in as a product maker large enough to sell to Target and Walmart, but small enough that she mortgaged her family home on a Minnesota farm to scale it.

The New York Times podcast The Daily gave Benike a full episode on April 14 to explain the implausibility of business that does $3 million to $5 million in annual sales and exists “paycheck to paycheck” shouldering a 145% tariff. Since then, she’s appeared on CNN, BBC, and given interviews to dozens of other media outlets. Senator Amy Klobuchar shared Benike’s story on social media and in news interviews. On Monday, U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison from Minnesota’s Third District paid a visit to the Busy Baby warehouse and called on the Trump Administration to offer immediate tariff relief to small businesses.

“The current tariff amounts to a full-scale attack on small businesses in America,” Morrison said during a press conference, surrounded by boxes of Busy Baby merchandise. She called companies like Benike’s the “backbone of America,” and said small businesses lack the resources to hire lobbyists to fight on their behalf.

“Without immediate relief, small businesses are going to be forced to make impossible decisions,” Morrison said.

Benike had to halt manufacturing on her baby products when the 145% tariff went into effect. She has not been able to take possession of a shipping container filled with $158,000 worth of product she’s already paid for because she can’t afford the additional $229,100 she now has to pay in tariffs. This is the time of year when she’d typically start stocking up for holiday orders. Benike said her current inventory will last 6-8 weeks.

“I’ve put everything on the line for Busy Baby—including my house,” said Benike, who found her way into entrepreneurship to solve the problem of babies constantly dropping their toys. She invented a suctioned activity mat with tethers to hold toys, utensils, and cups. It took off in 2021 when she appeared on Shark Tank, and she’s since added more products and landed orders from major big box stores.

“We’re not going to quit. We’re not going to fail. We’re not going to teach our kids that you just give up,” Benike said. “This is not about politics. It’s about survival.”

Part of what’s made Benike a star spokesperson for small product makers is her ability to calmly articulate the barriers to moving manufacturing to the U.S., which she says she’d happily do, if was affordable. She explains some of the major hurdles:

• The food-grade silicone she uses is not readily available in the U.S.
• Moving production would require new industrial molds for each of Busy Baby’s eight products at a cost of $20,000 to $40,000, and the estimates she’s received include 6 to 8 months lead time before she could manufacture a single item.
• Building a facility would require upwards of $400,000 for equipment alone, and that’s before the 145% tariff to import the necessary machines from China.

“If the mission is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., we’re not the ones who are going to do it,” Benike said. “So let us stay in business.”

Benike started a Gofundme campaign as an emergency effort to get through the uncertainty and avoid layoffs and gaps in product delivery. Meanwhile, she said, she is researching domestic production and exploring international distribution channels.

Reporters and politicians aren’t the only ones getting in touch with Benike. “My competitors are reaching out, offering to help,” she said. That includes Ezpz and Lovevery, two other woman-owned kids brands that are much larger than Busy Baby. They shared distributor contacts and advice on expanding to other countries. Benike said she’s now talking to more than a dozen mom inventors about how they might work together and support each other. She expects to meet a few of them when she’s in Washington D.C. Benike said she’s ready to meet with anyone in D.C. who is willing to listen. “My son is going to see me use my voice there, too.”

Listen: Beth (Fynbo) Benike shares her entrepreneurial journey an startup advice on Episode 126 of By All Means.