Kathleen Parisi, Lock-A-Bye
Lock-A-Bye of Bensalem, Pa., created a tote bag with a dual locking mechanism that allows you to lock the zipper and lock the bag to any secured object.
‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: My sisters and I vacation together throughout the year. We enjoy swimming, snorkeling and other beach activities but found ourselves always facing the same dilemma: Somebody always had to stay behind and watch the bags. We noticed that everyone from honeymooners to families shared the same problem. So like most inventions, our idea was conceived by necessity. We created the Lock-A-Bye, a fashionable tote bag that we could secure and lock to our beach chairs, allowing us to enjoy activities together.
Ideal customer: Women/girls ages 14-80.
Measuring success: It’s tough to measure success at such an early stage in our business but we truly believe that we have reached so many potential customers through our social media sites as well as our commission based sales force throughout the United States. We are in the process of finalizing some contracts with some really big companies.
Biggest struggle: Trying to get an appointment with the buyer responsible for purchasing our lines. We have contacted hundreds of companies to try to get a face-to-face and give a demonstration. We have overcome this obstacle with some companies by being persistent but pleasant and letting them know that they can get in on the ground floor.
Surprise!: You plan, budget and re-plan for expenses — but issues always arise that you did not foresee.
Promoting sales: Constant advertising on social media and other venues specific to promo code tracking. We have also been very involved with Soroptimist International, of which I am a member, and promote fundraising at all of their events.
What you wish you would have known: Cost and time associated with manufacturing. The process is so time consuming and it has been almost impossible to get the manufactures to meet our time constraints.
What keeps you up at night (business wise!)?: Branding. Getting our name out there is hard enough but coupled with a brand new invention never seen before in the market place is a challenge. We have a high quality product, great technology and it solves a problem for so many people. Choosing a marketing strategy to reach our potential customers can be overwhelming.
Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job?: Of course that has crossed all of our minds but we try to live by the motto: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. We feel that we have worked four years on our invention and we are right on the cusp of breaking through into the retail market.
Biggest goal: To launch our hospital/medicine bag line as well as our laptop bag. We have been working very diligently with our designers in New York and are very close to a prototype and pricing. We hope to launch these lines in the Fall 2011 — thereby reaching many more people in the market other than women.
Pricing: We learned by making mistakes. I think you have to be vigilant with your vendors and talk to many people so you are able to negotiate the best pricing available.
Funding: My sisters and I were lucky in that we used a lot of our own money and did reach out to some close family and friends for support. We have been able to sell our product and use the revenue from that to refund other lines.
A few good tips: For prototypes, find a local company so you can be 100% involved with the process. Not having to wait for mail/messengers can save so much time. Also, you need to make yourself available for weekly meetings and give input. As far as packaging and manufacturing, take the time to research companies, reach out to other companies similar to yours to see where they are getting their product manufactured, ask them for advice. Regardless of your product, don’t just choose the least expensive manufacturer. Choose one that has experience in your industry and ask for samples of what they have produced.
Must-read online source: We have found so many tips and guidance through the Inventor’s Digest. I highly recommend it.
The absolute best part of owning my business is: making our own decisions and having the freedom to make mistakes.
If I had to start over again, I would: taken more time to develop relationships with more manufactures.
I never imagined: branding a new product would be so difficult.
If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: “Don’t give up. No matter how many road blocks are thrown your way, stay positive and determined and believe in yourself and your product.”
