Melinda Knight, Womentorz
Launched in November, 2009 Womentorz provides an online forum and community to support women inventors in bringing their product to market and giving them the exposure they deserve.
‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: I went to a casting call for a new TLC series looking for women inventors with my own little invention. I was among hundreds of other talented women with amazing products. Even though I knew I wasn’t going to be on the show, I saw a common problem and challenge these ladies were having getting exposure for their inventions. Growing up with my parents in the wine industry, I saw how the Washington Wine industry used the idea of group marketing to bring a name to Washington Wines and ultimately bringing exposure to each individual winery. The idea of coming together and forming a more powerful force than being an individual entity trying to do it on your own was a concept I had been familiar with for most of my life. I saw that this concept was lacking for women trying to bring their products to market and is why I formed Womentorz.
Ideal customer: Women inventors and entrepreneurs.
Landing first customer: I started networking online, meeting women inventors and sharing my idea of the network. The blog came first, then the website. I quickly saw how the power social media can be in connecting like-minded individuals. Most people get the concept of Womentorz and are passionate about growing the network because they know it benefits their product.
Measuring Success: In my case, the branding of Womentorz caught on very quickly and was quite popular right away. This is how I knew I had built something special and something other women were relying on. Womentorz was featured on the local news before the site had even launched. This created a buzz for what was to come. Even though I have encountered many challenges being an online entity, the popularity of the brand has kept me motivated to succeed. Womentorz has a huge following online through Twitter and Facebook who support the community of women and their products.
Biggest Struggle: The biggest struggle was with finding a good developer. The original site was flawed because I had hired the wrong developer who didn’t know what they were doing. Through this I was able to know what to look for and now have an amazing developer who has literally saved my business. I also had to change the format of the site because the ecommerce element was so flawed. I revamped the site so the purchase took place on the inventor’s site, which is something the community was very happy about because it brought traffic to their site. That part of it was a blessing in disguise. Entrepreneurs have to adjust to the problem and be flexible with their business structure in order to survive challenges that come their way. Had the Womentorz brand and community not been so popular I would have had to shut my business down because the severity of what the original developer had done to me. Having a good developer is imperative to a successful online business.
Surprise! What surprised me most about running this type of business is how emotionally connected I would become with my members and partners online. I didn’t realize how inspiring and at times draining it would be. The uplifting and inspirational part definitely outweighs the emotional drain it can have at times. It has kept me going when I’ve wanted to give up. I didn’t realize how much I was going to rely on the network I had built. I also didn’t anticipate how powerful social media networking can be. To reach thousands of people in a matter of seconds is an amazing tool. I’m able to assist my members in getting promotions and opportunities out to a lot of people very quickly. Prior to starting Womentorz I had zero experience with the various social media outlets, so I have learned a lot in the past year.
Getting Sales: By forming a spider web not only through the website to my members websites, but the network of women who know other women entrepreneurs and can quickly spread the word, is a powerful tool that has been created through Womentorz. This strong network is tangible and keeps growing on a daily basis. The members on Womentorz who utilize all of the tools at their fingertips have definitely seen an increase in sales that’s traceable and tangible. The key in that phrase is “who utilize the tools.” You can’t just sit there and expect sales as with any business. I provide the forum to market yourself, but you have to be active. We don’t charge enough to do it all for you. You still have to be present and passionate about your product.
What I wish I would’ve known: 1. The power of optimizing your site
2. What to budget for online advertising
What keeps you up at night (business-wise!)?: I already have insomnia, so anything that I can worry about will keep me up. A good night’s sleep is four hours. I probably worry the most about finances because I don’t charge a lot for my members to be on the site, so much of my overhead for the past year has come out of the other business I have with my husband. This has created a great deal of stress, so it will be nice when Womentorz can stand alone. Womentorz will be changing to more of a service-based site, so there won’t be the normally monthly membership structure starting December 1st. Any talented women inventor with a product can be part of the community, but if they want more than storefront they will be given a customized package to suit their marketing needs.
Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job? There was a period of nine months that I seriously thought about throwing in the towel. It would have been easier, that’s for sure. This stress was completely caused by the original developer of the site. Trying to deal with the problems of the site was overwhelming and literally put me in the hospital several times last year. If it hadn’t been for the popularity of the concept and the fact that my members relied on the success of the site really kept me going. What really turned things around was when I brought Bear Creek Web on board to revamp the site. They truly saved the day, which allowed me to focus on growing my business and concentrate on helping my members. Everything changed after June of 2010, so I feel that Womentorz was reborn just a few months ago.
Moving Forward: My biggest business goal is to help women inventors off the online world and through various outlets. One of my goals is to provide a Womentorz booth as an umbrella at various shows around the country. Shows can be a wonderful way to make income and if inventors can share a booth and promote their product they can save money while making money. This is already in the works. We’re also working on getting more media opportunities and have been revamping our media kit to approach various opportunities. Another goal is to provide conferences for women inventors with various resources they need to succeed in bringing a product to market. This is a little while down the road, but since they’re one day events it shouldn’t be too difficult to set up. The structure of how they will work is already in place.
Pricing, Getting it Right: I’m still working on this. I think you have to know your market. I think I have a membership rate that my members can afford, but I had to come down from the original price. I’ve had to further adjust this to beef up the online community by having the storefront as a free service, but provide customized packages for each individual inventor’s marketing needs. This will allow visitors to see a higher volume of products and keep them coming back to view all the latest inventions. This will also allow inventors to adjust their marketing needs to their financial restraints without having the leave the community.
Funding: I had a heavy load on me having spent too much with a horrible developer and being pressured to invest in online advertising. I used a combination of our Home Equity Line of Credit as well as income from another business I have with my husband. All in all, I’ve spent well over $100,000. Had I started out with Bear Creek Web this wouldn’t have been the case. Sometimes you have to learn from mistakes and not look back. There’s nothing I can do to go back and change things and can only go forward and know that money is gone. It wasn’t all a bad investment, but the brand and popularity was built through blood, sweat and tears and was free. Try to do it yourself if you can. I’ve written articles on how having good credit and using it wisely is extremely important to the success of your business. Always have a plan to pay loans back and never use so much you risk your personal credit.
A few good tips: Be careful about going with companies who say they can bring your invention to market. Though some of them may be legitimate, most of the time they will take your money and won’t get you anywhere. There’s so much you can do on your own, but it does take work. You can’t just sit back and expect the money to come with you. You need to be passionate about your product and dedicate enough time every day to get a name for yourself. Finding a good manufacturer can be challenging and extremely intimidating. I do recommend hiring someone to assist you in finding the right fit and price. I do feel that it’s very easy to be taken advantage of being a woman entrepreneur. It’s a sad fact of life. Womentorz has built a strong network of dependable resources who can assist with manufacturing, packaging and the branding of your product. My priority is to protect the community of women inventors so they can be as successful as possible.
Must-Read Online Resources: Everything Mom Invented is considered the bible network for mom inventors. Tamara Monosoff is a wealth of information. I would highly encourage everyone who wants to get in this industry to visit her website . I’m also a fan of the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur book. Mike Michaelowicz is a wonderful resource for all entrepreneurs.
The absolute best part of owning my business is:the people I meet.
If I had to start over again, I would: I would have a good developer from the beginning.
I never imagined: keeping up with the number of emails would be so difficult.
If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: just do it and don’t be afraid of failure.
