Mom-preneurs on the rise

Greenville News

Sept 27, 2007

 

 

By Cheryl P. Allen
STAFF WRITER
callen@greenvillenews.com

Julie Savage of Simpsonville says she always had a creative side.

And she knew she wanted to use that creativity to start and grow her own business.

“I started out just entering invention contests and keeping a log of my creative ideas, and after I won a couple of contests, it really took off from there,” said Savage.

The mother of three and executive director of Ideas to Grow, an idea consulting firm, was recently acknowledged in Whirlpool's “Mother of Invention” contest. Savage won one of two first prizes nationwide for a business idea she submitted, Tidy Toys, a mobile cleaning service that sanitizes and disinfects toys and children's play areas for small businesses such as doctor's offices, preschools and day-care centers.

 

“As a mom, I would take my children to the doctor's office ... and I was always concerned about the germs in the toy boxes. Some of them looked like they hadn't been cleaned. While parents appreciate the toys, they also want to know that their kids are going to be safe.”

Savage's idea was selected from among nearly 1,700 submissions.

More moms are jump-starting their own businesses by sharing their ideas with corporations such as Whirpool and Staples. For example, Target touts its own collection of parent-invented products that includes camouflage print bibs and a changing pad that stores diapers and wipes.

Welch”s is currently soliciting ideas for healthier after-school snacks. And Staples sponsors its Invention Quest contest, soliciting ideas for office supplies.

Moms, in particular, are offering more input in the marketplace, said Mike Collins, CEO of Big Idea Group. The Manchester, N.H.-based company has a network of about 10,000 inventors, a third of whom are moms. “It”s a major trend,” Collins said.

Although the YWCA of Greenville's Empowerment Center Dream Catcher program doesn't specifically target mothers, it has helped several local moms, including Valerie Tucker, launch their own businesses.

A former automotive engineer, Tucker started Pumpkin Mumpkin, a company that sells a line of child-related products she invented, before she was selected for the program and has since broadened and refined the scope of her business.

“She's taking her knowledge of being a mom and being an engineer and developing it into a product that will help other moms,” said Erika Spinelli, director of the YWCA Empowerment Center. “Moms and women in general have to multitask, and we have to do things efficiently and effectively to get it all completed during the course of the day, and you have to figure things out very quickly.”

Those skills are valuable in the marketplace, Spinelli said. “You can translate that very easily.”

Whirlpool developed the Mother of Invention grant three years ago to help provide moms resources for launching their inventions. Whirlpool awarded Savage a $7,000 business development grant in addition to a washer, dryer and dishwasher. She is also scheduled to attend a business boot camp in October at the company's headquarters in Benton Harbor, Mich., where she will meet and network with other mom inventors.

Savage said the company was looking for ideas that would help fill a need in the community. She said while researching her idea, she found sanitation companies that serviced large corporations and restaurants, but there were not enough companies in the area serving smaller businesses such as doctor's offices and day-care centers. “I just thought that there is definitely a need there,” Savage said.

And it's those experiences that can give companies a better insight to the needs and wants of many of their consumers. Moms, in particular, are huge consumers, Collins said.

“They are major consumers and a whole spectrum of companies are looking to engage mothers more now to understand what their real challenges are,” he said.

“The old model was “we are a big fancy company... and we know what moms want.” They are changing their attitude and saying, “we've got to do a better job of listening.”“