Everyday need develops into new business for entrepreneur-inventor

Showcasing early entrepreneurs has a twofold purpose. One is to offer an added marketing communications or social media element to help promote their businesses. The second is to provide a forum through which they can guide other aspiring business owners around avoidable obstacles and toward a path of attainable goals. Sharing insights starts with hearing their stories firsthand as through this conversation with

Grace Amante, owner
3J Group, Inc.
www.autotray.net
grace.amante@comcast.net
847-398-5772

MY MOTIVATION
Like many businesses, 3J Group, Inc., was formed out of necessity – the need to develop a product that did not exist. While I was working during the day and taking college courses in the evening, I found myself balancing a quick meal on my lap in the car before class. I tried using magazines or newspapers to stabilize my dinner, but nothing was working. Yet, I couldn’t find anything of substance in the marketplace that would work as an in-car lap table. So, I decided to build a prototype of what is now known as the AutoTray. It’s a compact, portable, lightweight food tray with a non-skid surface that rests comfortably on the lap. It measures only 8” x 15.5” and less than an inch high which makes it easy to stow away in any vehicle. Plus, it has a crumb compartment and an indentation to rest a cup.

MY UNIQUENESS
Similar type products to the AutoTray are heavy, more bulky, expensive tables designed not for food, but for reading and other tasks. Consequently, they are not easily stored in the car, especially if you’re stowing one per person for a normal-size family. My product is thin, yet durable, and fits under the seat, in the door’s side pockets and, of course, in the trunk where it takes minimal space. In addition, I made it a point to make the AutoTray affordable so that the everyday family can easily afford them.

CLIENT PROFILE
Several consumer groups would fall into my ideal client category – People who spend a lot of time in their vehicles and on the road either for work, school, running errands, or taking road trips. Naturally, these would include families, salespeople, truck drivers and students.

MY MARKETING METHODS
For the most part, I’ve been promoting the AutoTray by taking it on the road so to speak - attending networking events, conducting focus groups and by word of mouth. Right now, my immediate goal is to direct prospects to my website. To do this, I’m getting ready to advertise on Facebook™ and Google™, and am considering a YouTube™ promotional video.

SHARED ADVICE
What surprised me the most about developing this product was learning about consumer habits through my focus groups – what they buy and what drives them to buy. For example, how parents' tastes greatly differ from their children's when it comes to colors. The main thing that I would have done differently would have been to do more upfront consumer research to see exactly if this type of product would appeal to the masses and if so, what they would like to see in such a product. I could have avoided many expensive rookie mistakes had I conducted the focus groups first. But, at least, I know I will never make these same types of mistakes again. My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs would be to do your research up front so you don’t find yourself putting the cart before the horse.

“Visual” testimonials help sell the benefits of interior redesign and staging

Showcasing experienced entrepreneurs offers an added marketing communications or social media element to help promote their businesses. In addition, it provides a forum through which they can share solutions to unique business challenges that might be the answer to a similar challenge with which yet another entrepreneur is struggling. This openness of information flows with the following story offered by

Marianne Yurko, owner
Redesigned With You In Mind
http://www.redesignedwithyouinmind.com/
myurko@sbcglobal.net
630-460-3000

ABOUT MY BUSINESS
The mission of Redesigned With You In Mind is to allow people to “fall in love with their homes all over again.” I’m an interior redesigner and stager who helps people with their home makeovers by simply using everything that they already own. This concept is particularly important in today’s economy for those who are tired of how their houses look, yet can’t afford a totally new interior design that traditionally requires purchasing most things new. Staging, in particular, is perfect for those having difficulty selling their homes often due to the fact that the interiors of their homes are not showing well. Among my specialties is color consultation which is valuable to people intimidated by the overwhelming color options available, today. And, I offer furniture placement that can economically and efficiently optimize the space and function of any room no matter its size or shape.

MY UNIQUENESS
I look at the whole picture, not at a particular niche. Unlike some of my peers who prefer to specialize only in redesign or staging, or just in window treatments or furniture placement, I take it all on so that I can manage the complete project from beginning to end.

IDEAL CLIENT
I have two ideal client profiles - women whose chosen careers are either inside the home caring for their families, or outside the home in the corporate world. Each has their own "house beautiful" vision in mind, but neither has the time to focus on making it come true themselves.

UNIQUE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
One challenge is finding the right way to market myself so that people will find out about me. There are so many people who might enjoy having a room or house redone or just a new paint color who don’t know who to call. The second challenge concerns the economy. It is getting people to understand that they can afford my services. The perception is that people can’t afford to make their homes look better. But, they soon learn that through redesign or staging, it really is possible.

SOLUTION
As my marketing solution, I’m looking for different ways to market my business – networking through chamber events as well as giving presentations on redesign and staging to members of these same organizations. I find that for my business, it is much easier to acquire new clients at women’s groups. As a result, I’ve made special efforts to participate in several women’s conferences and symposiums this year as a way of gaining greater exposure. I also am a member of an association of redesigners and stagers, and am maintaining a social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn.
As my affordability solution, I am making it clear to prospective clients that I will work within their budgets no matter what their requests may be. And, as a “visual testimonial’ of sorts, I am now showing clients homes on the market for which I had done staging, pointing out how quickly they have sold. These before and after comparisons - either online or in my portfolio photos - seems to have the greatest impact on helping potential clients understand the affordable value of what Redesigned With You In Mind has to offer.