As a housewife from boredom earned 10 million dollars
'08.12.2017'
Source: Rusbase
In order to build your business, it is not necessary to be an IT genius like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. You can be an ordinary housewife, a nurse or not have any profession, or at home. The recipe for all one, and its main components - perseverance and ingenuity.
Ten years ago, Cherie Schmelzer was a 40-year-old housewife, and all her worries revolved around the house and three children. But boredom and routine overcame the woman, so she wanted to find herself and the children some new entertainment.
Her gaze fell on a slender row of rubber slippers. Crocksbelonging to her numerous family - everyone probably saw these funny sneakers with holes on the wide beaches of Egypt and at the pools of Turkey. Schmelzer armed himself with glue and a handful of rhinestones, with which she began to fill these holes, creating ever more intricate designs.
It could be flags, flowers, rhinestones, cars, heroes from cartoons, butterflies and everything your heart desires. When Sheri came to this idea, she could not wait for her husband, entrepreneur Rich, to return home from work. And indeed - as soon as he understood what his family was doing, he immediately forbade them to leave the house in new clothes, because the idea of decorating crocs with homemade accessories had to be patented.
Husband gave Cheri the idea to create his own website - and so their company appeared in 2005. Jibbitz.
“We sat down and had a family council - do we want to turn this into a real business? We had an outstanding loan at that time, and we needed to take a leap of faith - did we believe in our product that much? Yes. Did we want this? Yes. If everything failed, then we would be able to reassure ourselves that we believed in our cause and did everything we could ”.
And by August 2006 sale of accessories for Crocks reached $ 2,2 million. But not everything was so simple - at first Sheri had to work almost 24 an hour a day, since the sprinkled orders that she carried out manually were added to the care of the children.
“I worked in the basement and did all the things with my own hands - because I didn’t feel when it was necessary to stop, it happened that my husband pulled me out only in the morning. I forgot that first of all I am a mother. ”
To promote their crafts, Schmelzer did not even begin to write a business plan and put up advertising. Instead, they directly contacted stores, showed their goods and phoned people.
“If you provide good customer service, then customers will talk about you. We haven't done any marketing research. The company has grown organically. "
Almost like Thomas Edison with his 2000 attempts to pick up the material for a light bulb, Schmelzer had to spend a lot of effort to make the right and durable design of his jewelry.
For one and a half years of existence, the business has grown incredibly - and the company that produces sneakers Crocksbought out Jibbitz for $ 10 million.
“I think our growth has gone so fast because we have taken over the free market. No one had seen anything like it before, and as soon as our things began to appear in stores - BAM - and everything happened. It is important that you are not overwhelmed by such success. I would recommend yoga and relaxation for anyone starting a business. This is a very emotional process, especially for a woman. It's like your child. I had never done business before, I was a housewife, and suddenly there was such a thing that I treat with the same love as for children. It sucked me completely. "
In 2008, Schmelzer left her post and took up production Geopalz - a clock and a pedometer that teaches the child not to sit in one place for a long time. This business also became successful, and Sheri is engaged in it to this day. “Make small mistakes and correct them. Then make more mistakes and correct again until you are 100% confident in what you do. A convoluted process is much more productive than a 3-year business plan that keeps your product from changing much because it is stuck in the business plan. Listen to the market, to consumers, do not be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them, ”advises the former housewife.
