Kim Levine created her Wuvit® product while watching her husband feed deer in their backyard. She noticed a large bag of corn that her husband had left next to her sewing machine and suddenly had an amazing ‘aha’ moment for the perfect new product concept.

Kim Levine realized that if she put some corn in cloth, sewed it together and then put it in the microwave; a warm relaxing pillow would be created. She rushed to create the simple product idea with her sewing machine and her multi-million dollar empire was born!

Initially, Kim thought the Wuvit® concept would just be great gift for her kids and for people in her local area. But soon realized her idea had huge potential. When local parents started calling her in the middle of the night asking for another soothing pillow because their kids could not sleep without the Wuvit®, she knew she had a fabulous opportunity.

At that point, Kim decided to start taking the necessary action steps to bring her product to market. She researched, found a manufacturer that could create her product, developed some adorable packaging, and then started getting the word out about her new Wuvit® product. She started going to local retailers and craft shows, and then eventually got a major break when Saks Department Store decided to put the Wuvit® products in their stores! Now she’s a millionaire and has even written a book about her retail endeavors!

The morale of the story is this: Ordinary people can produce extraordinary results with their simple product ideas if they follow their heart and take action. If you have a product concept that you think retailers will love, then do whatever it takes to make it happen! You could be the next million dollar success story!

Karen Waksman
ProductforProfit.com

Every Kid Wanted One: Ever heard of the Slinky? The fun toy that sold more than 250 million units worldwide?! The creators of the Slinky were just ordinary people that came up with a simple product idea. And that simple product idea produced more wealth then they could have ever possibly imagined!

Here’s the fascinating story: Richard James, a Naval Engineer, noticed a spring coil drop on the ground at work. He was intrigued by the fact that this torsion spring bounced around the way that it did. He took the torsion spring home and showed it to his wife Betty. The two realized that this cool spring would actually make a great toy! And that is how the simple, yet amazingly successful Slinky idea was born!

Richard and Betty had no experience in the Toy/ Retail Industry, but they took a chance. They just had a feeling that people would absolutely love their new toy idea. So, Richard and Betty borrowed $500 to manufacture the Slinky. They had never manufactured anything before, but just took the necessary steps to figuring out the most effective way to get their product produced.

Once Richard and Betty figured out how to manufacture their product, they decided it was time to approach retailers. But Richard and Betty’s first attempts at getting their products on the shelves of retailers proved to be very unsuccessful!

They tried selling their spring toys to Small Retailers, but no one wanted to buy. At one point, they almost gave up! But they didn’t. And with sheer determination and a conviction to succeed, they finally convinced Gimbels Department Store to buy 400 units of their Slinky Toy during the Christmas holiday season.
Within an hour and a half, Richard and Betty James sold their entire inventory at Gimbels and a multi-million dollar toy empire was born!
The morale of the story is this: Ordinary people can produce extraordinary results if they believe in their product idea and take actions to ensure success. Richard and Betty James could have easily conjured up their brilliant Slinky idea but not taken the necessary steps to succeed. Instead, they created their Slinky toy product and made millions! And they did this by not giving up when times got tough.

Therefore, if you have a fabulous product idea, I urge you to take the necessary steps to succeed today. You could be the next million dollar success story!

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman
www.productforprofit.com

And I can say this, because I’ve seen it first hand in my classes and workshops. Entrepreneurs and inventors come to my workshops, read my materials, all with the hope of figuring out how to get their products on the shelves of retailers. And I love that about the people I work with, because I am the same way. I am always trying to seek information and trying to improve my life.

But here’s what I’ve noticed and the main reason I’ve decided to write these Business Success Columns. Most people (and I do this as well) take the information, ponder it, yet never actually take the necessary steps to truly succeed. Not everybody is this way, but from what I’ve noticed, the majority. And it’s usually because life gets in the way. Problems come up; people get disheartened because things don’t go their way, etc. And then they stop. And nothing happens.

Well, I can’t control what happens in your life, but what I can do, is provide you a little inspiration. And when I say inspiration, I mean sharing stories with you about how ordinary people produced extraordinary results through their simple product ideas. You see, I believe that if you read these stories, you will notice that the people who made millions of dollars from their product ideas, took action and didn’t give up when life got in their way. They did the work and continued until they found success.

And anyhow, I also think it would be fun to just read about how everyday products people use actually came to fruition.

So stay tuned… and I look forward to sharing stories with you of how ordinary people produce extraordinary results through their simple product ideas.

To Your Success,

Karen Waksman
ProductforProfit.com

Every Major Chain Store Retailer has a Vendor Department.  This department is in charge of sifting through all of the new vendor requests.  If the Vendor Department reviews a product and finds a match, they will pass the information on to the appropriate Buyer.

It is a common misconception that going through the Vendor Department is the only way for a retailer to review your product.  However, if I had waited for a retailer’s Vendor Department to get my product into stores, I would have never had the success that I’ve had over the years! 

Vendor Departments gets inundated with an endless array of products to review. By the time they review your product, it could take 6 months or a year to get an answer.  What’s the point?  You must go to the Buyers directly to get any traction into the retailer. 

I know for a fact that most people start by reaching out to the retailer’s Vendor Department.  This is great for you. You will differentiate yourself from the competition.  By connecting with the Buyer’s directly, you will increase your chances of getting your product on the shelves of the World’s Largest Retailers faster than you ever thought possible!

I know that some of you are concerned that you might upset the Buyer if you start contacting them directly.  But please know that after almost a decade of selling products to retailers, I have NEVER upset a Buyer by going direct!  And I’ve sold every type of product imaginable.

And even if you come across that one random Buyer that gets really angry with you about going direct, know this…the Buyer will forget about you in a matter of days!!!   Buyers are incredibly busy and get inundated with phone calls all day long.  They might get mad for a moment, but I assure you that this will be short lived. 

The truth is that Buyers understand how important their job is.  They know that it would be such a huge opportunity for a business owner to get their product into their stores and tend to be sympathetic toward potential vendors who contact them.  So just know that even if the Buyer is in a bad mood, they will get over it! 

Ultimately, contacting Buyers directly is the most effective way to get your product sold to Major Chain Store Retailers. 

About the author: 

Karen Waksman (www.productforprofit.com) is a Successful Manufacturer’s Representative, Speaker and Author of “How To Sell Your Product, Invention Or Craft To Major Retailers…No Sales Experience Or Existing Buyer Relationships Required!”