Having endured a long day of yelling and ping-pong tattle-taling between my 2 daughters (both under the age of 5), I was finally able to get some peace and quiet at bedtime, just in time to clean up the aftermath of our evening meal. And after clearing dishes from yet another healthy but unwelcome dinner and wiping down the mosaic of tiny fingerprints on the kitchen table glass, it was time for the delightful task of changing expired bed sheets. Mentally and physically drained from fifteen hours of mom duties, this was the last moment I would have expected inspiration to strike. Yet, as I wrestled with the corners of the fitted bed sheets, an idea occurred to me—Eureka!—and my life changed forever…

My Lightbulb Moment

In a flash, I had the solution to a big problem I faced on a daily basis with my oldest, Ms. Skinny Minnie. Although healthy since she was born, my thin and petite Isabelle was never in her age range on any standard pediatric chart for anything. Pants slipped off her like… well, like ill-fitting waistbands will slip off of active little girls. In fact, she spent a lot of time tugging at skirts, shorts, and pajama bottoms too. Yes, I could find pants from high-end stores with sewn-in adjustable waistbands, if I really searched hard and was willing to spend more, but wouldn’t it be great, I often mused, if there were some way to make “regular” clothes adjust to fit my Skinny Minnie?

Suddenly, right there in front of my half-made bed, I had the perfect solution: Cinch-Eaze Waistbands, a quick and easy, iron-on accessory that makes existing waistbands adjustable—with no sewing required.

I wish I could say I sprang into action the very next day, with bulletproof confidence and unstoppable enthusiasm, but the truth is this: I first had to stop talking myself out of why I could not make this dream of mine come true, and had to start talking myself into it.

I sewed my own prototypes then brought my Cinch-Eaze Waistbands before a group of mothers I assembled from my daughter’s preschool. I asked them to try the iron-on waistbands at home. With their feedback, I was not only able to improve upon what I already had, but I was also able to uncover their unmet needs, like getting their child into a larger size sooner in order to get two seasons out of a pair of pants!

Only when I whole-heartedly believed in my product, and the real value it would hold for other mothers, did I finally find the courage to take my idea to a lawyer and initiate the patent application process, a step which isn’t cheap.

I’m proud to say that since taking that leap, I’ve watched my invention grow beyond the concept stage, past prototypes, through the patent application process, and all the way into the real world of manufacturing and sales.

I’m still fascinated and inspired by other inventors’ stories. So, when I met two other local mom inventors, I couldn’t help asking about their “Eureka!” moments, how they overcame the challenges they faced, and what advice they would give to other would-be mom inventors.

A Re-Markable Concept

Kelye McKinney is a Rocklin mom with a ten-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. She is also co-creator of Graffeeti shoes, a new line which allows kids to draw on their shoes with six different colored, specially formulated dry-erase pens. McKinney says her inspiration came from her work as a Civil Engineer for the City of Roseville. “I do a lot of my work on white boards… I saw kids writing on their shoes and thought, ‘Dry-Erase!’”

McKinney shared her idea with a coworker, Jim Mulligan, now her business partner. The two tossed ideas back and forth, and then began cobbling prototypes in his garage to test out. Eventually, Graffeeti shoes were born. Now available in low-cut or high-top sneakers and sandals, with backpacks just added to the line, Graffeeti is that rare thing that both kids and parents find cool.

“ We have been so pleased with the overall reception Graffeeti is getting,” says McKinney, who has been selling since May 2007 and now has secured shelf-space for their shoes in seven stores, in addition to selling from their website, graffeeti.com. “When people see how cool it is to draw on and then wipe off the ‘tagging’ on the shoes, their faces light up with a big ‘Wow!’”

Of course, McKinney’s adventure in the children’s shoe business is not without its issues and challenges. “Establishing our credibility in the industry is a priority for us right now,” says McKinney, who finds buyers hesitant to try something new. “We don’t blame [the buyers] because margins are tight and to be competitive, you have to have a product that sells.”

But McKinney loves the creative process of developing an idea, and she and Mulligan have found that their customers’ positive feedback helps them handle challenges. “We strive for little successes every day,” McKinney says, “whether it be advancing our line, receiving new orders online, adding a new retail store account or being on The Big Idea...” Graffeeti shoes have also been featured on Good Morning America.

Because McKinney and Mulligan work full-time outside the home and away from Graffeeti, they have consultants do a large amount of work on their behalf. However, McKinney still has to work in the morning before her day job, run errands and return calls for Graffeeti during her lunch hour, and tie up loose ends in the evening.

When asked about her advice for moms out there who have an idea but don’t know what to do with it, McKinney suggests finding a motivated partner who will share in the workload and help push the project further. She offers this advice too: “Work on a piece of it every day, and be persistent, because it will pay off.”

“ Believe In Yourself”

Granite Bay resident Melissa Wiele Deep is learning all about the kind of persistence it takes to turn an idea into an actual product. She and her husband, Scott, conceived their brain child about four years ago. Their invention, Bebe Latte, is an automatic baby bottle machine. Just like machines that make instant espresso for adults, Bebe Latte prepares bottles of baby formula with the simple press of a button.

“We came up with the idea over sushi one evening while discussing how exhausting the late-night feedings for our baby were,” says Wiele, who adopted a son about 4 years ago and was unable to breastfeed. “The next steps we took were writing the idea down on paper, discussing how it would look and operate, and then filing a patent application to protect our invention.”

“We have two options now. Either we manufacture ourselves, absorbing the cost of production, or we sell our idea to a larger company while we retain the rights to royalties.”

The Wieles have been able to pitch their idea to two large, well-known companies, one that makes bottles and another that makes espresso machines. But finding the decision makers, a challenge most inventors face at one time or another, has been tough. “We get excited when we make contacts who are excited about our product,” says Wiele, “but there are so many layers to peel away at these companies in order to find the person to make it happen for us.”

Still, Wiele and her husband are encouraged by small triumphs, like finding a manufacturer through a family friend, (“again someone who knows someone,” she says). This contact helped them create a prototype, which, in turn, allowed them to send a demo commercial to prospective purchasing companies.

What makes Wiele a success already is her unwavering belief in the value of Bebe Latte, which consistently prepares each bottle at the perfect temperature. She says, “If you feel there is a need for your idea, and you have the entrepreneurial spirit, one step will lead to the next, as long as you believe in yourself.”

Getting Started

In many ways, motherhood is perfect preparation for facing the challenges of being an inventor and entrepreneur. With lots of opportunities to practice patience, moms have an advantage when it comes to taking setbacks in stride. And having witnessed plenty of small but significant firsts (from baby’s first smile to her first word to the first time she liberated herself from her crib), moms also know how to find satisfaction in each baby step along the way.

Of course, it’s easy to tell yourself you don’t have the funding, or the education, the connections, or the time. But, then again, how do we find the time to do half the things we do as moms? Somehow we do. So, focus on what you can do, right now, to get just a little bit closer to your goal, whatever it might be. Believing in yourself helps too—a lot! And if you don’t believe in yourself just yet (just like I didn’t fully at first), then why not make that your first step? Then read “Getting Started,” Eva’s steps for mom inventors, based on her own experience. It's an “Online Extra” here (exclusively) at SacramentoParent.com.