Weeks after, a little girl came
up to me at church and asked me for 10 cents, I looked down at her and she was
giggling away with her friends. I search into my purse and say I am not sure if
I have 10 cents as I bring out 25 cents and she says that will be fine and she
hands me a rubber looking bracelet; as I say that’s a first! She is definitely revolutionizing
sales; money first and then product later.
I took the cute rubber band and
was staring at its multicolored twinning, it is something I would give my very
young niece to wear but I saw myself adorning it and the best thing ever was as
a reason of its many colors’, it blended well with my dress.
HA! Then it hit me! This is the
RUBBER BAND our family friend was talking about.
Curiosity got the better of me,
hence this article. Think about it? A multi colored rubber band that has all
the kids going wild! They are sharing, selling and definitely wearing! Do you
know how many kids are in the United States? Think about this now, if you had
the idea of creating some ‘rubber-bandy’ looking bangle for children/teens
would you even think twice about it?
Like small rubber bands, the ones
years ago we used to tie our hair with when we wear in nursery/early primary?
The ones that we couldn’t wait to detangle ourselves from? Would you not
question why exactly you think children and early teens would want to wear
rubber band on their wrist (like really as a fancy accessory? Rubber bands?)?
Even the reputation behind the rubber band (to tie money by those in the
market/by bankers/, used to play catapult (the game we played with no care in
the world), etc) is not that appealing? All
these thoughts and what we believe to
be the norm would make you doubt your creativity first before you doubt
yourself.
Sincerely, if this idea was
courageous enough to land in my mind, I would have dismissed it; and I ask
myself why? Somto why? And the first answer that comes to mind is, ‘I would
have asked myself what world problem this is solving?’ followed by ‘everyone is
moving beyond rubber bands, kids are now into IPads, Phones, and are way trendier’
to ‘rubber band is not my specialty, how do I start?’ to ‘this sounds like a
too simple idea, it is not complicated enough! And in the multitude of my
thoughts, my eyes lay on something else that catches my fleeting attention and
then the ‘flimsy’ idea disappears’.
Sometimes trend deceives the best
of us. We over think an idea that the gap the idea was initially created for
becomes the gap that swallows it up. We have over complicated life that if the
idea is not to create a unique brand of rocket launcher, it is not worthy of
our thought-cells. I take the pleasure of laughing at myself when I read publications
on inventors with ideas that literally make me shake my head! I am like wow! Just
a simple solution/product, how did we all miss this one?
Down memory lane, years back, I had
this idea of creating a bra that would just stick to the bosom because I was thinking
to myself that how would I be properly dressed, if I decide to wear a backless
gown? A strapless bra would not work with a backless dress? Now ask me what
happened to this idea? After reading on patents laws and speaking to some lawyers
on cost etc, my studies at that moment got the best of me as I asked myself ‘how
would you be able to pay these people?’ Fast forward years later and guess what
is in every lingerie store, even Walmart has it! Click HERE
Yep, you do not want to know my
heart expression when I saw the product.
Now moving on, I would like us to
take a walk through some (just few) SILLY IDEAS created by some
individuals who decided to not lose the CHILD in them irrespective of how fast
the world wants everyone to mature by choking us with speed instead of life.
1) Rainbow
Loom: This is an invention of
Cheong Choon Ng. He came up with this idea in 2010 and started selling the kit
while he was still employed as a crash-test engineer for Nissan. (Having
a job should not be your excuse!) This product began because Mr Ng was trying
to impress his two daughters of age 15 and 12 respectively. His daughters were
making bracelets out of rubber bands and he wanted to join them but his fingers
were too big. He went and created a wooden board with push pins, crisscrossing
the rubber bands and making big bracelets. His daughters got hooked and one of
them suggested that he manufacture it. Their sales were not great at first but
how they turned these bangles into having about 600 retailers and more than a
million rubber bands being sold for a retail price of $15-$17 each (do
the maths!) to having a mother say that her son has put down his video
game to start making bangles….READ MORE HERE
2) Doggles:
Oh my! When I read about this product I almost passed out! Now someone in his wisdom decided to create
google-style sunglasses for pets! They are to protect the pet from sun shine,
keep dust, wind, debris away from their eyes and can even assist in some
medical condition that causes dogs’ eyes to tear up. Did you know that millions
of pairs have been sold at about $19.90/pair and this product shielded U.S.
dogs in Uniform from windblown sand in Iraq!! WOW! Read more HERE
Just an afterthought, someone else
created a perfume for dogs! Yes! It is called Petite Armand Dog perfume and the
cost is ($78.60)
for a 50ml bottle of Petite Armand.
3) Snuggie:
Now onto humans, this product is as simple as you wearing your bathrobe
backwards and because the idea is so silly, it is not patentable yet it sold 20
million items in its first year!! It is written that humor is the selling strategy
behind this product and the marketing behind it has made the world fall in love
with wanting to have a pair of snuggie! Read more HERE
4) Wacky
Wall Walker: Now this is one is
a bit different. Apparently a mum bought her son, Ken Hakuta, the nation’s
first known Wacky Wall Walker as a gift from China, and he became fascinated by
it and its gewy attributes. His next actions include him buying the rights for
$100,000 and to start marketing it in D.C. Sales crawled along until a reporter for The Washington
Post stumbled upon his product and wrote about it. The buzz from the
article began one of the greatest marketing fads of all time. Within just
a few months, more than 240 million were sold, netting Ken about $80 million (Yes
you read right!).
My Points exactly?
- Be a child again.
- Solutions should not always be complicated.
- No idea is silly; in fact the sillier it is,
the more you are onto something.
- You do not have to be a specialist in
publishing before you feel you are worthy to have your own magazine. You can
ask Munaluchi
Bridal Magazine
- Feel free to dream and be allergic to
overly-matured people (you get my drift).
- You do not have to know the end now, just
keep moving a step at a time, even if it takes you backwards, just keep moving.
- Write your idea down and then start running
with it! No time is perfect at all! You can ask me, someone has solved a ‘world
solution’ by creating backless and strapless bras!
- Do not grow up too fast, you might miss the essence of maturity.
- In conclusion, in life there is no vacuum. That
idea you have on hold, is being activated in another person’s mind!
