Famous Hair Accessories (3)
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"I think working with my son taught me that if one approach didn't work, I just needed to go down another path and look some more. There was no giving up with him and I have brought that same persistent energy to this business."
She used her own money to launch the product, lamenting that "an untested idea is not interesting to investors." She came close to giving up on the product many, many times, but "then something would happen and I would realize there was an untried path and I would go check it out." Strokes of luck and good timing didn't hurt either.
Hairdini™- 1992 to present. By 1994 grossing over $1 million a year.
Denie Schach, the inventor of Hairdini™ (a peanut-shaped, bendable hair tool that creates dozens of updo styles), was always into hair. Since the age of 15, she has done the hair of everyone from her mother to prom attendees. She even received a scholarship to go to beauty school.
She loved recreating what she saw in fashion magazines and on TV. She had thought about becoming an actress, dancer, or fashion designer.
As far as being a fashionista, she says "I did get into magazines and love fashion, however money was very tight and I was an immigrant child at a Catholic school. My dad was a janitor. I had to be very creative to stay fashionable. This led to sewing my own clothes which was the key to my latter development in designing the Hairdini™."
The road to success was not perfectly paved. She recalls making misjudgments in people's character in both her personal and professional life. Certain products failed, yet they paved the way for better products to be developed, and so she doesn't see them as failures.
She credits persistence, moving forward, and believing in the products for her success. She also did not lose sight of her goal of becoming the artist/inventor she had always wanted to be. "I felt an obligation to the consumer which led to me pioneering the instructional videotape in products. I worked on it daily, if only for an hour. It all added up to the final result. Listening to the experiences of other people who had more knowledge than I did and seeking advice. I also have a positive attitude and rarely get down. Being a healthy person is the real key."
She launched the company with angel investors. The company was underfunded, which led to some major business mistakes. She came so close to giving up at times that she "threw the product in the trash because it would not sew properly." Manufacturing seemed hopeless.
"I took a break from the idea for about six months." Denie feels timing was crucial for her product, as infomercial marketing was just taking off at the time, and the product probably wouldn't have sold as much without one. Had she done things differently, she would have gotten more funding and worked with people who had more experience and integrity than she did.
Denise advises future inventors to make sure their "products are things the majority of people would find useful and to price it accordingly. Do not purchase inventory until you know you have a market. Have a marketing plan. Do not let it monopolize your life. Persist, persevere. Be open to change."
In conclusion, there are valuable lessons to be learned from these diverse women of hair accessory fame. Persistence seems to be the name of the game, but following your dreams is only so good as your business plan and the people you choose to work with. Childhoods full of creative pursuits gave these women a platform on which to build their visions.
Product designs spawned from simple everyday items. A knitting needle, a pizza holder, a curler, a handle, went on to be the answer for millions of women to that age-old question: "What do I do with my hair today?!"
Joan Lefkowitz, an original marketer of TopsyTail™, is president of ACCESSORY BRAINSTORMS, NYC, a licensing, marketing and sales representation agency and consultancy for Fashion/Beauty Accessory and Lifestyle Inventions.
Accessory Brainstorms is always looking for inventions in these categories, and offers one-on-one consulting for inventors who need guidance. ACCESSORIES Magazine awarded Joan for the "Most Inventive Products" and also cited her as one of the 100 most important accessories industry "Movers and Shakers."
