Inventor on NBC TODAY Show! How did she do it?
My very dear friend and client Kathy Lancaster, is appearing on The Today Show tomorrow morning with Kathy Lee Gifford at 10 AM EST with her amazing fashion accessory Kapelli Ear Covers! How did she do it?
Kathy and I have been working on her manufacturing project for one year now, and her shipment of Kapelli ear covers has finally landed here in the USA. Kathy, being the very savvy business woman she is, went to work immediately putting together the team she would need to take her product to the next level, and boy is this product moving……
In any business, you must always have the team to help a product successfully move through the maze and on to the next level. All entrepreneurs experience this, and luckily Kathy sought out the the right people to help her form the start.
First- she hired an experienced manufacturing agent (myself) to get her program done with trusted factories overseas.
Second- She hired a very talented PR person, who is well connected. She hired Erin Saxton of the Idea Network, who is a new product PR expert. Visit her at http://www.theideanetwork.net/. Erin assisted Kathy with her pitch, she has all the right connections, and bang, Kathy has the TODAY Show! You have to love the power of alignments!
Third- She is collaborating with retail product placement experts to show buyers this item, with high expectations that the product will have retail placement nationwide in mass retailers.
Fourth- and most importantly- Kathy is prepared to take this type of phenomenal TV opportunity and exploit it for as long as she can. She needs to do this because opportunities like this do NOT come along often, and she needs to ride the way for as long as she can for additional exposure.
When you are looking to get your item on a national TV show, partner with the industry experts to help you. It saves time and money in the long run, believe me. Producers use trusted agents to get them products and show ideas, they depend on it daily. Any good agent is worth their weight in GOLD!
The result, the product will appear as a guest host promo item tomorrow morning with Kathy Lee Gifford!
Always ream Big!
Kim Babjak
December 8th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Congrats, Kathy (and you, too, Kim) Super-cool…I can’t wait for the Rotater to reach this level…it won’t be long.
December 9th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
what is the rotater!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 9th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
do you have a link for the today show excerpt? so we can see…
December 12th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Hi rachel, if you go to my website and click on the NEWS tab,you will see kathie lee gifford demo kapelli thanks
December 12th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
rachel if you go to my website http://kapellionline.com you will see it on my news linl thanks
December 14th, 2010 at 10:54 am
With our country staggering under the worst financial setback since the Great Depression, you choose to outsource your manufacturing to “trusted factories overseas”? The outsourcing of jobs is a major component in our inability to recover from the current financial crisis. Your target consumer, the working middle class, is exactly who you excluded when you created your business. Who is going to chose to spend $25 on “hair” covered earmuffs if they don’t have adequate income to feed their family or heat their home? Shame on you for not supporting Americans by creating jobs here!
December 14th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Georgie- I respectfully disagree with your comments. In fact, I have assisted an American entrepreneur make sales of an item that people want and are buying, thus she is paying her bills and feeding her family! Unfortunately, having this item made in the states was not available to her because the costs were too high. I am all about made in the USA, however, I see it as a win win, we are helping a family in China feed their family, and helping an American entrepreneur do the same. How can that be shameful sir? I would also guess that you have plenty of cost saving items perhaps that you bought at Wal-Mart in your home, and I assume you are always looking for deals. Those deals are mostly made in China, not the USA!
December 14th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I agree with Georgie, but I understand Kim’s viewpoint. There are however some flaws with it. A family in China that is destitute is more likely to get the work and aid they need than an American. Second, making sweeping assumptions about how others choose to spend their money leaves too much room for error. I for one boycott Walmart and prefer to buy locally grown produce and American made products. I know many, many others who are the same way. Yes having a company overseas make your goods saves up front, but will cost more in the long run as more and more Americans are making conscious efforts to buy products Made in the USA.
So the take away is it can be good to cut costs and use overseas help to get a product to market faster, but DO NOT let it end there. Any inventor and agency worth their salt should be able to find an affordable solution within our own borders.
And one last comment about this post. That idea network site seems incredibly suspect to me. Their site is horrible. Getting people on the Today show is no PR miracle, I even have a client that does the same thing as well as guarantee they can get a book published by you that will become a bestseller. As more and more of our media is becoming “bottom line driven” instead of being driven by social impact and real public interest, getting air time on shows like the Today show is simply a matter of opening your wallet.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Kathy, cool product, I knew of several people who would like this. Not sure if I would ever wear one myself, but I can see there is a market for men as well.
Note: Nice site but it needs some work, especially your host. It took me a little over 1 minute for your Product page to load and speed is in the top 3 of critical needs for doing business online. If you want an honest professional review and tips on how to improve your site click my name to get a hold of me. We offer nearly every service available for doing business online and we will even work on a performance basis.
Even if you choose to go with another provider our consulting service is free for the first session.
December 14th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Hi Glenn- thanks for your comments, however, I am not sure you have ever traveled to China. I have, for years now, and your comment about them getting aid easier than Americans is inaccurate and a little irresponsible. If you have traveled there and witnesses the poverty, maybe you would not think that way. China is a very poverty stricken country, and aid is not available like here in the USA. We have welfare aid recipients spending their food stamp allocations in Strip Clubs (it is an epidemic actually) here in the USA, I guarantee that does not happen in China. The providence workers in factories rely on American companies to feed their families rice, they do NOT purchase $150 Michale Jordan Air sneakers. Again, I feel good going to sleep at night knowing I helped a worker earn monies for his family! And your take on the PR world is unfortunately inaccurate as well. If your not in that industry, you would not understand how it works either. The idea Network is a great company that I myself, and many companies use for PR. I have learned over the years, especially on the Internet, looks can be very deceiving. Because it is shiny and pretty does not mean it can deliver what you need or pay for!!!! I would be very suspicious of anyone guaranteeing you a book offer like that. Anyone in the publishing industry would consider that suspect, considering there are over 800,000 titles published annually, and less than .5 % get on store shelves, let alone a best seller list! That is why I think people offering services need to be able to deliver what they promise ad be responsible in their commentary!
December 14th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
I do agree with 99% of what you just said Kim. Though my focus is web technology, I have worked in and around the PR industry for over 13 years. The trick to getting a bestseller is simply to just sell as many pre-orders as possible so it isn’t too difficult to game the results.
And you are absolutely correct about being careful just because it is shiny. That is why I let my clients name their own price for many of our services, and we have even built $5000 websites for a little as $10.
You are also right about my comment about China. I have never been there, and my knowledge only covers those from the cities so you have a very good point. I should have remembered that movie, Mao’s Last Dancer, I apologize.
I wasn’t trying to be offensive in my comments so I hope it wasn’t taken that way. You accomplished a worthy goal and I did not mean to detract from that.
Cheers,
Glenn
December 14th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
How much did it cost her? I hired a PR agent and dozens of samples went out and did not come back and since I am made in the USA, my garments, Haralee.Com ‘Cool Garments for Hot Women”, nightgowns and pajamas, do not have a huge profit margin to have that many samples with out any return plus the cost of my PR contract that I did not renew!
December 14th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Congrats Kathy on scaling to the top of Entrepreneur Mountain -
I want to get their myself but I don’t have the contacts but I got a sure fire product and I was just awarded it’s patent - and just last week I was informed that Legacy-Cards became a Top 100 Business from Start-up Nation.
I just need exposure… Can anyone provide some a lending hand for this single father of two ?
http://www.legacy-cards.com
If interested, just call
Ken Meyer
484-894-7275
December 15th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Oh, I get it. Went to the site to look at this “cool” new product. Too bad it’s only for one demographic; white, blonde females. Looks like other ethnic groups or women with other than long hair lengths won’t be a target market for this product. I wish more entrepreneurs would have the foresight of business thinking to develop products with more than one exclusive target market in mind. I know you can’t please everybody, but could you just try to have a little more mass market appeal??? All women have ears, but all women are not blonde or brunette….I’m just sayin’…
December 15th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Hi Bridget- thanks for your comment! This item actually has 8 different shades of colors so that in fact African American, Hispanic, Asian and well, really anyone who has ears, and hair, can match them and wear them.The inventor is exploring the different hair lengths, but as you know, it is better to start off with one product, make revenue from it, then expand.Keep posted to http://www.Kapellionline.com for more about this product. Have a great day!
December 26th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Before I had my product made — in China — I desperately wanted to have it made in the U.S. The cost difference was troubling: .35 per piece vs. $1.80. My product, by the way, is at http:www.mymineralsmate.com.
December 29th, 2010 at 5:51 am
Definitely an achievement! Many people are struggling on how to patent and whether to patent their ideas. The truth is that without commercializing and engaging in product development, there is not much to be said about patents. The best way - manufacture & sell your product, not your invention!
January 18th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Hey Kim,
Sorry for the delay in responding to your question - “What is the Rotater?”
It is the most incredibly simple tool for shoulder rehab, prehab and stretching. I’d love to send you one to check out.