Starting a business is not something that most entrepreneurs can do overnight. While there are a few who just woke up with an idea in the morning and launched the business that same day, for most entrepreneurs, the process of starting a business can be a long process.
For some, the process can take years. From your “aha moment” when you stumble on your business idea, it may take some time before you can fully put everything in place — from development of the actual product, getting financing, preparing marketing assets including your website — before the business actually opens.
For Lindsay Phillips, the process took seven years.
She had her “aha moment” for comfortable flip flops with interchangeable straps in 2000 when she was just in high school. She created a ceramic version of flip flops decorated with interchangeable fun buttons, and got great response from her family and friends. She knew that she was on to something. She created a prototype of wearable flip flops, but it took her four years to get her patent for the product approved.
It took Phillips another three years to line up financing, research and test her prototypes, as well as find a manufacturer willing to take a risk on a new company like hers. In the meantime, she finished her college education and gained experience in marketing and merchandising through internships in companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren.
Phillips sold her first product SwitchFlops in 2007. Today, Lindsay Phillips is a $30 million business.
Hers is a story of slow-but-sure approach in business. As Phillips explained in a HuffingtonPost interview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/felicia-c-sullivan/interview-entrepreneur-an_b_215926.html
If you have an idea and you believe in it….go for it. Trust yourself and never give up, because there will be days you’re going to want to quit. Sleep it off and get right back to work the next day. The hard work will pay off, and just remember: no risk, no reward! If it were easy everyone would be doing it. Once your product is out in the market, work as fast and as furiously as you can. I wake up everyday and I am in awe that my high school art project has launched a very successful company; this should give you the incentive and drive that you can do it as well.
You can read more of Phillips story in the article Lindsay Phillips’ SwitchFlops: A Simple Yet Multi-Million Dollar Idea
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