No. What network is it on?

Margaret Hi,

The network is TV land.

http://www.tvland.com/prime/shows/howd_you_get_...

It’s hosted by Joan Rivers, premiers Aug 5th at 10 pm est. Looks pretty good!

It does look like fun. Can’t wait!

She will have the Inventor of the Snuggies on it. Wish I had thought of that. : )

I used to work for a marketing company that sold items on HSN and QVC. One of their products was “The Perfect Blanket”. That was in 2003/04. It was the exact same thing as the Snuggy. Fleece with arm holes and you wore it like a backwards robe. I bought so many of those for gifts, they were great. I wonder how it morphed into the Snuggy?

Hi Roger,

The original inventor of the Snuggies had a patent pending and the name was Slanket. The designer’s name is Gary Clegg. Steve Greenberg wrote a book, ‘Gadget Nation’ (and I am pleased to have a product in there) and he had Gary and his product in the book. I don’t know how many ideas were stolen from inventors with patent pendings who appeared in that book – this is the only one I know about. I can’t imagine that Joan Rivers would even look into this but Gary is the original creator.

Julie Hi,

this will serve as a warning to all of us regarding the snuggies.

What do you have in the book Julie?

Found it – www.e-zzzsleep.com

Pretty impressive, BBJ.

Ezzz sleep is yours?

Its mine. I was one of the fortunate ones because the author (Steve) took several of the products on Good Morning America (the 3rd hour) and gave it a plug and mentioned my name: got a lot of business off that little spot but now it is dead because I just can’t seem to market it. The customers who buy will usually place additional orders because they love it so much but getting a new person to the site is a problem. What is in the book is the original but what was on the show is the new version, Sleepy Head.

BB Cindy, how did you find it? Very clever of you.

Hey – I always throw a pillow over my head – so that’s right up my alley! My husband SNORES like a bear in hibernation, so maybe it would do double duty:o) Great idea and very cool! My grown kids still sleep with the blanket over their faces, so this will be on the birthday/Christmas list.

That is so cool Julie Congratulations !!! That must be nice to have your invention featured on the Today Show Big WTG. My mom would like one of those. May have to get her one for Christmas this year.

Thank you, Allison. I’m so impressed with my fame that I got the tv shows confused. Oh well.

Julie, that is a great invention. you go go girl!

Julie, I worked shift for 18 years and was a light sleeper. Your product would have definitely helped. It is great to see another Brown with a great idea. Have you considered showing it to the As Seen On TV or another infomercial company?

http://www.rogerbrown.net

Thank you, Roger. It is currently at G7 in the BB&B search and was kicked off ASOTV LPS at G5 or G6 and is currently at G5 in Yahoo and G3 in West Point. This is a great product for a lot of reasons: even here in Yuma where it tends to be in the 100’s when you go to bed, there are men using theirs. The first one I sold here in Yuma, I asked the woman WHY she wanted it since it was 120 during the day and she told me that she has to sleep with the fan and the A/C on and her husband’s head got cold: on top of that, she would read in bed and the light bothered him – before the remedy. Can’t seem to find the key for marketing it.

Julie Brown, this may sound odd but babies scream the moment the leave the womb and then we swaddle and hold them so they find some comfort because it takes them, of sorts, to that wonderful warm, cozy and embracing “place” they were. “Sleep like a baby”. at any age. Or sumpin like that.

A great mind you have!

BBJ – How about You Tube? If you can make a clever video, we could all go to it so it gets a lot of hits. Then start forwarding it to Oprah and Ellen Degeneres. It may not be orthodox, but might help

BBJ – My secret to finding your website is…..GOOGLE. I googled your name. Wow, you’d never guess how much I know about you now!!.. Just kidding.

Good luck on the BB&B LPS. From a couple of posts from people at G7 for BB&B, it appears they like products that are fabric oriented for this LPS. Just an observation.

You Tube is a good idea. Have you sent it to QVC or HSN ??? Maybe one of them would put it on the show. I know with QVC you need so many in their warehouse ready to ship before they will put it on the show. Having it made in the USA will work to your advantage with one of the HSN or QVC spots. Chances are to test it they would put you on during the over night hours. You’d have a selling base of a bunch of insomniacs that would do anything to get a better nights sleep. Picture it…a bunch of people that can’t sleep…flipping through the channells and they land on QVC and find a product that will help them sleep better :-) You’d be great on camera !!

How about sending it to Oprah….maybe it will become one of her favorite things :-)

Good Luck with BB&B

I’m watching Leave It To Beaver reruns and they keep advertising Joan’s show. I don’t know if I could go on a show like this and tell people I made money. Its kind of a weird thing to do. And yes, I’m gaga over the very old Beavers, before his voice changed. I could watch them all day, well, I have at one point in time. That and I Love Lucy, could never get tired of watching those. Oh and Seinfeld, I’d be happy to just have those 3 shows on all day

Julie,

I don’t like my ears exposed when I sleep, so I’m always pulling the sheet up so it will cover my ear. :) Your pillow case is a great idea. Best of luck in the searches.

Penny – thank you – that was very generous of you. The test market with children for Sleepy Head has been limited but the responses are great: sleeping through the night, no longer afraid of the dark, feels safe, feels hidden/can’t be seen.

Julie J – I have a short video which I submitted with the LPS and will probably get it on UTube in the very near future. If I knew how to give you a link to it, I would.

Allison – I checked into QVC a few years ago but I would have to have such a large inventory to sell to them that I couldn’t afford it. Then, if they don’t sell a certain number within a few minutes, you have to buy it all back plus a fee. BUT, I think your idea about timing it for a later show is a great idea. If it doesn’t get picked up in one of the LPS’s, I might research that again.

Thanks for all the support: up until ‘meeting’ people on EN, I was working in a vacuum but now I am re-energized. Let’s hope that we all do well.

Julie – QVC was the first place I looked into when I came up with my invention. I couldn’t do it for the same reason you decided not to, so I understand your hesitation. At your price point you would need to have 1,000 of your products there ready to ship. If you dont get picked for an LPS it’s a good thing to consider. Personally I think you could sell out of 1,000 of these in your sleep (yes pun intended ;-) ) in a 2am spot. I wish you much success !!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, Allison. Since 2002, I have sold a little over 3000 but it has been like pulling teeth. Did a lot of RV shows, was in 3 catalogs but not picked up again after the first go-round, and lost money with a few people/companies which said they could market it. In order to produce the approximate 1000 units needed for QVC, I would have to spend almost $10,000 and then possibly be stuck with inventory. I am a risk-taker but after struggling for so long, I just can’t spend that kind of money – even if I had it. My bank was interested in giving me a line of credit and after looking at the paperwork, they called and asked me to come in: I was very excited. However, between the time they called and the time we were able to meet, our new government put their foot down and the bank just wouldn’t do it then. (Not for me, not for any small business.)

Like most of us who design and invent, I just don’t ever give up so I know it is just a matter of time. Tanacity seems to be a word which applies to us.

Oooops – misspelled a word in the last sentence: it should be tenacity. (wish EN would put in spell check.)

they have a new show to help people out with this sort of thing called shark tank but i was to late for the auditions which seems to be the story of my life lately day late few thousnads dollars short!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how did you get so rich comes on tonight at 10pm on the TV Land Network.

the inventor of the slanket was on the show this week. he doesn’t seem as rich as the other guest millionaires since he is the original inventor of the snuggie.

Hi Julie,
Maybe you should have your testimonials blog on facebook or myspace as the connection network is vast. Good luck
Leah

Julie, I’ve had two products on QVC…both were brought to QVC by an outside company. I’m not sure they are still in business. Anyway, they took care of everything and I just got a royalty for every product sold. For my book, I was the one who had to go on QVC to pitch it. It was scary, but fun. Anyway, I am certain that you can find a company who would put up the money to manufacture it and work with QVC on your behalf – you would just get a smaller dollar amount per item sold. It is something to think about. Or…find an infomercial company to test it. Trust me…there are many, many companies who are looking for the next home run.

Hi Joseph, I didn’t see the show but if the designer of the Slanket was on, the people who stole his idea (while his patent was pending) named it the Snuggie and made millions and he did not.

Leah, I would like to hire someone to do social networking for me: even pleaded in the forums but no takers – yet.

Tinamay, Thanks for the information. In my files there are solicitations from many companies who want(ed) to help and the cost TO ME ranged from $5000 to $25,000. I found a rep. who said she would like to take it to QVC but after three samples and many communications, she just quit: fortunately, I hadn’t given her any money. I have a manufacturer but didn’t want to go into debt to make the quantities QVC required and which they might NOT sell within the first few minutes. I would have had to buy them back, with a fee, and would then have thousands in my inventory. Too much of a chance for me to take. Would you consider e-mailing the name of that outside company – just in case they are still in business? Thanks..

Julie, you already invented the product. You shouldn’t have to put up any more money at this point. I didn’t put up one penny for my book that I sold on QVC. The outside company paid for the printing, artwork, all of my travel expenses to Philadelphia to go on QVC, hotel, inventory, and then they got stuck with whatever didn’t sell. Of course I will email you the name of the company. My email address is tinamay@aol.com. Just send me your email address.

Tinamay, Thanks – message sent. I did a ‘Tinamay’ search in the forums and see that your video was about blackjack: was that also the subject of the book (or did I read/scan too fast and miss the name of the book)?

No, the book is called “Family Forever…My History. My Life. My Dreams.”
It is a fill-in-the-blank heirloom quality coffee table book that allows you to document your life story (memories and stories of your life) on the pages (including photographs). I created it so everyone could write their own autobiography to be passed down to their children and their children’s children. It includes chapters on childhood, memories of your grandparents and your mother and father, school days, life’s work, dreams, medical history, letters to the ones you love, etc. I wrote all of the poetry that introduces each new chapter and all of the questions to be answered. It sold very well. I think we ended up selling over 20,000 books including QVC and catalogs.

How very smart! You put into action something many of us have often wished we had – the history of our family. My mother was one of ten (5 of each) and I was the first born of the next generation. Because I was the first born, I became closer to my aunts and uncles than any of the others and therefore began gathering the stories: some very, very funny and some not all that pretty with so much alcoholism. I believe that part of the history can be the predictor of the future generations. After putting it all together, not one of my 19 cousins even wanted to read it – not knowing about the tough times was easier than facing it and maybe having to understand and perhaps forgive. Maybe your book would have helped because it wouldn’t have been just me, the favorite, providing the data.

I hope that many more people will buy your book because knowing all those stories is so valuable – especially in the long run. We always think we will remember the stories we have heard but that isn’t necessarily true. Just look at all the geneology websites – that indicates, to me, that people WANT to know about their ancestors. Again, how smart of you!

Julie and Jaclyn , both of your products are so cool!!! Julie -I was wondering why your e-mail was sleepyhead. Your pillow will be perfect for college kids.. my two college kids said you definitely have their vote. I know what you mean by trying to produce your product to sell. I really think that EN will help get so many wonderful items out there. I have a lot of respect for them..it’s a lot of work.
Jaclyn – holding on to memories and photos of family are so important.. Good luck to you

Julie, with the little plug that you got on the tv with good morning america, how many sleepy heads were you sell?

Wondering if it makes sense for you to run a small tv ad campaign on cable through spotrunner lor a similar service. its supposedly very cheap.

Julie, Have you considered trying out for Shark Tank with your product? I think they would like it.

http://www.rogerbrown.net

Shisya, I sold about 50 immediately and then there were residual sales. Unfortunately, I saw the market as being more for children with smaller pillows but ALL the orders were for children (and some older) with standard size pillows. One lady ordered one small Bear Paws and one standard size Bear Paws: when I was about to mail the order, I told a friend that the customer would be returning the standard size because the bear paws pattern was just too overwhelming. A few months passed and that same customer ordered another standard size Bear Paws – go figure: what looked not so good to me was enjoyed by the customer. I have not looked at any cable ad spots.

Roger, I don’t know anything about Shark Tank but the name alone scares the hell out of me! I will look into it if you think this might be a ‘fit’. Thanks – ANY input is appreciated.

Julie, send me an email so I can contact you with other possible avenues for you. Send it to rbrown@rogerbrown.net

http://www.rogerbrown.net

You could also try, marketingprofs.com

There a few marketers sitting around there shooting ideas off each other. I used to frequent the place couple of years back.

After being taken to the cleaners by a few ‘marketers’, I am very, very wary. I investigated, checked references and did everything I should have done but still received ‘nada’ although they received ‘moola’.

marketingprofs.com has a free forum, just like this one. You just post your dilema and then if someone has any ideas they will chip in some thoughts and provide you with some pointers.

You dont have to pay for anything unless you hire one of them, which you dont have. I have never hired anyone there but I learnt quite a bit by going through all the posts.

Shisya, Would you mind posting that connection on the Inventors Exchange forum? Thanks for the information!

Where is inventors exchange forum?

Maybe on page two or use the little search button above. Thanks…