The first business I started was a dream come true. I created a brand new delivery model for women's clothing back in the 90's. Today there are dozens of similar businesses, so that validates my original idea.
The dream began when I was a pregnant marketing director at a national clothing manufacturing company. We made uniform work apparel. Our customers were commercial laundries. They rented the uniforms to businesses on a weekly basis and provided the cleaning service. I understood the mechanics of renting clothes for work.
As I approached the inevitable expansion of my waistline and began to invest in a professional wardrobe to match my previous style preferences (mostly suits) I was appalled. The pickins were slim, as we say in the South. And the investment was huge if I didn't want to wear the same three suits for the entire last half of the pregnancy, which would transition from a cool spring to a blistering hot summer before my September due date.
"Surely there's a way to rent maternity clothes," I said to my friends. "You only need them for a little while and who wants to buy a whole new wardrobe hoping the same clothes will work for the second pregnancy?"
Dream on. Rental maternity clothes did not exist. And the quintessential niche market idea was born. Along with my son.
I started Maternity Rental Successwear renting business clothes and cocktail dresses for pregnant women. For a monthly fee you could come to my showroom, select any number of outfits and then return them the next month for new styles. Or exchange them for different sizes as your pregnancy progressed or adjust your selection for seasonal changes.
Hundreds of people since then have said "What a great idea!" Most women and even some men recognize the value in this concept. My customers were ecstatic and it worked like a charm for five years. Then I sold the business, bought a mini-van, started homeschooling and ended up caring for a terminally ill husband. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
Fast forward. Just the other day I saw the announcement of the keynote speaker for the Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute IMPACT event in February. Jennifer Hyman is the co-founder of a billion-dollar start-up company, Rent the Runway, that promises "your dream closet on your terms." Rental clothes for women, and not just maternity styles. With that kind of success, certainly Jennifer's dreams are coming true! For those of us who love new clothes but can't afford to buy everything we like, it's a fabulous idea.
How many of you have a dream that you are hoping will come true? A business idea. A trip you'd like to take. A change of lifestyle. No, I didn't get to the billion-dollar level with my great idea. If I had, today I would be a big-time philanthropist instead of a fundraising consultant. But I am proud that I did something that was new and different. The experience gave me the courage to dream big and take a few chances. My next great idea is the Purse Drone. Your 10-pound purse floats along behind you. Or backpack. Or computer bag. Or baby? Hmmmm.
An American humorist from years ago, Erma Bombeck, talked about how we keep our dreams in a box, looking at them now and then, but never having the courage to bring them out for others to see. When you are nurturing your own great idea you'll always wish you had taken the chance. Invest in your dream.
Listen to the Aerosmith song "Dream On," which took Steven Tyler six years to write before it became a rock anthem in 1973 - and the group's first hit single.
Dream until your dreams come true.