What: Made-to-order office parties
Who: Leanne Mumm Pardo and Christopher Hughes of Day Perks
Where: Seattle
When: Started in 2001
When Christopher Hughes heard his clients singing "La
Bamba" in anticipation of their Cinco de Mayo party, he knew
he was onto something. Hughes, 34, had recently co-founded Day
Perks with business partner and friend Leanne Mumm Pardo, 40.
As co-workers at a branding and design firm, Hughes and Mumm
Pardo saw a need for a service to take care of office events and
parties. Armed with just $500 and plenty of corporate contacts from
past jobs, the two left the firm, incorporated the company and set
about creating a pilot program to test the party-planning waters.
They lined up five clients, including Alaska Airlines, CoinStar and
Washington Mutual, and for about six months worked with client
feedback, incorporating reviews and suggestions into their business
plan. "We kept hearing, ‘We want it to be quick, we want
it to be really creative, and we want it to be
affordable,'" says Hughes.
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Today, Day Perks offers one-hour parties (think parties-in-a-box
that include snacks, beverages, plates, napkins and so on) and
basic food services (taco bars, pizza, breakfasts and desserts) for
everything from simple ice cream socials to office holiday parties.
Clients can mix and match as they see fit, or they can consult with
Hughes and Mumm Pardo to create their own theme parties. Prices
range from $2.95 to $3.95 per person.
"The things we're good at are listening and branding.
We completely rely on our customers to guide us and, to this point,
have relied on them to guide the business's direction,"
Mumm Pardo says.
Now with more than 100 corporate customers in the local Seattle
market, Day Perks expects $250,000 in 2005 sales. Their success has
prompted Hughes and Mumm Pardo to take a serious look at
franchising the business.
--James Park
Bred in the Bone
What: Healthy treats for cats and dogs
Who: Patrick Meiering of Zuke's
Where: Durango, Colorado
When: Started in 1996
The saying goes, what's good for the goose is good for the
gander. In Patrick Meiering's case, what's good for the
owner is good for the pet. In 1995, Meiering was out on a four-hour
hike with his chocolate lab, Zuke, when he noticed his canine
companion was looking a bit worn out. He shared some of his Clif
Bar with Zuke and, after seeing Zuke's positive reaction,
decided to create an energy bar just for dogs. "That was
really the ‘aha, whoa, cool' idea," says Meiering,
38.
When Meiering returned to his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a
few days later, he quit his job at a consulting firm and spent
$15,000 of his own money and money borrowed from friends and family
to create the first batch of Power Bones energy/endurance
supplements in his garage.
Meiering perfected Power Bones by testing them on Zuke. When he
was satisfied with the results, he began selling his product to
local pet and natural-food stores. Zuke further inspired his owner
when Meiering noticed his pet wasn't as mobile as before. In
2000, Meiering came up with Hip Action, nutritious treats loaded
with glucosamine and chondroitin to help dogs and cats with joint
pain. In 2001, he moved the business to Durango.
Today, Zuke's, named after Meiering's beloved
inspiration, has eight employees and seven product lines, the
newest of which is Z Ridge, an edible dental chew bone for dogs.
Meiering projects 2005 sales to exceed $2 million.
--James Park
Trial by Fire
What: Consumer products company that develops home-safety
devices, such as the Vocal Smoke Detector
Who: Bruce Black and Matt Ferris of KidSmart
Corp.
Where: Roswell, Georgia
When: Started in 2003
When Bruce Black, 30, and Matt Ferris, 28, registered for the
business plan competition course that was part of their MBA program
at the University of Georgia in Athens, they had no idea it would
result in real-life profits. Presented with the challenge of
creating a business plan for a new product, they researched ideas
to pursue and came across a brilliantly simple one: a smoke
detector that plays a personally recorded voice message in an
emergency. The idea had been patented by Brent Routman, a former
administrator at the University of Georgia's law school and a
current shareholder in the business.
With Routman's approval, Black and Ferris ran with the idea.
And when new research revealed that children repeatedly sleep
through traditional smoke alarms, it only added fuel to their fire.
However, it wasn't until May 2003, when they won the University
of Texas at Austin's prestigious Moot Corp. business plan
competition, along with a $100,000 convertible loan, that the
business really got underway. After six months of intense work, the
pair made contact with a manufacturer in China and a designer. Says
Black, "To actually take something from someone's mind and
make it come off a manufacturing line half a world away is probably
one of the hardest things anyone could ever try to do."
Today, the KidSmart Vocal Smoke Detector is available in Radio
Shack stores nationwide, as well as in catalogs and specialty
children's stores. Meanwhile, with 2005 sales projected to
exceed $10 million and 10 more fire-safety products and extensions
in the works, it seems Black and Ferris' class project has
become a project for life.
--Sara Wilson
Finish Line
What: Decorative-finish and design studio/teaching
facility
Who: Trudi McCullough of Wall Mysteries
Inc.
Where: Walnut Grove, California
When: Started in 2003
How much: $2,000
Trudi McCullough happened to learn about decorative painting and
wall finishes while searching the net for fun activities for her
children. Inspired, McCullough--once an art major and a former art
gallery owner--did more research, took an art class at a local
college and began to practice painting and finishing around her own
home. "Our house transformed a lot," laughs McCullough,
40.
Before long, McCullough was starting to do work for friends. As
requests grew, she used the money she made to buy supplies and take
more classes. Her hobby turned into a business when she began to
set up booths at local trade shows, but it wasn't until she
started giving demonstrations at the biannual California State Home
and Garden show in Sacramento that business really took off. After
cutting a deal with the show owners--she agreed to give free
demonstrations in exchange for a mention in their TV
ads--McCullough was able to market her business for next to
nothing. She also saved money by using professional contacts from
class to score deals on liability insurance and website design.
To complement her studio and teaching center in Walnut Grove,
McCullough opened another location in Temecula, California, this
past February and projects 2005 sales to reach $500,000.
--James Park