Creature Comforts
What: Plush toy cell phone covers
Who: Julian Parry of Fun Friends
Where: Sarasota, Florida
When: Started in 1999
With cell phones becoming more ubiquitous, Julian Parry thought
the market could use some dressing up.
In 1998, while on a fishing trip in Cape Town, South Africa,
Parry, 36, noticed the captain had a lobster plush toy fit snugly
around his cell phone. The next year, Parry started researching and
working with a designer, choosing fabrics and designs that matched
his vision: lovable stuffed animals that fit around cell
phones.
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He spent $50,000 in the first year of development, refinancing
his home multiple times and taking loans from friends and family.
He worked out of his garage for the first three years to try to get
Fun Friends off the ground. Despite receiving positive feedback
from magazines, trade show participants and kids, he initially had
a hard time selling the furry phone covers. People didn't
automatically understand the product, so he had to demonstrate how
it worked by fitting peoples' cell phones with Fun Friends.
After struggling for three years, Parry enlisted two friends from
school, Tim Mihm and Charles Larson, both 37, and the three began
traveling extensively to China and different trade shows.
Larson had contacts that allowed the trio to promote Fun Friends
at high-profile golf tournaments, and celebrities, including pop
princesses Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson and supermodel Heidi
Klum, started taking notice.
The years of struggle finally paid off, with the company
experiencing growth of more than 300 percent since 2003 and
expecting 2006 sales of $6 million. The covers are currently sold
at Verizon Wireless stores and Claire's boutiques, and Fun
Friends keeps inking deals with national and international
distributors.
Fun Friends has over 100 styles and endless ideas for more, says
Parry. The cute and cuddly accessories range from Punky the Monkey
to Daisy the Cow and are made to fit on bar or flip phones. Parry
and his partners are also venturing outside the cell phone arena
and are making Fun Friends to fit over staplers, remote controls,
iPods and other items. Says Parry, "We're on a nice
climb."
-- Amanda Pennington
Take the Plunge
What: Bachelor party adventure trips
Who: Darren Hitz of Adventure Bachelor Party
Where: Franklin, Michigan
When: Started in 2004
Darren Hitz knew there had to be something better for bachelor
parties than a weekend filled with booze and exotic dancers.
Looking beyond this cliché, Hitz, 29, decided to plan a
bachelor party around a weekend of adventurous white-water river
rafting in West Virginia.
The trip was a blast, and Hitz knew there had to be others
looking for the same kind of thrill--and their future wives'
approval. After searching for companies that catered specifically
to guys' pre-wedding bashes and finding nothing, he took it
upon himself to fill the void.
In 2004, Hitz launched Adventure
Bachelor Party with about $8,000 of his own money. Hitz's
niche market is one he's intimately familiar with--because
it's his own. "Guys are lazy," he says. Hitz gives
guys nation-wide the chance to do something they may not think to
do on their own and also gives his other client base--local
adventure outfitters--a chance to be seen on a national level.
Although the cost doesn't include airfare, just about
everything else is taken care of once the group lands at its
destination: three- or four-star accommodations, lavish dinners,
the adventure itself and transportation throughout the trip.
With over 20 adventures, including cattle herding in Texas and
fishing off the San Francisco coast, Hitz is looking to expand his
trips while keeping them intimate. He has also created three
separate businesses under the parent company he formed, Hitz
Adventures, for bachelorette parties, corporate team-building trips
and weekend adventures.
Not only is Hitz's business taking off--he expects sales of
over $300,000 in 2006--but he's having fun, too. Says Hitz,
"I enjoy being able to provide a service where everyone has a
great time and is happy."
-- Amanda Pennington
Letter of the Law
What: Online professional assistance service for
lawyers
Who: Bob Unterberger of Legal Writing Success
Where: Wilmington, Delaware
When: 2000
How much: $5,000
It wasn't until a friend made a suggestion that Bob
Unterberger realized he had a business on his hands. A lawyer and
legal writing teacher, Unterberger, 44, had created a simple
website in 1999 where his students could post their work and
receive his help on assignments.
Word spread about Unterberger's site, and lawyers began
contacting him to ask questions about their own work or, in some
cases, offer their services. "A friend said, 'Why
don't you create a business plan and see where this can
go?'" Unterberger says.
In 2000, Unterberger used his own finances to cover operational
expenses, such as office supplies, legal fees and a consultant, to
build www.legalwritingsuccess.com. Today, he's still a
one-man operation working from home, but he's no longer the one
giving the advice. He describes his site as a place where
"love connections" are made between lawyers looking for
part-time work and lawyers who need extra help on briefs, motions
and other legal processes. For every connection he makes,
Unterberger keeps about 35 percent of the cost of the assignment.
He expects 2006 sales of over $100,000.
--James Park