Last week, we began our examination of where people find inspiration.  Our New Concept Factory project, Idea Offer, is all about creating a clearing house for ideas.  This week’s edition will cover inspiration that comes from events the world views as a setback.   These truly are stories of people “taking lemons and making lemonade“:

Angela Watson, Founder, Your Personal Poster

I founded Your Personal Posters, based in Long Beach, California. A graphic designer by trade, I created a line of posters that honor all the special people in your life by placing them on a poster surrounded by other famous people.

I made the first one for my friend, Lori Barnes.  Three years ago, Lori had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lori lived several hundred miles away, and although I wanted to help my friend, I was frustrated by the distance that separated us.

Stuck in a cubicle in corporate hell, I sat down at my computer one afternoon, and started researching other famous breast cancer survivors and with some divine inspiration, created the very first SurvivorPoster™.  I wanted to give Lori some sense that a great many others had survived breast cancer and chemotherapy and that she would, too.

Well, that one poster turned into several others, made for friends and family. The feedback I received was just astonishing, my families and friends loved the aspect that it was so personal and unique. I decided a year later to set up SurvivorPosters™ and escaped cubicle hell forever. Of course, being laid off three times in eight years may have colored that decision somewhat as well.

I have been hard at work over the past three years and have introduced several new poster lines, including MomPosters™, DadPosters™, YouGoGirlPosters™, PridePosters™, ProfessionalPosters™, MilitaryPosters™, PoliticalPosters™, AlumniPosters™ and GoNativePosters™. They are now all housed under YourPersonalPoster™.

YourPersonalPoster.com™ gives you the freedom to express your thoughts within our unique and colorful posters. You choose the style, the size, and your own words to create a quality, lasting personalized gift of love that will capture a sentiment forever.

And if you’re wondering about Lori, she made it through chemo and radiation, and is doing just fine now.  In fact, to celebrate both her health and YourPersonalPosters.com, I recently gave her a black pearl necklace to commemorate her being “the grain of sand in my oyster,” that is, the inspiration for turning my dream into reality.

Angela Shipp, Founder, Bluehealer Diary

Angela Shipp here, author of the new bluehealer diary, a personal day planner and health journal. I wanted to touch base with you about my book, which I believe could be an excellent story about the inspiration for ideas for your blog.

Publishing has always inspired me. I was ecstatic when a poem I wrote was published in my school’s literary arts book. I wrote short stories I was sure would become novels. I designed family newspapers from craft paper and colored pencils.

So, it was no surprise when I began a career in corporate communications after college. I was 22 and was newly diagnosed with a chronic illness. I had a drive to help others who were in my situation but lacked the tools to make anything happen.

I became active in the community and mentoring, taking on a closet-full of hats. I was passionate about helping others and began saying “yes” to every opportunity to get involved. I was recognized for my accomplishments with awards, but I was overextended. Although I kept a calendar to prioritize my professional duties, my social calendar was even stressing me out and making my condition relapse!

Ten years had passed since my diagnosis, and I still aspired to help those struggling with the same illness. And now I had the skills to make it happen. Throughout countless tests, medications and treatments I had developed a calendar to track symptoms, medication and more. Because my health journaling helped my specialist guide my care, it led me to publish my calendar and share the method with others facing chronic illness. My dream is to help others realize that despite living with a chronic illness they can conquer any challenge and live life to the fullest.

Kelly Harmsen, Bjort & Company, Inc., Maker Of “The Eye Patch Kids” DVD

I have a very unique company that I started after my son was diagnosed with a vision problem called Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) and had to wear an eye patch to prevent blindness.  He was diagnosed at 2 years old, and it was impossible to get him to understand why he had to wear this eye patch. Then I came up with the idea to make a children’s DVD with puppets singing and dancing while wearing eye patches so my son would want to copy what they are doing.  It worked so well for him that I made this DVD available to the millions of other kids dealing with this issue.  Amblyopia is the most treatable form of blindness in the world, and all it takes is an eye patch, but it’s getting the child to wear it that is hard.  The DVD has been reviewed by CNN News, The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s magazine EyeNet, Insight Magazine, by the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the UK, The Optometrists Network, Tampa Bay News, Prevent Blinenss America and many others.

There are people out there that always seem to have great ideas.  But the questions for the rest of us are: where do these ideas come from and how can I have great ideas, too? These needs are the basis of Idea Offer, a new site that was alpha launched for Wasabi Ventures last week.  Idea Offer is a clearing house for people who need ideas or feedback and people who have ideas.

The need for ideas also inspired us to reach out to our realm of entrepreneurs and ask them about their ideas and where they came from.  So, this week we are going to highlight the feedback that we received and the stories that go with them.

This first installment covers people that found a spark of enlightenment from every day actions:

Budd Shamroth, Drain Mate and Before & after Remodeling Consulting

I have been in the remodeling industry for 20 years. I own a design build company called  Before & After Remodeling Consultant Inc. I love what I do; I make people’s dreams  reality. When I design people’s kitchens the largest request I get is to create more space in the kitchen.

One night I was doing my own dishes, and I couldn’t stand the plastic dish rack. Everyone I know who has one can’t stand them. They are ugly and take up usable counter space.  I put down a dish towel after I was done doing the dishes, and I had more water on my countertops and floor than a swimming pool.

I took a step back from the kitchen sink and said, “There has to be a better way.” I sat down and started to draw. The next thing I knew I had created three products instead of just one. Drain Mate was born, I pitched to my clients and everyone loved the idea.

The only thing I need now is exposure. This may seem like it was easy, but this has been one of the most difficult projects I ever encountered.  MY PASSION keeps me going. I know for a fact I have a multi-million dollar product.

Tangela Walker-Craft, Simply Necessary, Inc. and the GoPillow!

My daughter was born with a headful of black silky hair.  Each time I would breastfeed her, the back of her neck along the hairline would perspire, and my arm would be damp.  I decided that I needed an arm cover of some kind – not just for breastfeeding, but for cradling my baby.  I told my husband about an idea that I had.  He and I began playing around with various versions of an arm pillow.  My husband drew a rough sketch of a pillow and my aunt was able to sew a rough prototype for me.

I was watching a child product segment on a talk show when they plugged a website and explained that the company bought ideas from parent inventors.  I emailed the site and asked for submission requirements and sent in my idea.  The owner contacted me that same week.  She loved the idea.  After finding out that I was a stay-at-home mother trying to replace my previous teaching salary she asked me if I could come up with my own “start-up funds”.  She then told me how to get the product made and market it myself.

The original intent of the pillow was for cradling babies for breast or bottle feedings.  We knew it would be an excellent travel pillow.  The idea for adding the privacy blanket came later.  It was added after I was caught in a crowded area during a rainstorm at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  My husband had to hide me with his shirt so that I could nurse my daughter.  We realized that a privacy blanket or cover would separate our pillow from any other nursing pillow on the market.  The built-in blanket turned the pillow into a multi-purpose wonder!  The GoPillow! solved several problems that mothers often run into when away from home with a baby or toddler.  The pillows are professionally manufactured and packaged.

Leslie Haywood, Founder and President, Charmed Life Products LLC

I invented Grill Charms™.  The concept is similar to wine charms, but for your food. Grill Charms™ are the size of a dime with a decorative head and a stem that is textured so as not to fall out of the food while grilling. They are made of food grade solid stainless steel, and sit flush on the food so they do not interfere with the grill when being moved or flipped.  Food is Grill Charmed prior to cooking so when it comes off the grill perfectly charred and plated for guests, everyone knows which one is theirs. They simply look for their unique individual Grill Charm™. No more cutting into 5 steaks to try to find the rare one. No more having all mild barbecue chicken because only a few people like it spicy. Have a food allergy or health concern? “Grill Charm-it” to avoid problems.

The whole crazy process started one sultry April night in 2006, my husband was grilling some fantastic boneless chicken breasts for my friends and I.  The flavor of the evening was Jerk, which we all love.  Some people happen to like their chicken “jerkier” than others.  IE, more rub equals more spice and heat.  Some of us like ours on the milder side.  Once all the chicken came off the grill, arranged on a serving plate, brought upstairs and served to our guests, my husband couldn’t tell which chicken was spicy.  Wouldn’t you know it… me being a “mild” person; I bit right into the hottest one of all!  He said “I wish there was a way to tell which chicken is which” and immediately I knew we had something.  This was the light bulb moment.  In my mind I started the company that night, but according to that State of SC, I didn’t start my company until November 2006.

I really had no idea where to start or how I was going to do it, but that night I started scribbling drawings of a prototype on a note pad and thought to myself “this could be as big as the wine charm.”  Everyone I know has wine charms.  You can’t get away from them!  Funny enough my initial goal and Vision Statement still to this day, is “To see Grill Charms™ become as popular and as common in the American home as the “wine charm”.

As I was watching Michael Phelps last night in the 100M butterfly, I was struck by the life lessons that can be taken away from his performance.

For those that have not seen the race in question, Michael Phelps was unbelievably far behind and appeared to be in a hopeless situation with 10 meters to go. But somehow, he miraculously reached the wall first by .01 of a second. Every single person at the Water Cube and watching TV thought he had lost, but in the slow motion replays, he had won. It also showed that he had done something that most butterfly swimmers are told not to do, he shortened his last stroke in order to extend a little faster to the wall. He said, after the race, that he took the calculated risk because he knew he was behind and had to take a chance. Well, like most great ones, his risk paid off and he is now the greatest swimmer of all time.

The lesson learned from all of this actually play out at start-ups as well. Many are struggling behind large competitors, who have distinct leads in customer base, team size, funding, etc. But great start-ups have to think like a “great one” and find ways to win. In accomplishing this greatness, start-ups have to take risks. They have to use areas of advantage (e.g. large, happy user base or a nimble culture) to steal victory. There will be times when people think the chances that they have to take are daunting or even make their jobs less comfortable.

In taking these chances you will have your turn on the podium, and someone will be putting gold medal being around your neck.

There is a rule as an entrepreneur, “Don’t run out of money.” As long as you still have cash in the bank, you can adjust and change your plans enough so that you still can be in the game. Part of not running out of cash at your business is to be a personally frugal person. If you are wise with your personal money, you probably will be wise with company expenditures.

A great story about frugality comes from Josh Childress. Josh is a professional basketball player that shocked the world by signing a $10MM per year deal to play in Greece and by-passed the NBA. Besides understanding the fundamentals of a pick-and-roll, Mr. Childress also understands the power of watching every dollar, as demonstrated by this quote:

The next time you have to spend money for your business, maybe you can remember the monetary efficency of Josh Childress.