The End of Our Entrepreneurial Journey!!!!

What we set out to do?

DONUTS!!! Our entrepreneurial adventure began with a customizable donut topping business. We were completely gung ho on this "brilliant idea" until we came to the conclusion that this business idea was not really solving a particular pain that people had in their daily routines. 

So we then set out to solve a real pain that average people deal with ever day. This particular pain was LOOSING LIGHTERS! There are many instances where people who drink also tend to smoke, so we decided on designing a koozie that integrated a lighter case on the side. We then realized that the product would not sell since several other groups were also pursuing a koozie idea. So we decided to discontinue our idea and continue on with solving a common CUSTOMER PAIN!......

COLD HANDS IN THE WINTER!!! We decided to resolve this problem by integrating a pocket inside a one size fits all glove to house the hot hand warmer packets. The pocket was sewed using soft, thin fabric to be used as a insulated barrier to protect the skin from the sometimes intense heat of the hot hand. It was then built into the inside of the gloves to keep the hot hands in place.

With no prior experience in sewing, we set out in hopes of finding someone who would be able to sew the pocket inside the gloves. We decided to drive around town to different dry cleaners and alteration businesses only to find out that it would be very expensive ($8) for each pair for the pocketn to be sewn to the inside of the glove. After our second round, we came to the conclusion that we would began sewing the pockets ourselves. So we went out and bought the materials needed to begin on our product (fabric, string, etc.)

Our Sewing & Applying Process

We began to create our product by cutting fabric, sewing the pouches to the same size as hot hands, and using Heat n Bond Iron on Adhesive to attach the pocket. After we ironed on the pocket to the inside of the glove with the Iron on Adhesive, the Heater Hands were ready to go! The sewing process required time and we were both very committed to completing our product.

Finished product in hand!

What happened?

Sign ready to go!

After finishing our product we made a sign to help promote our product and were off to selling our Heater Hands out on the Commons in the cold weather. Our business model of selling Heater Hand gloves in the cold weather turned out to work. As we sold the product to people we emphasized how warm and comfortable they really are and we did this by actually wearing a pair ourselves.  There were students and even faculty of JMU who were willing to buy our wonderful product.  Not only did we solve their pain, but we saved them a trip to the store. Our customers were satisfied with our product, they thought it was an AMAZING IDEA! We managed to sell 40 pairs of Heater Hands!

This concludes our entrepreneurial journey!

Advice for future entrepreneurial teams
1. Set weekly goals
2. Start working on your product early! Procrastination will be your worst enemy!
3. Do not get discouraged if your first few ideas do not go as planned.
4. Try not to think two hard about what product to create, keep it simple!!!  The simple yet clever ideas are what is going to sell.
5. If you are targeting college students, keep the price LOW!!!

Prototype Ready!!

Loyal to our Brand!

M & M at our finest

This week we took our final trip to target and purchased 26 sets of the magic one size fits all gloves. We then decided to go back to the various cleaners and once again we received bad news. It was going to be impossible to sew on the patch inside the glove and it was going to be very expensive, as it would have to be sewn in by hand. We came to the conclusion that we had to sew the pouch in ourselves. So, we then went to Ragtimes and bought a yard of fabric, velcro, and string to begin sewing the pouches into the gloves.

Yesterday, we began to construct our product by cutting fabric, sewing the pouches, and using Heat n Bond Iron on Adhesive to attach the pocket to the inside of the glove.

Measuring out the size of the fabric

Maria Cutting the fabric to it can be sown

Stitching the pouch

The Stitching Process

A stitched pouch

Getting my lines straight to cut, Maria cutting the additional pouches

Trimming the excess fabric

The glue station

Part of the process of attaching the hot hand pouch

One Pouch glued on

Bye Bye Thinsulated Gloves

We came to the conclusion that by having the tailor sew in the pouch by hand, we would not be able to sell at the price point that we had envisioned. We liked the quality of the thinsulated gloves, however it would not be in our best interests to move forward with this particular product, so we decided to return them.

After returning the gloves, we are once again on the hunt for a new pair of gloves, epecially since winter is approaching. After being discouraged with the thinsulated gloves situation, we decided that it would be best if we purchased the magic stretch one size fits all gloves!

Buying and Sewing

In spite of all of the troubles of this project, we decided to play the full part of the M&M.  Expect more photos of this next week!!!

And yes, we made this by hand!!!

Week of October 29, 2010

After purchasing the gloves, we drove around town in search of finding someone to sew a pouch inside our gloves in order to house the hot-hands.  We each decided to take a different route to compare prices for someone to attach the pouch.

Mike first went to Max's Cleaners and was redirected to E-Tailor and was told that it would be very difficult to sew on the pouch and therefore could not do it. After that he was told that it couldn't be done, he went to Classic Cleaners. A very nice lady informed him that it couldn't be sewn by machine but would have to be sewed in by hand. She further explained that it was going to be difficult because the gloves are double-layered and that it would cost $10 dollars a pair (way to expensive!).

On the other side of town, Maria went to Alterations. After being told that it would be impossible to sew in the pouch, because once again, it would be very DIFFICULT to sew in the pouch. She then continued on to Chong's Tailoring and Alterations and was relieved to hear the news---it was possible, however it would have to be sewn by hand. She told her that it would cost $8 a pair. Lastly, she went to Tatiana's Alterations and was informed that it was possible. Once again, it had to be sewned by hand and would cost $8 a pair as well.

Week of October 22, 2010

We decided to purchase 42 thinsulate fleece gloves in  a variety of colors for both men and women from Walmart at $5 each. We also purchased 28 packages of hot-hands warmers which include three sets in each package. This allowed us to have 2 sets of hot-hands for each set of gloves.

Price Comparing!

This week we began our adventure of comparing prices in different stores and on the internet for gloves and hot hands.  Our first stop on this journey was Walmart.  We looked at gloves for both guys and girls, searching for them in a variety of colors, materials, and sizes.  After looking around the store we found Thinsulated Fleece gloves ($5) which meets out criteria of what we were looking for, at a great price and good quality, however we still wanted to compare with other stores in concluding our final decision.

Our next stop was the Dollar Tree, which only had gloves that would fit an infant, TOTAL FAILURE!  We then drove to (filthy) Big Kmart, who only had very ugly cheap knitted gloves and mittens, EPIC FAILURE! After walking out of the store, wanting to shower off all of the nasty, we continued our voyage to Target, who were in the process of stocking their shelves with winter apparel, once again COLOSSAL FAILURE! After leaving there, we went next door to Kohl's, which only had a small selection of woman's leather gloves, not what we are looking for.  After our FOURTH FAILURE, we still proceeded on to our next destination, T.J.Maxx, who only had cheap looking but expensive (ranging from $15-$40) leather and other not so attractive looking gloves, once again COMPLETE FAILURE!  We then drove to the other side of town in search of the perfect set of gloves, to the Dollar General.  They only had small knitted "one size fits all" (children's) gloves, 100% FAILURE! 

After 6 COMPLETE FAILURES we decided to search online for the best deals available, however, it was here that we realized that Walmart still had the best priced, good quality gloves. 

While traveling around town we also were looking for the best prices for hot hands and once again Walmart had the best price, even better then prices on the internet. We then decided to purchase one package of hot hands and one pair of gloves to begin the development process of our product.

Thinking Outside the Box...

We came to the conclusion...MightyMandM has decided to discontinue the idea of producing a Koozie with a lighter case.

While walking across campus the other day, we identified a common PAIN that many people encounter during the cold months of winter---cold hands!

We believe that there is a way to alleviate this pain for individuals who experience the aches of cold weather, particularly frozen PHALANGES! We have seen this as an issue that only seems to have one clear answer and sometimes regular gloves don't fully solve this problem. We plan on incorporating hot hands inside of a pair of gloves. Gloves will be sold with two sets of hot-hands and will be offered in a variety of colors.

"Regular gloves just keep your hands from being cold, however MightyMandM gloves will actually keep your hands warm."

Phase 1: Designing Our Product

We are currently in the beginning stages of developing our new product. This week we have been working on creating a prototype of what we envision our Mighty M and M koozie to look like. Although not shown, under the flame on the back side of the koozie we will integrate a lighter case. Below is a sample of a purple and gold koozie, however, there will be a variety of colors customers will be able to choose from.

It is now week 2 of our entrepreneurial excursion! As you can see, we really like the idea of launching a customized donut business, especially since winter is approaching. Who wouldn’t like the idea of having a warm freshly made donut on a cold winter morning made to your very own specification.



We are also still debating over the idea of whether we should innovate an old, yet still very desirable product, a koozie. However, it will not be just a plain old koozie. Our product will incorporate a lighter case on the side of the koozie. So when you’re drinking a nice cold brusky and are craving a smoke, you won’t have to dig in your pockets or ask someone for a light. You’ll conveniently always know where to find your lighter… on the side of your koozie.

Any thoughts on this idea would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Muppet Show - Swedish Chef - making donut

Let Our Flight Begin!

A flight of unknown paths and destinations...

Our flight has begun!

We are beginning our adventure, uncertain of where we might end up but hopefully we are taking the right flight to our desired destination! We know this will be a challenge but at the same time an enjoyable experience. We look forward to launching our amazing idea in hopes of succeeding as entrepreneurs!

MightyMandM will prevail!!!!