Mom Invented

Melissa Patton wanted to make sure her young daughter learned what really mattered in life -- things like being kind, friendly and happy -- but she wasn't sure how to start the conversation. So she and her husband came up with the idea of putting these concepts on tee-shirts so they could have a conversation with their daughter each morning as she was getting dressed, and she would carry the message with her throughout the day.

Though initially just started for their family, the shirts proved a hit. People started asking about them, and Melissa decided to help bring her positive messages to all parents. After 6 months of development, Bee-Tees launched in November 2008 with messages like "let it bee" and "bee happy."

After less than a year in business, the product is sold at boutiques and gift stores as well as through Bee-Tees.com, and Melissa's goal is to be in 100 retailers by year's end.

Here's how she did it…

Why did you start this company and when?

Bee-Tees began about a year ago. My daughter was two and I felt it was time to start the conversations that would affect her behavior for the rest of her life.  I was searching for a way to connect with her on a daily basis about the things that matter in life; kindness, honesty, fairness & friendliness. I wanted a way to teach her through thoughtful daily conversation about positive character and how she should treat others.

My husband and I came up with the idea to make a shirt that expressed the kind of message that we wanted to instill in Lena. Dressing Lena in a Bee-Tee gave us a teachable moment in the morning to explain that ‘beeing kind' means showing kindness to everyone. We would take 60 seconds to tell her that ‘beeing fair' meant sharing her toys with her friends and that ‘beeing friendly' meant inviting everyone to play. On the back left shoulder we put an additional message ‘back your bee'. This little message we hoped would inspire others to read the bee message on the front and hold Lena responsible for her daily actions. We are hoping that children will start inspiring each other to communicate and exhibit positive character. Throughout the day as she glances down at her Bee-Tee she remembers our conversation from earlier in the day. This allows us to give guidance throughout the day using Bee-Tees as a vehicle for a positive character message.

What were your initial goals?

Melissa Patton and daughter Lena in Bee-Tees

Initially we were simply trying to communicate with our daughter. But as we found that more people wanted to buy a Bee-Tee we realized that our new goal was to try to help as many parents as possible communicate with their children about positive character building.

What is your background and how does it relate to your company?

My husband I are older parents. I was 35 when Lena was born and my husband was 47. She is our only child. I have been in sales and marketing for the past 20 years and my husband is a businessman for 30 years. We currently also own a restaurant and work together everyday. This strong working relationship has helped us work together to meet the challenges and demands of learning how to grow Bee-Tees and the intricacies of the gift/apparel business.

How did you finance your business?

We started with a few dollars we contributed out of pocket, then we needed more financing so we used credit cards, and now finally we have a line of credit that I hope will sustain us for a while.

We have about $30,000 invested so far. It makes me nervous to accumulate debt in this economy but I have faith that it will pay off.

We have gone from 0 accounts in January to 35 accounts in 8 months. We are working toward 100 retail locations by the end of the year.

What process did you follow to develop a prototype?

In developing the prototype we knew we wanted a soft shirt that my daughter would want to wear with a really cute graphic on it. I have a friend who is a graphic designer who created "Buzzy the bee" and we choose a font that generated the fun and youthful characteristics we were looking for. Then we choose some great colors.

What process did you follow to determine your product's marketability?

We started out with shirts just for our daughter and simply filled orders as more people heard about the shirts. Then we landed a chain of 9 stores and they sold so well that the buyer reordered within 5 weeks of their initial order. That was when we knew that we had a product that people wanted.

What process did you follow to find a manufacturer for your product?

We tried a lot of different shirts to get the right feel we were looking for and the right colors. We researched different shirt suppliers until we found the ones that we felt could meet our needs. We followed this same approach with screen printers and embroidery.

What was the biggest learning curve in terms of developing your product?

We had so much to learn about the apparel business. We didn't know anything about the manufacturing process, regulations, overseas manufacturing or the distribution chain for apparel. So this has taken most of the past year just to wrap our head around these basic concepts in apparel manufacturing.

What kind of support system do you have in place personally and professionally?

My husband is my rock. He takes over and cooks and helps so much with our daughter. And with his business sense I can talk over issues that I'm having and he is a wonderful listener. I also have a great family. My sister is a research librarian and helps me with any research that I need. And my parents are patient and careful listeners as well.

Professionally I've acquired a wonderful attorney who advises me when I feel unsteady as well as good friends to call on for advice in apparel, accounting and business coaching. I wouldn't have gotten this far without all of these people not just helping me but cheering me on!

What surprised you about this process?

The most surprising thing to me is how naïve I was. I thought that I knew a lot about business and marketing, but until you try to take something you invented from obscurity to mass market you don't know anything. There is no substitute for experience.

What advice would you offer other moms developing their products?

Believe in yourself, believe in your product. If it helps you it will probably help others. Ask for help, ask for advice from everyone you know. People are usually willing to help if you just ask them. And then don't give up. The big thing you've been waiting for might be just around the corner. So keep learning and keep trying. And network, network, network!

You have to know going into the invention process that you can carry the weight of your hopes and dreams on your shoulders for what could be a very long time. Be strong and be prepared for it. You must be aware that no one knows who you are or what your product is so it is up to you to go out there and sell it. Once the ball gets rolling it is easier to push, but until that happens, you have be the one to push it. You can do it!

Thanks for sharing your story, Melissa! If you have a great story about your business success, we'd love to hear it!

Tagged as: apparel business, children's products, featured mom, kid-inspired, product business, success story