Our last speaker in the Midwest Entrepreneurs class this semester was Jolene Willis, Sustainable Development Specialist, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and Associate Manager, Illinois Cooperative Development Center. Following are links to webpages related to these organizations.

http://www.value-added.org/cooperatives/

http://www.iira.org/

Having Ms. Willis as our guest speaker helped attain two goals for the class this semester. One goal was to have more farming/agriculture-related guest speakers; Ms. Willis was the fourth such speaker in the class. The second goal reached was to have a greater diversity of speakers; in terms of industry, function, and stage of life product or firm cycle. In this regard, Jolene was the only speaker this semester that might best be referred to as a “facilitator of entrepreneurial start-up and success.” More specifically, in her positions—housed within Western Illinois University in Macomb—Ms. Willis provides a diverse wealth of information, assistance, and services to persons interested in starting or more efficiently running cooperatives and other businesses in rural Illinois; all with a view toward achieving the broader goal of stimulating and enhancing economic development statewide.

With regard to the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA), Jolene told the class that the Institute was created in the 1980s in response to the farm crisis that hit Illinois and the entire Midwest particularly hard at the time; a massive event with still-lingering impact that we had heard about from two other ag-related speakers earlier in the semester. She also informed the class that much of the IIRA’s operations involve staff members travelling statewide providing varied assistance in rural areas where information and other resources are particularly lacking.

The Illinois Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) exists within the IIRA and is operated through a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Grant. According to the ICDC’s webpage, the organization “helps cooperatives and other businesses in rural Illinois start up and succeed, through technical assistance, training, and publications.” While most everyone has likely heard of “cooperatives,” one of the key things we learned in class is exactly what a cooperative is. Quoting from the Preface to “Co-ops 101,” a publication of the USDA Rural Development Program that Ms. Willis distributed to the class: “Cooperatives are business entities that people use to provide themselves with good and services.” She added to this basic definition the notion that co-ops are formed on the basis of need in the sense that if the co-op is NOT formed, the goods and services in question will likely not be available to local residents at all. She provided rural electric cooperatives as a prime example here. Further, Jolene noted that co-ops are a “key tool for community economic development” in rural areas.

Finally, the class was informed about ICDC’s ongoing efforts to assist in the formation of rural retail food co-ops. Here, Jolene reinforced something that I have told the class several times before this semester: What seems like a crisis to some people is likely seen by others as an opportunity. Specifically in this regard, Jolene explained that while ongoing retail concentration in the food sector—exemplified, for instance, by the growth of Wal-Mart and major grocery store chains—has caused many firms to close stores in rural areas, it also creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to start-up locally-sourced organic and other food stores in the communities in which they live. The ICDC stands ready to assist in this regard (as well as to help existing locally owned grocery stores adapt to changing market circumstances and stay in business). Jolene provided as a “success story” for the ICDC here the Macomb Food Co-Op (http://macombfoodcoop.net/).

All in all, our last guest speaker of the semester was one of the most informative. I myself came into class thinking I knew a lot about both cooperatives and assistance programs available to ag-related entrepreneurs. I left knowing far more than I ever thought possible (and also that I had grossly overestimated my level of knowledge on both matters).

The quantity and quality of the work done by Jolene Willis and her colleagues at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and the Illinois Cooperative Development Center is truly amazing. Thank you so much for being our guest in class!

Regards,

Prof. Gabel

Our next-to-last guest speaker of the semester addressed some entrepreneurial issues we have heard from others as well as at least one big new issue: How difficult and frustrating it can be to get mass acceptance of your product; no matter how great an idea and product you have.

This is indeed the “point in the entrepreneurial journey” where Linda Lewis of Galesburg, IL finds herself.

Among the most salient and oft-repeated entrepreneurial concepts in the class throughout the semester is that there must be adequate demand for your product; with this demand based most significantly on providing unique and meaningful benefits to targeted customers.

Linda Lewis has come up with a product that seems to do just that. Yet, as she told the class, she has become frustrated in “educating” the public on this “never been seen before” product called Flipple; a funneling adapter that attaches to bottled water so a nipple or sippy top can be added. She has been successful in placing Flipple in numerous stores across the nation but her target market is not looking for it. She also admits she does not take the time nor have the revenue to support the desperately needed channels of social media.

As Linda told the class, the made up “Flipple” name stands for “funnel-flip-add-a-nipple.”

The complete “Flipple Story” can be found at the Flipple webpage: http://babyflipple.com/index.html. Also see the firm’s active Facebook page; with 2,700 “likes” and counting: https://www.facebook.com/babyflipple.

The ongoing “Flipple story” is a long one—seven years to date—replete with a grand “eureka” discovery moment, commitment, risk-taking, hope, trial-and error, adjustment, and—first and foremost I believe—relentless pursuit of Linda Lewis’ entrepreneurial dream.

For more on this captivating story as it was told first-hand by the inventor/entrepreneur to the Midwest Entrepreneurs class, I now turn things over to class blogger Sawyer Shaw.

Prof. Gabel

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Throughout this semester, we have seen great diversity in entrepreneurial businesses. Only one prior to Linda Lewis—Lee Miller—had concerned patenting a product. None had discussed such trial-and-error and ongoing challenge as Linda Lewis and her “Flipple” products.

The Flipple Company is a local business based out of Galesburg that creates ease and convenience for parents of infants by making universal “funneling adaptors” that fit onto water bottles and allows for on-hand baby formula any place, any time. Simply put, Flipple products can quickly and easily transform any water bottle into a baby bottle or sippy cup.

Linda Lewis, the “Grandma-preneur,” came up with this handy idea when a peaceful day at the lake with her family turned disastrous when she found that they had left all the baby bottles at home when her grandson became hungry. With her grandson’s increasing hunger pains, she desperately poured baby formula into a water bottle. This resulted in a very sticky, but fed grandchild. Linda Lewis and her family spent the rest of the afternoon collaborating on ideas on how to solve this messy conundrum.

The following days were spent experimenting—speculating and gluing and measuring—an attachment to water bottles that would made it easy to pour baby formula right into the small bottle opening and then attach a nipple. When they were done with the first prototype, Linda’s grandson even chose Linda’s personally made attachment over his commercial baby bottle!

Seeing how easy and convenient her new invention was, the light bulb turned on and the rest is history. Linda quit her job of 30 years to produce the bottle attachments full time and bring them to market. The Flipple Company had begun.

Linda did what many similarly driven entrepreneurs find they “must” do; risk it all and take the leap! She withdrew from the security of her job of 30 years, a decision that I am sure did not come easy. But for anything worthwhile, is it ever easy? There was no certainty to the success of her business venture. All she knew was that she had a great product that could make any parents young children relieved to have.

Next came the patenting of the product. Patenting is a very rigorous and expensive process, with patent lawyers charging around $550 per hour. Then Linda had to sell the product, something she still struggles with to this day. She was able to get some initial sales through Amazon and other outlets and then she experienced a major hurdle: The design of the mouth of standard water bottles changed. The Flipple products already in the market no longer fit correctly and she did not know how to get them out of the market place. The products received several bad reviews online due to this event which was completely beyond her control.

Linda did not give up. She did not lose faith at the sight of possible catastrophic failure. Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, once said: “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Just as Thomas Edison’s reluctance to accept defeat produced the light bulb, Linda’s reluctance to give up on her idea continued the growth and perfection of a great product. Linda has since changed the design to fit all water bottle mouths to increase usefulness and convenience.  She has also expanded the need by adding a special sippy top that can replace the nipple; thus turning a water bottle into a baby bottle or sippy bottle.

The Flipple Company is a relatively low-overhead business, outside of the single-cavity mold that cost $40,000. She operates her business by herself, in her basement. She even does her own packaging and order processing for online purchases. She doesn’t have employees, a shop, or many tools to pay for. Being low overhead means that one can keep the cost of production low, which is a plus. But at the same time, low-overhead businesses are limited to the amount and range of the work that can be done, as well as a lesser amount of exposure compared to larger-scale businesses.

Mass exposure of such an exclusive product like the Flipple at such small scale production has its challenges, as Linda knows. But everyone has got to start somewhere. To build the name and interest in buyers, Linda presently sells at very small profit margin, because if the price is too high for the risk of the potential store, the product is no longer attractive. To build exposure, Linda has entered Flipple products into many contests; including a large one sponsored by Wal-Mart. She has also built a very active Facebook page and maintains a company webpage.

Flipple products are available at BuyBuyBaby (http://www.buybuybaby.com/), Amazon, Hy-Vee, Schnucks, and several other prominent regional or national retailers. Yet Linda still struggles with getting the level of awareness and acceptance with consumers that she wants. As she told us, she is continually “pounding the pavement” trying to get her products into more and more retailers. She said that it typically takes 4-5 calls to even get to the right person with most retailers. As she told the class, after seven years of risking it all and working very hard, Flipple products are “just now getting traction.”

Through trial and error, Linda Lewis continues to learn, grow, and adapt, and without adaptation, a business can never succeed! Linda has faced failure and did not give up on her product. Through creativity and ingenuity, Linda has created a product that appeals to parents by providing convenience (and lessening desperation). She left her comfort zone, sacrificed it all, and created a product that deserves to be in every brick-and-mortar and virtual baby aisle in America! I am sure she will one day experience the success she deserves.

Sawyer Shaw