My Buddy and Me
Got an idea for a cool promotional product? Read how this entrepreneur turned her simple idea into a successful business.
By Don Debelak
Inspiration can strike at the oddest times. For 35-year-old
Cindy Jones of Oklahoma City, it happened on Halloween back in
1996, when her husband came home with a Mr. Potato Head on his car
antenna. Jones thought it was cute, so she took the idea one step
further: She cut up a plastic pumpkin, put it over her antenna,
played with the wiring, and voila, she had a lighted pumpkin
on her car. "People were coming up to me, wanting to know
where I bought it," Jones recalls. Since then, Jones has had her product, dubbed Antenna
Buddies—currently available as an eight ball, a pair of dice,
a banana man and a happy face—featured for two years on
MTV's Road Rules, has signed a licensing agreement with
a major neon light manufacturer, and has received orders from the
J.C. Whitney catalog and auto electronic stores. What's
propelled her success? For starters, Jones worked through a
manufacturer to introduce her product since she lacked the funds to
introduce it herself. More important, though, she's got the
perfect promotional product—one that's proved capable of
landing accounts with major companies.
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What guidelines do you follow when buying gifts for your clients? Have you ever received an unusual or inappropriate gift?
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