How to Launch Your Product Without Sinking Your Savings Sonia and Bill Massey's company TimeAway LLC aims help small businesses with big ideas get started.

By Dan Bova

TimeAway LLC

In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are out there doing business battle on a daily basis. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Who are you and what's your business?

We are Bill and Sonia Massey, President and CMO of TimeAway LLC, a consulting company specializing in product development. Our mission is to assist our customers with bringing their ideas or concepts to reality without overhauling their purse. We produce practical products at a reasonable price like our award-winning flagship product The Restroom Kit®.

What inspired you to create this business?

Before 2008 like many entrepreneurs Sonia and I participated in the booming real estate market until it folded. After the collapse, we researched many opportunities before deciding to start another business of our own. Essentially, we wanted to be involved in a recession-proof business. We knew many creative people needed assistance in developing their idea the same as we did. Having gone through the struggle developing The Restroom Kit, TimeAway was a natural progression for us.

Related: This Solar-Powered Electric Bike Aims to Improve Your Commute and Fitness

What was your aha moment?

We've had many aha moments bringing TimeAway and The Restroom Kit together. Initially, The Restroom Kit was a product developed for family outings and vacations with the kids. While on a bus trip my younger sister sold one of my prototype toilet seat covers to a fellow passenger, which was totally unexpected. With that, we researched the travel and health industries, spoke with a couple of mentors then decided to move forward with developing our flagship product The Restroom Kit.

What advice would you give entrepreneurs looking for funding?

The advice we would give to entrepreneurs would be to look to family and friends first. Our initial attempt at seeking funds was via crowdfunding. We didn't have much success because of a minimal following. We did find success in pitching our friends and family. Anyone who's investing in you wants to know that you're all in before they invest. They are investing in you initially; your product hasn't done anything special yet.

You were on a recent episode of Elevator Pitch. Any pitching advice?

When preparing to pitch your product confidence is one of the most important assets you have. No one knows your product or service as well as you do. Some key points to remember, let your audience know who you are (introduce the company), what does the product or service do, why should they invest, what industry will you affect and what are some statistical facts about the industry?

Related: These Music Innovators Are Shredding The Industry's Obsession With The Past

How did it feel the first day you opened for business?

Our first day of business was nerve-racking and exciting at the same time. Although we're an 85% online business, waiting to receive that initial order was intense, but during our prelaunch, we had one customer purchase over 2000 units of The Restroom Kit. That let us know we had something special. The consulting wing of the business took a little longer to pick up, but it did.

What was your toughest challenge and how did you overcome it?

The toughest challenge was finding a reasonable manufacturer. We negotiated with companies that made promises they couldn't deliver. We'd agree on deliverables templates, prototypes or samples which they overcharge and under-delivered. We overcame those challenges by doing our due diligence deeper research; asking the right questions; hiring companies that we could visit frequently.

Related: This 19-Year-Old Entrepreneur Is Exposing the Secrets of the Billion Dollar Underground Sneaker Market

Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation? What is it and explain how it inspires you

Sonia: "Keep going through your nos because they will get you to your yesses quicker." This inspires me because every customer I received a NO from is going to bring me closer to the Yes customers.

Bill: "Rome wasn't built in a day. It was built every day."

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Innovation

4 Ways Market Leaders Use Innovation to Foster Business Growth

Forward-thinkers constantly strive to diversify and streamline their products and services, turning novelties into commodities desired by many.

Franchise

The 10 Best Franchises to Open in 2018

Here's everything you need to know about the startup costs, training and investment opportunities from the top 10 companies in our Franchise 500.

Business News

'Nothing More Powerful': How to Transform Companies From Within as an 'Intrapreneur,' According to a Microsoft Office and Yahoo! Shopping Cofounder

Elizabeth Funk wrote the first code for Yahoo! Shopping on her own, based on skills she acquired from an "HTML for Dummies" book.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Growing a Business

How Meta Generated $32 Billion in Ad Revenue Last Quarter — and How You Can Create Million-Dollar Weekends Using the Same Strategies

Meta's staggering $32 billion quarterly ad revenue isn't just about size; it's about strategy, systems and execution as well.