Pukey, so many offline thoughts
Thanksgiving came and went with a blink and a metal pan. At some point last Monday the devil jumped into my belly and began doing an evil dance. This led to 12 hours of hardcore stomach flu afflicting both entrance and exit. It was sick like I haven't known sickness since I was a little guy. Needless to say thanksgiving was anticlimactic. The food was awesome but I wasn't! Also my little guy, 2yr old, had the same sickness. It was a long week for my wife, man! Once again, what would the world do without Moms?
Casualties of the week included one part of our sofa sectional, the living room area rug, one white tshirt, a stuffed animal and one blanket. ...Two year olds have bad aim with the puke. It wasn't pretty. It was a learning experience.
The business spin:
A company based on toddlers coming of age. All products start at the two year old and work up to age five. More important a company with a stated mission to sheppard parents, esp new parents, through those first moments of toddlerdom.
It would take a couple of directions, from web/gift store of user generated gift idea (these worked for me...perhaps you too)...think Amazon store, to a specific core brand of helpful products related to the task of dealing with toddlers. On one hand the website would sell anything helpful as long as posted by customers. On the other hand the business would be a very traditional branded products business.
The hook, all product ideas would come from end user stories about toddler situations. Take my week long puke and poop fest for example. A friend of a friend told us how they bought plastic tarp and duct tape and covered every inch of their child's room. When I heard that story, at the beginning of the week, I thought that sounded crazy over the top. I think I actually called them "nutbags." At the end of the week I am out one section of our 2000buck sectional sofa and one awesome area rug, and I am thinking the idea of covering everything in plastic was not only brilliant but also a product. Nutbag or wise soul all depends on experience and perspective.
With the right graphic design and clever instructional manual a package consisting of plastic tarp, several rolls of packing tape, a pair of scissors and some gloves turns into a quite memorably functional gift. Think of this type of gift falling into the "in case of emergency, break glass" category.
Seriously, next time the stomach flu comes to my house my wife and I will treat it differently. Plastic makes a lot of sense now. So does Febreeze and face masks and rubber gloves and pans with handles.
The best part is these products would be "gifts". They would be designed for maximum storytelling...so memorable that you tell someone else about them. No one goes looking for a collection of plastic products used to keep vomit off of expensive upholstery...where would you go? The hardware store? Make no mistake "the PukeyPale" or "PoopeyPale" will stand out at specialty retailers and KidsRUs. While the product might end up high on a shelf in your closet you will remember it the first time your toddler spews cheerios and milk. And at that point you'll break the packaging revealing a bucket full of plastic tarps, packing tape, rubber gloves, scented face masks and instructions on the proper technique for creating tight, form fitting corners around chairs and beds, as well as, helpful hints on removing nasty odors from rugs and expensive upholstery.
I could go on all night but my wife is growing tired of the in-bed typing. Goodnight!
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