Turning “What If?” into a Multimillion Dollar Business

Persistence, time and energy. That’s the difference between “what if” and product success, and Lori Greiner has all three. After years of having ideas for products and even books and sitting on the sidelines, she grew tired of thinking about what might happen. So when she had a promising idea for an earring organizer, she immediately got to work.

Now 13 years and 250 products later, Greiner is at the helm of For Your Ease Only Inc., which has earned more than $350 million in sales since its inception—a number that was easier to reach in part because of her regular appearances on QVC. Now a 13-year veteran on the network, she has her own monthly show, Clever and Unique Creations by Lori Greiner.

At the time she had her first product idea, she was reading scripts, writing plays and selling costume jewelry on the side—a far cry from the international entrepreneur/inventor she would become. That side business is what inspired her to create something that would neatly display her jewelry.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t women just love to have something like this at home where instead of all their jewelry crumpled on top of each other… they would hang and you could see them like a fine jewelry display?’ ” Greiner says.

For someone with little business experience and no manufacturing experience, bringing a new product to the masses was an ambitious proposition. Greiner says her enthusiasm for her product pushed her forward quickly giving her the confidence to get a $300,000 bank loan and hit the ground running.

“I felt certain that an earring organizer, like my concept, was something everyone would love because everyone needed it,” Greiner says. “It was completely different than anything that had ever been offered, and it was a much better solution.”

“Once they picked up the phone, I knew I had two seconds to catch their attention.”

But she didn’t rely solely on her gut for research. First, she shelled out about $10,000 to make the first prototype of the Lucite-type plastic organizer. Then she hit the streets, stopping women in all different Chicago neighborhoods to get their feedback on her product. Once she was convinced that a broad consumer base wanted her product, she was ready to face what she says is one of the biggest obstacles when introducing a new product: getting retailers to pay attention.

“I would call just a thousand times,” she says. “I would call again and again until I just got lucky and they happened to pick up the phone. And once they picked up the phone, I knew I had two seconds to catch their attention.”

She definitely caught buyers’ attention. A whirlwind six months after she had the idea for her clear plastic mold, which holds 100 pairs of earrings, she was on the Home Shopping Network and later in J.C. Penney stores in the Chicago area demonstrating her product.

During her first television appearance on HSN, her product (all 2,000 units) sold out within minutes. “I remember I went out on the air and I slid the earring stand to the right and the left a few times. I don’t even think I said much and then I heard the hosts say, ‘Oh we sold out,’ ” Greiner says.

It was that moment that she knew her product would be successful. After selling well in Chicago area J.C. Penney stores, the chain picked up her organizer nationally, and she also quickly moved to QVC to form a lasting partnership. The momentum fueled her desire to go back to the drawing board and create more products. At first, they were additions and accessories to the original product, but then Greiner expanded to brand new products.

“I think the next product after that was the cosmetic organizer. And then I just kept going. With the success of each thing, I kept thinking of more and more,” she says.

Within the first year, Greiner’s fledgling company did more than $1 million in sales and was also selling products internationally. And in 13 years, she hasn’t slowed down. As of this writing, Greiner has 97 patents for her creations. She says she likely will reach 100 patents by the end of the year. It’s that unstoppable fl ow of energy and ideas that is at the heart of Greiner’s accomplishments. That, and her keen ability to know what her consumers want—a task made easier by being one of them.

“My approach always was [asking], ‘What problems do I have? What problems do women have in general?’ and try to think of something that has a broad audience that will solve a problem for most people, not just a small select amount,” she says.

Her company, appropriately named For Your Ease Only, has solved a lot of everyday problems. Whether you need a dressing mirror that doubles as a jewelry armoire (Greiner’s favorite), a place to store all your cosmetics or lighted reading glasses (yep, forget the book light), she has innovative products that can help.

Though Greiner has always loved the creative process, she is the first to admit there is a lot to learn when it comes to inventing. In addition to learning about the steel molds and plastics used to make her early products, Greiner had to educate herself on patents, which she says can take anywhere from two to five years to earn. She turned to a patent attorney for help, but always took it upon herself to read as much as she could and ask as many questions as possible to understand the application process and to know in the future which products of hers might qualify.

Greiner dropped everything to bring that first product to life and get it in the hands of consumers. Looking back, she says she wouldn’t change anything—not the long grueling hours in the beginning or the worry that her next creation would fl op.

“When it’s yours, you don’t mind doing whatever it takes. As it keeps growing and growing, it’s a lot more work, but you also become better at everything.”

In fact, Greiner’s growth, both in her business and as an entrepreneur, is inspiring her to take on an entirely new endeavor. “I think I would also like to inspire people to make their ideas and dreams into realities,” she says. Whether she would do that as a public speaker, consultant or role model, she can’t say yet. But continued expansion and new products are definitely on the horizon.

“I love making products,” she says. “So I’m going to continue making great products and making people happier and their lives easier. That is very gratifying to me.”

Additional Reading

• Who Says You Can’t?
• Reinventing Your Career: Success Tips from Debra Cohen
• Building a Strong Future