Aug
This is an interview with Maree Macey, parent and founder of Poteez. A disposable potty to use on the move. I hope you enjoy the interview and if you are thinkng of starting a business I hope this interview helps inspire you.
Q1. Give a brief description of your business
Poteez is a flat-packed, bio-degradable, disposable cardboard potty that is designed to make potty training on the go carefree and simple. It assembles quickly and simply into a strong, secure and comfortable potty your child can use anytime, anywhere.
Q2. How did you come up with the idea behind Poteez?
As a child I was diagnosed as having a degenerative bone disease known as Spondyloepimetaphaseal Dysplasia – only one of five recorded cases. My parents were told I would never walk but my mum gave me the belief. I spent much of my childhood in and out of hospital.
The condition means that I only grew to four foot tall and as an adult I was told I wouldn’t be able to have children, because of my size, condition and the possibility of passing the condition on. Eventually my husband David and I decided to try anyway and after a very difficult pregnancy Thalia Lea was delivered at 31 weeks on July 18th 2002. She weighed just 2lb 9oz and spent seven weeks in intensive care.
As she got older and we approached potty training I really struggled to clean out the potty, and going out was impossible and that’s where the idea for a disposable one came from.
When we researched it we found the only disposable potties available used plastic bags and we didn’t like that idea – so we set about creating our own cardboard-based version.
Q3. How did you come up with the name?
David has always been quite creative and it took him only a few designs to come up with the first version. When it came to the name we just brainstormed between ourselves, we wanted it to describe its function but convey the benefits – i.e. that it makes life easier. Poteez was our sixth attempt!
Q4. Did you have any start-up costs, if so how did you raise the finance?
Although we registered the name quite quickly we weren’t in a position financially to do much for quite a while. We did actually take part in a couple of TV invention programmes – The Richard Hammond Show and then Sky One’s The Big Idea with Ruth Badger, narrowly missing out on the £100,000 prize.
Around the same time we began speaking to some Business Angels, a firm of accountants called Winburn Glass Norfolk (WGN), who gave us information on how to raise finance. We soon learned that we may be suitable for Regional Investment Fund investment so we contacted South Yorkshire Investment Fund, compiled a strong presentation and were awarded £120,000 of funding to start the business properly.
Q5. Do you employ staff or do you do all the work yourself?
One of the first things we did was secure the services of a business mentor who had a huge amount of marketing experience. With his help we went back to the drawing board, redesigned the product, artwork and packaging.
We also employed a PR company to raise the profile of the product and – most importantly set up links in China to have the product made and imported.
In the early days we were assembling the products ourselves but as sales have grown we have recruited others to help.
Q6. How many hours a week do you spend on your business?
We work really hard – just about every hour possible. David oversees the production and sales side of things and I look after all the administration and financial aspect.
Q7. How do you manage your childcare?
Now that Thalia is at school it is much easier. During the holidays we sometimes take Thalia with us – she was the inspiration for the company (and features on the packaging) so it is great that she is involved. When we have important meetings we ask family to help out but as with all family-based businesses childcare involves a lot of juggling!
Q8. What strengths do you think it takes to run a successful business?
It takes a lot of patience, dedication and passion. We learned very quickly that nobody will love your product or put as much effort into it as you do and we therefore need to remain focussed.
Q9. What have been your most successful marketing strategies?
Our approach has been in two stages really - before we could afford to employ a PR agency, Lucre, we just entered as many competitions and TV shows as possible and sent our story to as many magazines and newspapers as possible. Now that the product is the in the market place we have a stronger story to tell and have been doing our own research into potty training methods that we hope will further raise the profile of Poteez.
Q10. Would you consider yourself a leader? What are your strengths?
Our strengths are our dedication and belief in the product. We truly believe that there is a market for this product and we have been told that our passion rubs off on other people.
When we started this we were both very inexperienced and have learned a huge amount since then. It has been a rollercoaster ride but our determination has won through.
Q11. Have you done any courses or learning programmes to help you run your business?
The whole thing is a learning curve, no specific course will prepare you for the journey you will follow, one thing I will say is If you can’t do something, find someone who does. It’s better to surround yourself with the right people and get somewhere, than pretend you know and get it all wrong, otherwise it just takes longer and costs more.
Q12. And finally, do you have any advice for parents considering starting their own business.
When you consider the odds I have overcome throughout my life and challenges we have faced with setting up Poteez, I think it demonstrates that no matter where you are from or what your background is, if you want it badly enough and try your best, you can achieve success. I’d just say “Good luck!”
