August 14

[The Story Teller]

August 14
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Discovery Toys
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“Things don’t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up.”
—James Garfield
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The home sales plan has been used with great success by Tupperware, Amway, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and a host of other businesses. Sometimes it may seem that there are no new ideas that could benefit from the marketing concept. However, Lane Nemeth found just the product. After working as a director of a day care center for three years, she became a housewife when her husband was transferred to another city. A friend asked her to go shopping with the idea of buying an educational toy for a one-year-old child. After checking store after store, they could not find even one toy that fit the bill. That night, Lane sat down on her living room floor and began developing a plan.



What she devised was Discovery Toys, educational toys that are sold through the home party concept. The toys are unique and appeal to the baby-boom generation of parents who want something more for their children than just the latest monster hero. Using well-known sales and marketing techniques like those employed by Mary Kay and Amway, Lane Nemeth was able to sell $280,000 worth of toys through her garage business in 1977. By 1985, her sales had grown to $40 million. Starting out had not been easy, but the combination of a good idea and a growing market of children from the baby-boom generation made the time right for Discovery Toys to succeed.



Consider This: Old methods of marketing are waiting for a new product line. Who will be the next person to recognize the need and fill it?



Submitted by Richard