Post contains affiliate links.
I don’t know about you but when school starts or when I start a new gig, I like having new office products with me. I’m a nerd that way. I’ll buy a new notebook to take notes and also to record time. (Yes, I record time on paper.)
So get this. I found out about Debbie Lynn products through an email about National Women’s Small Business Month (this month)! Debbie Melnick started her successful stationery lines, following in her dad’s footsteps. In addition to juggling this business and being a mom, she has managed all of this while battling multiple sclerosis and being confined to a wheelchair.
I mean, come on. This is an incredible person. Read on and be amazed!
5 Questions with Debbie Lynn Inc’s Founder: Debbie Melnick
5. What was the trigger that inspired you to create your product? How long did it take you to go from idea to sale?
I love pens, stylish office décor and decorating my work space. My father would bring home erasers, pens and stickers for me as a child and I was in heaven. It is only natural that I produce office and stationery items with style and fun additions.
In my world, an idea moves from concept to production to delivery at rapid speeds. We can design a fun pack of markers, produce them and have them delivered in 45 to 60 days.
4. When you create a product, sometimes customers will use it for different purposes. Have you or your customer(s) discovered another way to utilize your product? Or perhaps another reason besides solving the original problem?
We produce all kinds of super fun colored paperclips, push pins, erasers and binder clips for stores like Walmart, Five Below, and Dollartree. While they have their basic purpose of holding paper together or hanging a photo onto a board, I love that I get to see amazing pictures where customers are using the paperclips and push pins to decorate their office space! Gorgeous neon binder clips are used to hold photos on hung string, and bright neon paperclips brighten up a clear desk cup adding style to a work space!
3. What’s one obstacle that you faced while you were trying to get your product to market?
Getting product to market is difficult, but the tricky part is making sure that the product adheres to all safety specs and guidelines. Understanding safety guidelines is so important and takes enormous research and time.
2. What’s life like as a FT working mom and entrepreneur?
I am a handicapped mother running a company. I must navigate being a FT mama from a wheelchair and I am here to say, it is not easy! Imagine chasing a toddler who knows he’s faster than you.
Because I cannot do things with my child that other mommies can do, I must be super creative about ways we can connect. It is so important to shut everything off and connect with my child so that
he knows he is my priority.
1. Your success is inspiring to women as well as men. Is there one piece of advice or motto you live by that you could share with us?
Only think thoughts that improve your life. When negative thoughts enter your mind, change them. Do not give them power or energy in your life.
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Are you impressed yet?! You can find Debbie Lynn products at your local Walmart under the “Woman-Owned” label and Five Below stores if you’re on the East Coast. You may even encounter her products at your local Kroger or Big Lots; they’d be under their own labels.
In any case, keep in touch with Debbie Lynn’s newest products and news through her social channels:
- Web: http://www.debbielynn.net/index.html
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Debbie-Lynn-Inc-233752209995518/
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debbielynninc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/debbielynninc
Thank you, Debbie Melnick, for carving out time to share your business insights and words of inspiration to us! I’ll be hunting down stationery products at my local Big Lots to round out my office space!
How about you, readers? Have you shopped the Woman-Owned label at Walmart? Have you checked out Debbie Lynn products?
Post contains affiliate links. I was not compensated for this post; it is my honest opinion that she’s just rad.
