Written By: \u00a0ZO\u00cb HENRY<\/p>\n
The iconic inventor of the Miracle Mop, and real-life inspiration behind the movie ‘Joy,’ opens up about the secrets and challenges of building a $3 billion empire based on household products.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There’s been a lot of buzz around\u00a0Joy Mangano lately, the famed\u00a0creator of the\u00a0Miracle Mop,\u00a0a widely recognized household product.<\/p>\n That’s probably because she’s been the inspiration behind\u00a0Joy<\/em>, the new film directed by David O’Russell<\/a> (American Hustle<\/em>, Silver Linings Playbook<\/em>)–starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.\u00a0While Mangano’s trials have earned her recent fame in Hollywood, she’s had to weather more than two decades of business ownership to get there.<\/p>\n Against the odds, she found success with the invention of a self-wringing mop,\u00a0which she\u00a0marketed through the television sales giant QVC. Now, more than twenty-five years later, her company,\u00a0Ingenious Designs, has topped\u00a0$150 million in annual revenue. (To date, she’s generated\u00a0about $3 billion in her career.)<\/p>\n It all started back in 1991. “At that time, it appeared to be insanity,” Mangano recalls, “to\u00a0stand there and say, ‘I have an invention.\u00a0I’m a\u00a0single, young mom–and I’m going to go after this.'”<\/p>\n Fast-forward to 2015 — when, on January 9th, Mangano\u00a0will be\u00a0re-launching her signature products. This time, she’s partnering with such\u00a0major retailers as Macy’s, Target, Bet Bath & Beyond and the Container Store.<\/p>\n Joy<\/em>\u00a0is a partly\u00a0fictional film, but it borrows heavily from Mangano’s\u00a0emotional experiences and\u00a0business journey.\u00a0Some\u00a0of her\u00a0hardships depicted in the film\u00a0are based in truth. In one scene, the entrepreneur discovers that her mold makers have stolen her patent.<\/p>\n “When people in the businesses around [you] smell success, they can capture it and take it away if you’re naive enough, if you’re not strong enough,” says\u00a0Mangano, referring to her early suppliers.<\/p>\n “Many\u00a0people don’t have that fight in them. This is the moment when\u00a0you really have to say: ‘I\u00a0going to really, really take a position here. It’s almost an out-of-body experience,” she said. “I have to become somebody else in mentality.”<\/p>\n The infomercial titan\u00a0and business icon offers some key takeaways about starting and running a business based on your own inventions:<\/p>\n The re-launch of the Mangano’s\u00a0product line signifies a somewhat unsettling shift for the entrepreneur.<\/p>\n “For 25 years, I’ve been standing in front of America. I was\u00a0able to narrate and be the storyteller of my product,” says Mangano. “Now, it’ll be on the shelves–where\u00a0I’m not there to grab it\u00a0and tell consumers myself about the features and benefits.”<\/p>\n Those who’ve seen\u00a0Joy<\/em>\u00a0may recall a pivotal scene where the inventor, played by Jennifer Lawrence, levels with the head of QVC, played by Bradley Cooper. “Who showed you the mop?\u00a0\u00a0Who sold it to you, who taught you how to use it?” she asks. Her\u00a0insistence is what\u00a0convinces him to take a chance on the mop in the movie.<\/p>\n Now, in lieu of her\u00a0voice, Mangano\u00a0will be\u00a0relying on packaging to tell the same story. She hopes that a warm, purple theme–complete with chalk drawings on the wrapping–will convey the depth and\u00a0true identity behind her products.<\/p>\n She adds that\u00a0as customers are increasingly flocking to the Internet (and away from television),\u00a0embracing traditional retail, rather than selling exclusively through HSN, was an important business move.<\/p>\n Mangano is quick to praise the changing landscape of entrepreneurship in America–especially as the Internet continues to create more channels of commerce. But with great promise\u00a0comes greater competition.<\/p>\n “The path has changed dramatically,”\u00a0she said. “You can find a product, and be aware of all the other products\u00a0out there in just seconds. That’s a\u00a0very attractive method for companies and consumers. At the same time, it also creates a lot of competition.”<\/p>\n Mangano has been\u00a0able to stay afloat primarily because she identifies her target customer (folks looking for simple\u00a0solutions to domestic problems),\u00a0and markets her brand accordingly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Written By: \u00a0ZO\u00cb HENRY The iconic inventor of the Miracle Mop, and real-life inspiration behind the movie ‘Joy,’ opens up about the secrets and challenges of building a $3 billion empire based on household products. There’s been a lot of buzz around\u00a0Joy Mangano lately, the famed\u00a0creator of the\u00a0Miracle Mop,\u00a0a widely recognized household product. That’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-from-the-best"],"yoast_head":"\n1. Selling on TV is a more personable approach, but retail gives you a different kind of reach.<\/h2>\n
2. To successfully market your brand, identify and understand your core consumers.<\/h2>\n
>>>CONTINUE READING<<<<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"