Mom creates home based business to fill a need for her son and other kids with special needs.
Back in the fall of 1993, Susan Kleiman was a first-time mom-to-be, awaiting the birth of her twins. Then the unthinkable happened. She lost one of the babies, and the remaining twin suffered a stroke in utero. Ross was born in November 1993, with multiple disabilities and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Kleiman threw herself into the role of fulltime caregiver. She quit her job in sales and marketing to devote her days to Ross and his early intervention therapy. She learned to be a parent advocate to ensure he received the best possible services, and helped other parents of kids with special needs to navigate the system too. She volunteered for organizations including Children’s Neurobiological Solutions Foundation (CNS) and Sick Kids Need Involved People (SKIP) of New York. The work mobilized her to move beyond her initial shock and grief.
“Though the daily therapies have helped him, I’ve had to accept that he will never walk or talk,” says Kleiman. Ross is now a teenager and uses a wheelchair to assist his mobility.
In addition to the lessons Kleiman learned as a mom, she also identified a business opportunity that would not only put her marketing experience to good use but serve a greater need for children including her own son. In 2009, she launched a clothing company called Ross Daniel Adaptive Apparel named after Ross and the twin son she lost. “I want children with special needs to feel comfortable and to be able to dress age-appropriately, in stylish clothing that doesn’t scream ‘disability,” she said.
Aha moment. It all started with her search for comfortable, breathable socks for Ross to wear underneath his ankle-foot orthotics. Products already on the market irritated his sensitive skin and were offered in only two colors, black and white. “I thought kids with special needs deserved socks that not only felt good to wear, but were fun and fashionable, too,” says Kleiman. Since she couldn’t find the right socks for her son, she’d have to design them herself.
Homework time. Kleiman experimented with different fabrics and fits, aiming for a tube sock version that could be cuffed over the leg braces. She made samples in trendy prints - argyles, peace signs, tie-dyes, and the like - and test marketed them at Ross’ residential school, The Center for Discovery in Monticello, NY. “I had his whole dorm wearing my socks,” she says. She got feedback from school therapists and other parents. “They’d say things like, ‘Can you make it a little softer?’ or ‘Can you find something with a rock star motif?’ It was like having my own personal research team.”
Launch pad. Though she legally formed her corporation in 2007, the development process dragged on for about two years while Kleiman faced significant personal obstacles including her father’s illness and Ross’ surgeries. “It was a tough time,” she remembers. “When you have a child with special needs, there’s always something on the back burner going on.” She had to wait for stable periods to initiate work on the socks again. But eventually, she finalized the prototype. To find a manufacturer, she googled the words “sock manufacturers” and started cold calling U.S. companies and explaining her vision. She drew interest from a firm wanting to be connected with a do-good product, and they agreed to take her on. She hired a local web designer to set up her website, and a PR woman to build a buzz. Ross Daniel Adaptive Apparel was officially up and running by November 2009, landing some very good press in a short time period.
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Growth chart. As she builds her business, Kleiman seeks to capitalize on all her good press. She’s found that she can reach the largest audiences by setting up a vendor table at regional abilities expos attended by parents, professionals and organizations like United Cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy Association. And, whether she’s traveling across the country or in her own neighborhood, she does a lot of show and tell. “I always have my products with me, and talk about them wherever I go,” said Kleiman. That’s how she found a manufacturer for her newest line, ProtecTees – waterproof, stain-resistant clothing resembling shirts, which can be worn during mealtime by individuals with special needs and senior citizens. She showed a sample to her rabbi, telling him how she was looking to outsource some of the production. He got on his laptop and connected her with a friend in California who was willing to help. “It’s very important to surround yourself with people who believe in what you’re doing and want to see you succeed,” she says.
Balancing act. Spreading the word through social media is important. Kleiman spends about two hours each morning networking through Twitter, Facebook and her blog. She makes tons of cold calls to organizations and schools that can benefit from her products. As she works the phones from downstairs, her husband - a Wall Street casualty who needed to reinvent himself - helps with the business from an upstairs’ office. Working from home gives them the flexibility to work around their children’s school schedules (though Kleiman often returns to her desk at night). Weekends are set aside for family, unless she has a vendor fair to attend.
Greatest rewards. Inventing has given Kleiman a new sense of purpose. “I can step out of my caregiver role and do something for me, yet know that I am helping others in the process,” she says. The smiles on the faces of children with special needs and their caregivers motivate her to create more adaptive apparel. A new line of clothing is in the works, and therapists have suggested she also add tracheotomy and arm splint covers. “I feel like I have found my niche in fashionable solutions for those with special needs,” she says. “You’ve heard of Calvin Klein? Well, now, there’s Ross Daniel.”
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Read more articles under Mom's Wisdom.
“Though the daily therapies have helped him, I’ve had to accept that he will never walk or talk,” says Kleiman. Ross is now a teenager and uses a wheelchair to assist his mobility.
In addition to the lessons Kleiman learned as a mom, she also identified a business opportunity that would not only put her marketing experience to good use but serve a greater need for children including her own son. In 2009, she launched a clothing company called Ross Daniel Adaptive Apparel named after Ross and the twin son she lost. “I want children with special needs to feel comfortable and to be able to dress age-appropriately, in stylish clothing that doesn’t scream ‘disability,” she said.
Aha moment. It all started with her search for comfortable, breathable socks for Ross to wear underneath his ankle-foot orthotics. Products already on the market irritated his sensitive skin and were offered in only two colors, black and white. “I thought kids with special needs deserved socks that not only felt good to wear, but were fun and fashionable, too,” says Kleiman. Since she couldn’t find the right socks for her son, she’d have to design them herself.
Homework time. Kleiman experimented with different fabrics and fits, aiming for a tube sock version that could be cuffed over the leg braces. She made samples in trendy prints - argyles, peace signs, tie-dyes, and the like - and test marketed them at Ross’ residential school, The Center for Discovery in Monticello, NY. “I had his whole dorm wearing my socks,” she says. She got feedback from school therapists and other parents. “They’d say things like, ‘Can you make it a little softer?’ or ‘Can you find something with a rock star motif?’ It was like having my own personal research team.”
Launch pad. Though she legally formed her corporation in 2007, the development process dragged on for about two years while Kleiman faced significant personal obstacles including her father’s illness and Ross’ surgeries. “It was a tough time,” she remembers. “When you have a child with special needs, there’s always something on the back burner going on.” She had to wait for stable periods to initiate work on the socks again. But eventually, she finalized the prototype. To find a manufacturer, she googled the words “sock manufacturers” and started cold calling U.S. companies and explaining her vision. She drew interest from a firm wanting to be connected with a do-good product, and they agreed to take her on. She hired a local web designer to set up her website, and a PR woman to build a buzz. Ross Daniel Adaptive Apparel was officially up and running by November 2009, landing some very good press in a short time period.
More Mompreneur Strategies and Tips
Growth chart. As she builds her business, Kleiman seeks to capitalize on all her good press. She’s found that she can reach the largest audiences by setting up a vendor table at regional abilities expos attended by parents, professionals and organizations like United Cerebral Palsy and Muscular Dystrophy Association. And, whether she’s traveling across the country or in her own neighborhood, she does a lot of show and tell. “I always have my products with me, and talk about them wherever I go,” said Kleiman. That’s how she found a manufacturer for her newest line, ProtecTees – waterproof, stain-resistant clothing resembling shirts, which can be worn during mealtime by individuals with special needs and senior citizens. She showed a sample to her rabbi, telling him how she was looking to outsource some of the production. He got on his laptop and connected her with a friend in California who was willing to help. “It’s very important to surround yourself with people who believe in what you’re doing and want to see you succeed,” she says.
Balancing act. Spreading the word through social media is important. Kleiman spends about two hours each morning networking through Twitter, Facebook and her blog. She makes tons of cold calls to organizations and schools that can benefit from her products. As she works the phones from downstairs, her husband - a Wall Street casualty who needed to reinvent himself - helps with the business from an upstairs’ office. Working from home gives them the flexibility to work around their children’s school schedules (though Kleiman often returns to her desk at night). Weekends are set aside for family, unless she has a vendor fair to attend.
Greatest rewards. Inventing has given Kleiman a new sense of purpose. “I can step out of my caregiver role and do something for me, yet know that I am helping others in the process,” she says. The smiles on the faces of children with special needs and their caregivers motivate her to create more adaptive apparel. A new line of clothing is in the works, and therapists have suggested she also add tracheotomy and arm splint covers. “I feel like I have found my niche in fashionable solutions for those with special needs,” she says. “You’ve heard of Calvin Klein? Well, now, there’s Ross Daniel.”
Share your ideas in our Mompreneurs Group.
Read more articles under Mom's Wisdom.