Nannypreneurs ~ Casey Marricle

Casey Marricle

My Handy Hold is hosting a giveaway to a lucky Regarding Nannies’ reader so make sure to check out the details below.

How long have you been a nanny, or how long were you a nanny? I have been a nanny for 10 years
What is a highlight of your nanny career? I just love being with the children and helping them grow to their full potential. The highlights are probably the amazing hugs I get from the kids that I build amazing relationships with, and when the parents tell me that it is so nice to be able to leave and not have to worry about their children because they fully trust me and my ability to care for their children.
How did you come up with the idea for your product/ service? While nannying I had a little guy that would get easily distracted while we were walking around. I would ask him to hold the side of the stroller but he would still get turned around and I would run over him! I decided he needed something to hold onto that would give him some flexibility but keep reminding him to pay attention and keep up. It evolved with other children into teaching them the responsibility of staying near by and encouraging independence.
What is your level of monetary investment and have you seen a profit? Through the process of trade marking the name, applying for business and sales tax licenses, manufacturing the products and paying attorneys an insane amount of money to attempt to get a patent, my investment is currently over $10,000. Had I not applied for a patent I would currently be seeing a profit, unfortunately it will take some time to recoup the money spent on that and the profits will take a while longer to come!
What is the purpose of your product/service? My Handy Hold is an easy to use child handle that teaches children the responsibility of staying close while giving them the sense of independence all while leaving the adults hands free! It does NOT attach to the child. The child simply holds onto the loop while the other end is attached to something in the adults control. Children feel like they are in control while holding their own handle and no longer have the urge to break free and run like when they are holding hands or in a harness.
How has the nanny industry received your product/service – i.e. what has been the feedback you’ve received? Most of the nannies that I have met really enjoy the product and think it is a good idea. I have not met many nannies that like the child leashes, instead they like that My Handy Hold teaches the children that it is their job to stay close by.
What words of wisdom do you have for others, who may have a product/service and wish to expand its market? I would suggest doing a lot of research and even paying a good company to do a search for you to see what else is out there that is similar. I would also try to do a small trial run to see what kind of feedback you get before investing too much into the product.
What do you wish you had known early on, that you’ve learned going through this process? I wish I would have known more about the patent process and how hard it is to actually get a patent approved. I also wish I would have known that you should hire an outside source and not just use your patent attorney to do a product search before applying for a patent.

Any other information you would like to share with us? My Handy Hold’s are available for sale on http://www.myhandyhold.com/ Nannies can enter coupon code nanny to receive 33% off of their order! I also have a FaceBook page at www.facebook/myhandyhold

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