Business Opportunities Weblog

August 29, 2007 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

If you’ve visited a public restroom in a Whole Foods location or at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport lately, you may have noticed a new convenience — the Step ‘n Wash. Joi Sumpton, a mother of two, was sick of hoisting her kids up to wash their hands and realized there was something missing in public restrooms. The changing tables were there, but what about help for the bigger kids? It was October of 2004 when she came up with the idea for a retractable step to enable children to safely reach the sink and soap dispenser. She and her husband Paul took the idea to an Atlanta engineering firm and the product was available by November of 2005.

Q: What made you think your idea would be a success?

A: When I’d take the kids to Barnes & Noble and the mall, I’d watch other mothers, and even grandmothers, lifting kids up and couldn’t believe there was nothing to make the process easier. I thought, if it’s driving me crazy, it must be driving others crazy. I looked it up on the Internet and thought it was amazing that there was nothing out there. I just knew that diaper changing tables were successful and expected in each public restroom and a Step ‘n Wash should be the same.

Q: What is the best part of being an entrepreneur?

A: Working my own hours and watching people use my product. I was at the Atlanta Zoo and I just stood back to watch the children use it. Now kids stand in line because they really want to wash their hands and it makes me feel good.

Q: What response have you received from parents?

A: I get lots of nice e-mails and one day I received one from the mother of a 12-year-old child with dwarfism. She said the Step ‘n Wash allowed her daughter to wash her hands on her own for the first time in a public restroom. That’s probably the best I’ve felt.

In Interviews, Inventions, News | 0 Comments
Tags: Children