Business Opportunities Weblog

January 10, 2008 by Angela Shupe | 6 Comments

In many households around the world that has children in it is bound to have problems getting things done on time. That’s a part of life. Or at least it was. Moschel Kadokura is the inventor of On∙Task On∙Time for Kids, a product that can make being on time fun for your kids. By including your children in the set up, each day can be more like a game for your kids, but you’ll get to benefit from them getting ready in the morning on time, or getting ready for bed on time. Whatever it is that you need help organizing.

What was your inspiration for your business, Timely Matters, Inc.?

My inspiration was desperation. I have four children; my oldest three are triplets, two boys and a girl now age 18 (and in college), and a ten year old son (in fourth grade). Thirteen years ago when my triplets were in kindergarten, I was extremely stressed getting them ready for school on time every morning; I had to nag them from the minute they woke up until they entered their classroom. They were unhappy, and I was not the type of mom I wanted to be. I invented On∙Task On∙Time for Kids as a way to eliminate my nagging.

I invented a unit that illustrated each task, the order in which to complete them and incorporated the passage of time. Because it was illustrated and constant each day, this eliminated their forgetting to do a task (ie. Brush teeth or pack a library book). Because time was included, this eliminated us from being late! From the day we instituted the system, our mornings went smoothly; my children started the day out with smiles, and they felt very self-confident and independent. I became a much more relaxed mom.

How long did it take you before you perfected your product, On∙Task On∙Time for Kids?

The idea stayed in my head for about ten years. I always assumed that no other parent had to nag their children the way I did because of the dynamics of triplets. But, then when my youngest son went to kindergarten, I found that he too could benefit from this time management system. I made a second system for him with pictures and words again tied with the passage of time, and he felt so proud of himself getting ready without my reminding him of anything.

When his teacher saw this system, she showed it to all the kindergarten parents in her class. Her comment was that every parent should use it. From that point, I felt I had a marketable idea. It took three years to research, develop, test, design, and manufacture the current On∙Task system.

What types of steps did you need to take before your business was ready to be launched?

Since there really is no product out there that does what On∙Task does, I felt that I had to fully test the idea. After doing a patent search and filing my provisional patent, I started to perfect a prototype design that I could build relatively inexpensively and test with families. Along with the “boring” stuff: learning about sales taxes, importing, business entity, etc. I worked on development of the product. With the overwhelming, positive feedback we received from our test families, we formally launched the company.

How long has it been since you started your business?

We formed the company two years ago. We just started marketing the product in February of this year.

Have you learned anything new about business now that you wish you’d known before you started?

I feel that I was naïve when I started this endeavor. I fully believe in the product and the feedback from users has been fantastic. However, just because you have a good idea and a great product doesn’t mean that people will flock to you and buy it. The product needs to be marketed, and you need to get out there and let people know it exists.

If you have an invention that you bring to market, really do your homework on the marketing. It is much harder than you think, no matter how great the idea. Start your marketing work when the product is being manufactured and institute your marketing plan immediately.

Do you have any advice for other moms that are looking to start their own business?

My advice is to follow your intuition. If you feel that you have a great idea or something to offer the world, and that feeling does not go away, then “Go for it!” I really feel that women, moms in particular, have a very practical view of their world. Whatever makes life better for them and their children should be actively pursued.

In Interviews, Invention, Women | 6 Comments