Balancing being a single mom and running a business can be a beast sometimes.
Raising a son and owning a business are both so rewarding, but both demand a lot. And, we’re in the thick of the summer grind – running him to/from basketball camps, keeping him occupied, and trying to carve out time to spend quality time together while he’s out of school (he’s growing up so fast and the number of summers we have left together are fleeting).
This is all happening while my company is gearing up to launch a new product this fall and we’re getting ready for the holiday season. When I’m feeling stretched and pulled in all directions, when I feel like I have a thousand things on my to do list and I feel like I’m doing a lot (but not sure I’m doing a lot well), it’s nice to get a little inspiration... a reminder that I’m on the right track and what I’m doing is paying off. That reminder came this morning!
Today, I found out one of our products, Go Hang It!, was named The Best Picture Hanging Tool – 2021 by Don’t Wa$te Your Money. 18 products were considered. 11 products were analyzed. 13 expert reviews were included. 10,472 user opinions were analyzed.
My dad and I started INSP!RED Product Development Group at the end of 2017 and Go Hang It! was the second product we launched. On a random Saturday, I decided to tackle a home project – hanging a collage of framed photos of my son in his room. After countless hours and immense frustration, along with dozens of holes in the wall, I decided there must be a better/easier/more efficient way to hang photos and artwork.
I brought the problem to my father, who is a seasoned inventor, and we got to work and created Go Hang It! Bringing a product to market – from idea to reality, takes time and a lot of work. While we’re always confident in the products we launch, it’s nice to get affirmation that users have confidence in it, too.
So, as I’m being pulled in all directions today – meetings, camp carpool, putting out fires at work… I’ll think about how Go Hang It! was named The Best Picture Hanging Tool – 2021. I’ll think about how grateful I am and how all the hard work and sacrifice is paying off. And then I’ll think about what we need to do to keep the title for 2022 and beyond.
Shari, Co-Founder & CEO of INSP!RED Development Group