Blog Post

Entrepreneurial moms unite in online forum

  • By Tanya Lewis
  • 01 Dec, 2017

Ever wonder where those amazing "Seen on TV" products come from? Lately, it's an idea thought up by mom.

Tanya Lewis is a "Mom Inventor."

"Moms make good inventors because moms are very creative, they're very resourceful and they are problem solvers. When they have children, especially when they're new moms, they realize there are a lot of products out there that just don't work," she explained.

For Tanya, that product was her mop.

"They didn't get down into the grout of my tile floor, they didn't get up against the edges of the wall, where the floor and the wall meet," she said.

So she invented the "Green Glider" mop pad, which is durable, reusable and saves you from having to buy all those disposable pads.

"Microfiber cleans but it doesn't absorb, shammy is so dense that it absorbs, but it doesn't really clean, it just pushes dirt around. So I thought, why don't I put them together."

A year later, she was selling on QVC.

"We went on air and we sold out in 8 minutes!"

It's certainly a successful invention, but the key question is, is it making money?

"It's profitable, but most of the money needs to go back into the business right now," she says.

That can create a tough balancing act for moms.

"Being an inventor and being a mom is kinda like swimming with one hand behind your back," Tanya explained.

"It's never-ending, I'm either taking care of Zachary or working on Green Glider. But that's OK. It will all be worth it, because I am personally sacrificing some things right now, so that we can have the life of our dreams one day later, and a secure future."

That's where groups like Mompact come in.

"I wanted to get on Amazon, and there is a lady named Kelly on Mompact who is an Amazon superstar, so she gave me the name of her contact at Amazon. She gave me all kinds of tips what to do, what not to do. On the flip side, I was able to help another one of our moms navigate through the complex systems of getting set up as a vendor at Walmart. I had already done it, so I knew how frustrating it can be. We all have products ready for retail or are already in retail. So we help each other out and share contacts and resources. It's priceless! Usually within one day of reaching out to our group of inventor moms, I'll have the advice I need or I'll be directly connected to a decision maker, buyer or gatekeeper.Many of our moms have been on Sharktank!It's an exclusive group with members located all over the U.S., but we all know and trust each other through the bond we've created online within our forum. The integrity among us is 100% dependable. Anyone who does not have the level of integrity required, will be removed from the group," says Tanya.

The community of online mom inventors helps mothers make sure they get help from the right people. Many times the people who we connect each other with have very high profiles in the consumer product industry.

Shelley Straitiff is the Founder and CEO of Mompact."I think the biggest pitfalls for the mom inventors is falling for someone who flatters you. So, someone says you've got a great idea, let me help you and then find out that they want to sell you a bunch of services," she said.

Shelley added that there's enough free help out there for moms.

"So what I suggest is instead to find a natural mentor, which is somebody else that's been in the business who isn't charging you and just wants to guide you, and find someone who has a product that's similar to yours."

She argues that there is a common misconception that creating products is a "get rich quick" scheme.

"Unfortunately right now, most inventors aren't as successful as Tanya Lewis has been with Green Glider Mop Pads," she said.

So how do you turn patents into profits? By getting moms to sell to fellow moms. After all, mothers represent a $2.4 trillion market, and if something as simple as a mop makes their lives easier, they'll buy it.

"Moms create solutions, not just products, they create solutions," Shelley said.

That means that while mom is working from home, her products are going global.

'It's very rewarding," Tanya said.

Rewarding. Profitable. Most importantly, made by Mom.

By Tanya Lewis 25 Jul, 2018
It's time for a change of conciousness!
By Tanya Lewis 24 Jul, 2018
Simply put, people who Reuse and Recycle are living Greener than those who don’t. Green Glider mop pads will dramatically reduce the waste incurred from discarding these disposable refills into our already saturated landfills, and lower the overall carbon footprint by requiring fewer trips to the market. Over 100 Million disposable mop pads are buried beneath out planet’s surface each year, i.e. well over 1 Billion disposables tossed in to our landfills since the dawn of disposable refill mop pads about 10 years ago.

The idea is to manage our carbon footprint. Everything we do (or don’t do) has an impact on our planet – our carbon impact. However, there’s a lot more to the footprint than just carbon. What we must do is think of our overall “footprint”, and try to tread as lightly as we can. Here is one way we can eliminate unnecessary waste from our everyday habits. Every little bit helps, and with the use of Green Glider reusable mop pads, we can start to make a significant change if we all work together to End the Disposable Trend!
By Tanya Lewis 23 Jul, 2018
The Green Glider Company will be researching ways to recycle worn out Green Glider mop pads. Instead of consumers discarding them, we are designing a program in which depleted Green Glider mop pads can be sent back to us to be recycled instead of being thrown away.

We are very proud to be in the process of this noble cause and look forward to offering this extended “Green” program to complement our already environmentally beneficial product. So when skeptics blurt out “well, you have to throw it away eventually”, we can say, “actually, no you don’t”!
By Tanya Lewis 01 Jul, 2018
Wet mop pads are filling up the landfills by the billions!
By Tanya Lewis 01 Jun, 2018
See why the Green Glider does so much more than clean the mess! Clean more, save more!
By Tanya Lewis 02 Apr, 2018
Green Glider is the easy way to Go Green!
By Tanya Lewis 01 Jan, 2018
The long and winding road that leads to Entrepreneurship
By Green Glider 24 Feb, 2015
Find the Green Glider in Walmart Stores!
By Tanya Lewis 02 Sep, 2013

For centuries, moms everywhere have been creating solutions to their everyday needs. And increasingly those inventions are ending up on television, in stores, and in homes across the nation. As showcased on Fox News  recently, that's precisely what lead Tanya Lewis to invent Green Glider mop head replacement.

Lewis has always looked for ways to save money, "During my childhood money was always tight. We re-used everything and nothing went to waste. Back then society was not taught to feel euphoric about throwing something away immediately after just one use. Now, as a mother, I’ve retained the values from my childhood years by reusing...and reducing unnecessary waste in our home by being creative and smart."

Determined to find a solution that was reusable, effective and saved money to End the Disposable Trend®, she realized the marketplace had little to offer. Microfiber pads picked up dirt but didn't absorb. Shammy was great at absorbing but just pushed the dirt around. But put them both together and you've got a patented solution's a proven winner.

Tens of millions of consumers already own one of these all-in-one mop systems that sadly lack the most important cleaning feature: an adjustable, reusable mop pad with top quality, durability and most importantly, absorption. Consumers love these new mop systems that have taken the floor cleaning industry by storm, but these devices aren’t what actually cleans your floor. It’s the “mop pad” that does the cleaning. Lewis has invented the eco-friendly mop pad so consumers can upgrade the mop they’ve already got. As sales rapidly climb, Lewis excitedly extols the benefits of being the creative mastermind behind Green Glider, the hottest new household brand to “Sweep the Nation!”

Now, by signing with Wow! Is Me, Lewis is taking her company to retail markets and increased word of mouth as mom's everywhere discover Green Glider. Wow! Is Me founder Adryenn Ashley was a fan of Green Glider before taking them on as a client, "As a mom, I'm hyper vigilant about my environment, using only organic all natural products, and with Green Glider, floors are so easy to keep clean that I don't freak out when my son picks up a piece of food off the floor and pops it in his mouth before I can stop him."

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