Turning the tables: bigwigs are stirring up the kids' furniture market. But when the sawdust settles, entrepreneurs prove they can play, too

Entrepreneur,  Sept, 2002  by Nichole L. Torres

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THE CHILDREN RUN INTO THE ROOM TO play. Inside, the table and chair are hand-painted in a sailor motif, and the bed has scalloped edges with a matching pillow and comforter set. Anyone with kids knows that a child's room can mix whimsy and practicality. And anyone in the children's furniture business knows there's money to be made by outfitting beds and mini-kitchens.

Large companies, like Pottery Barn and The Bombay Company, have entered the children's furniture market--with Pottery Barn Kids and Bombay Kids, respectively. But is there room for entrepreneurial start-ups as well?

The answer is a resounding "yes" if you talk to Cheryl and Dick Shaw, founders of Little Colorado Inc., a Denver children's furniture manufacturer. The Shaws started the business in 1987 to create heirloom-quality wooden furniture at moderate prices.

After getting laid off during the mid-'80s, Cheryl, 44, and Dick, 51, began creating wooden stools, beds and toy organizers in their garage. "Given our size and what we do, we're specialists," says Dick. "We can do things larger companies can't." A significant part of their business is done during Christmas--contributing to about $2 million in annual sales.

With a special focus on shipping and distribution, the Shaws design their fully assembled items to fit standard shipping sizes--giving them a strong catalog and Internet business.

This emphasis on shipping and distribution is one way the Shaws stand out in the marketplace, a key strategy that helps them stay competitive, says Sheila Long O'Mara, editor of Kids Today, a children's furniture trade magazine. "[With the Internet], they're competing with everyone--[not] just people in their own backyard." Long O'Mara has noticed two trends: juvenile looks and more adult looks--pieces that will last through adolescence and even into the teenage years.

Capturing that whimsy is Angela Harrigan-Flores, who, through her Web site, www.jackandjillfurniture.com, sells hand-painted children's furniture part-time. Harrigan-Flores, 36, started her enterprise in 1999 while looking for bedroom furniture for her daughter, Hannah, now 9 years old. In fact, young Hannah is her mother's very own research center: Harrigan-Flores asks for her daughter's opinion on the furniture, designs. "I try to offer products that are specialty-oriented--hand-painted by an artist rather than being mass-produced," she says. With sales increasing 50 to 75 percent from 2000 to 2001, this Tujunga, California, entrepreneur looks forward to opening a brick-and-mortar store to complement her online business.

A Week in the Life

WHAT'S IT REALLY LIKE TO DO BUSINESS ON eBAY? WE WENT TO ONE DIEHARD VENDOR TO FIND OUT.

DELINDA BURGER HAS BEEN SELLING products on eBay since 1999. She's peddled just about everything--from Coach purses and Nike shoes to makeup and bedding--and is raking in about $50,000 to $75,000 in yearly sales. She started out selling things around the house, but now she peruses garage sales and store closeouts. She has even created an auction-management system to list auctions more efficiently. Spending about 20 hours per week on her business, Delinda's Place, Burger, 30, says her biggest reward is being able to stay at home with her children.

Check out an average week in this Oklahoma City entrepreneur's home-based auction business:

Monday: "This is my day for myself," says Burger. She does chores and errands. No auction work is done.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Lists items for sale using her auction-management system, called Auction Magnet. Instead of reposting information for each auction, the program lets her quickly fill in basic information-cutting down the time it takes to list items.

Thursday: Lists items in the morning and visits the post office to mail her sold products in the afternoon.

Friday and Saturday: Searches for new items at garage sales and store closeouts. "I love seeing what I can find," she says. "It's an adventure."

Willing to share the adventure with other aspiring entrepreneurs, Burger also teaches people how to run Internet auctions. Visit her Web site www.auctionmagnet.com for more information. You can also read Starting an eBay Business for Dummies (Wiley) by Marsha Collier. The book details everything from how to find good, vendable items to writing a winning item description.

Movin' on Up

TWO WINNING TEAMS OF MBA STUDENTS GET A RISE OUT OF VYING FOR INVESTORS' ATTENTIONS.

YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF THE "ELEVAtor pitch," but MBA students who competed in the third annual Babcock Elevator Competition at Wake Forest University (WFU) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, lived it. In this new take on the business plan competition, winning meant mastering the art of fast-talking.

The object of the contest was to craft a two-minute pitch and deliver it to a VC during an elevator ride. "This competition was designed to simulate reality," says Stan Mandel, faculty leader of the competition and director of the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at WFU. "You must be able to make concise, effective pitches to influential individuals."