ZINGER!! Weed Zinger that is. Andrea Watros brought the dream of the Weed Zinger to ECDI. The Weed Zinger is a next-generation weeding tool that requires no bending or struggling and is fun for the whole family (seriously!).
“ECDI was the first group who said they believed in my business and actually backed this up with helping me by funding inventory purchases,” Watros commented. “The folks at ECDI are genuinely concerned about ways to help business owners succeed. They worked hard to understand my business so they could find the best way to help it grow.”
Watros is an example of a local entrepreneur whose resourceful nature and tenacious work ethic led directly to taking advantage of opportunities as they came. Watros was introduced to ECDI through last year’s Columbus SharkMeet, presented by Kickstart Columbus and IT Martini. ECDI was a partner in this event and connected with Watros and the Weed Zinger. This eventually led to ECDI providing initial capital through a small business loan.
Weed Zinger was getting some great local spotlights, but needed a national stage to really expand. Watros explained, “It was recommended that I attend that National Hardware show last year to introduce our product to the market. The results from the show were overwhelmingly positive.”
Weed Zinger was a hit with many national reps.
“We were able to sell several thousand products,” Watros says. “I was amazed that with all the technology, the hardware industry is still run on a handshake and a business card.”
One of those handshakes came from a firm that works directly with QVC.
“With their help,” Watros says, “We were able to get a purchase order for QVC for over 4,500 products.” Weed Zinger was a hit and sold out in eight minutes!
Watros and the folks at Weed Zinger understand that this is just the beginning. Every entrepreneurial story has ups and downs. It is important to recognize opportunities and take advantage of your resources. Watros adds, “The outstanding QVC debut demonstrated that our product is well received in the consumer marketplace which gives us good initial sales results and positive momentum going into the National Hardware show this year.”
The leadership at Weed Zinger knows that success breeds success. By using QVC as a launchpad to conversations with potential retailers, Watros hopes to capitalize on new opportunities and continue to grow her business.
Luckily, we don’t have to wait for QVC or a hardware show, visit zingrtools.com to get a jumpstart on weed season!
