I’m Lisa Lane, a Shark Tank junkie who never dreamed I’d make millions from my idea but I turned a shower cleaning hassle into the successful Rinseroo and become the President of Lane Innovations based in New Jersey.
Key stats:
- Niche: eCommerce
- Product: handheld shower attachments
- Revenue: $400,000 a month
- Founder: 1
- Started: 2019
Contents
- What’s your backstory, and how did you come up with the idea for Rinseroo?
- Can you describe the process of creating the Rinseroo?
- What steps did you take to launch Rinseroo as an online business?
- What strategies have been most effective in attracting and keeping customers since Rinseroo’s launch?
- How is Rinseroo doing today, and what are your plans for the future of the business?
- What tools and resources do you use?
- What advice would you offer to entrepreneurs just starting out?
What’s your backstory, and how did you come up with the idea for Rinseroo?
I never intended to be an inventor, or even an entrepreneur. That was until an “aha” moment hit me in the shower.
I was cleaning my shower the slow way, by filling a cup over and over to rinse it. It was messy and time-consuming, and I thought, “there has got to be a better way”.
I had no clue where to start— knew nothing about how to create a product or how to bring one to market, but I knew that my idea was one for the masses. Potentially anyone with a shower could find a use for this product and that was a huge number.
I decided to work on my idea part-time in the evenings after getting home from my sales job in pharmaceuticals. After two years of research, my gut told me that I would rather try and fail than not bring the product to life.
So I quit my job, invested some of my hard-earned money, and the Rinseroo, a product that makes shower wall cleaning and pet bathing fast and easy, was born.
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Can you describe the process of creating the Rinseroo?
I had no inventing experience but figured it out. I read a book called “The Mom Inventor’s Handbook…How to turn your big idea into the next big thing” by Tara Mosonoff.
That book taught me all I needed to know to get the ball rolling. I found my engineer via the book and that engineer connected me to a reputable manufacturer.
While the product was being made, I got to work on creating a website and learned all that I needed to know from online research.
I knew that my product would be a great one for Amazon and I learned how to create a seller account, how to list the product for success, and got ready to launch.
What steps did you take to launch Rinseroo as an online business?
It took a lot of time and research. I knew that I had a great problem solving product and didn’t want to mess things up so I did all in my power to get it right. I would say it took 2 years from concept to fruition.
First, I tested the product with a rough prototype, asked friends and family what they thought of it. Then, when I knew that I had something worthwhile, I had it manufactured.
When I got it, I send some to Amazon and prayed that it would sell. It was slow at first, the key on Amazon is to rank and prove that you have something that people want and to convert to sales.
Once that was happening, I ranked well and the sales started to roll in.
What strategies have been most effective in attracting and keeping customers since Rinseroo’s launch?
My business is primarily ecommerce so the key was to get it onto the major players, Amazon, Walmart, Chewy, Lowes.com.
I attended trade shows, reached out to buyers on LinkedIn and when the product went live on those websites, I invested in running ads on Amazon.
I also worked hard getting the word out on social media. I quickly found that the business would spill over from social media views into sales on the websites where the Rinseroo was listed.
How is Rinseroo doing today, and what are your plans for the future of the business?
I launched in 2019 and have added several new products in the cleaning, bath and pet space. The Rinseroo has definitely grown from being a product into a brand.
My goal is to continue to add line extensions in the cleaning and bath space with the hope of turning the Rinseroo brand into a household name one day soon.
What tools and resources do you use?
I love TikTok to help us grow the business. It is truly amazing how many eyes you can get onto your videos if you do it right.
We also work with influencers who like our products and we encourage them to make videos of their own and share them on their social channels.
We also like to connect with our customers. We send every customer an email to thank them for their business and check in to make sure that they are happy with our products. A lot of our success comes from word of mouth.
Happy customers tell two friends and so on and that has proven to be a recipe for success.
What advice would you offer to entrepreneurs just starting out?
My best advice would be to know that the key to having a successful ecommerce business is to come up with a better mousetrap.
If something already exists in that space, find a way to make it even better. Know that success is earned and the key to success is to do your homework.
Do all in your power to learn all that there is to know about the business that you are about to start. A great way to learn the ropes is to reach out to someone who already knows the ropes and who has been there and done that.
I have found that most entrepreneurs are willing to help others. We learn so much from each other and in the end, everyone wins.
Website: Rinseroo
Instagram: Officialrinseroo
Amazon: Rinseroo storefront
Peter is a serial entrepreneur and founder of DollarSanity blog who created and ran a variety of businesses. You can learn more about him at the DollarSanity About Me page. He’s been featured in the Washington Post, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money.