When Kate Sauls was in a car accident in 1993, her life changed in more ways than one.
She not only suffered a severe injury but also developed the idea for a business.
I run around telling people that my business was started by accident from an accident, Sauls says.
The front end of the tire folded up underneath.
My foot got caught beneath the tire and the electric brake assembly.
It just popped my foot off.
Fortunately, the doctors were able to reattach her foot, but recovery was a slow process.
She had several injuries, including nerve damage in her neck and shoulder.
Thats when the idea clicked.
Sauls figured out a way to improve the design of a hot-and-cold therapy pad and called it theKozy Collar.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
At the time, Sauls was living in Section 8 housing.
The next thing she knew people started asking, Hey, can I get one?
Eventually it paid off.
She was finally able to get off government assistance and provide for her family.
They sold Kozy Collars to small businesses and big box stores.
However, her business, like many, came to a screeching halt during the Great Recession.
We had a lot of small businesses just go out of business, Sauls recalls.
They never paid us.
Then we had a lot of our big business slow paying us.
So Im pulling a second mortgage.
Im financing payroll out of my pocket trying to keep everything afloat.
She ultimately laid off her employees and went back to producing heating wraps like the old days at home.
But that wasnt the end.
It wouldnt stay in place.
I thought, I just want relief.
Im going to figure it out, she recalls.
I got up and went into my garage.
I needed a heating pad thats going to stretch and that will fit around my knee.
She says she found an old sweater that eventually solved the problem.
Thats when theThermaStretchcame to be.
They came up with $20,000 to get a utility patent and formed the companyLivell Company meaning live well.
Initially, they started selling on third-party websites like Amazon and Etsy.
Although that might sound like a lot, she has yet to take a regular paycheck.
But her financial woes may soon be over.
They came out with cake and balloons, she says, referring to a group of Walmart staff people.
Threw a little party in the aisle.
Some entrepreneurs landed deals on the spot.
Sauls didnt get a yes but she didnt get a no, either.
Were excited and have some homework to do… Thats the journey.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…