Today we’d like to introduce you to Terrance Watson.
Hi Terrance, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
When faced with a problem, I’ve always tried to come up with a solution or attempted to make something to solve a problem. I grew up in a household that required us to work hard from an early age. Growing up in a single parent household meant learning responsibility early, finding your own solutions and eliminating can’t from my vocabulary. My mother nurtured her kids and worked outside of the home in order to provide for our needs. Integral to that success was her requirement of us to contribute to the household by cutting the lawn, cleaning, washing dishes, cooking, doing laundry, etc. Living in a single income household meant taking care of what you were given, fixing anything that broke and being resourceful. These early years were my training grounds for problem solving, cleanliness, and organization. I graduated high school in 1989 and was off to Basic Training for the U.S. Air Force. My upbringing fostered an easy transition to the military lifestyle and further enhanced my ability to be organized and disciplined. Military service required being organized for success, but at home I saw an area where I could improve upon it. I had cologne in the bathroom, belts in a drawer, watches in the closet, and sunglasses everywhere. To solve my problem of having my accessory items all over the house, I embarked on an online search to purchase an organizer that would meet all of my needs. I was unsuccessful because it did not exist.
In that moment, the idea for Klassic Organizer was born. I am Terrance Watson, inventor of the Klassic Organizer and this is where my story began. I imagined having a place to store all of my items in one central location. Did I dare have the audacity to be an entrepreneur and try to invent a new and innovative product? Yes! Solving problems, repairing broken items and attaining solutions is in my DNA. Did I mention “can’t” was never a part of my vocabulary? I’m always willing to take on a challenge, so immediately the bar was set. I sketched a crude drawing of my idea into a notebook and in 2016, my journey to make Klassic Organizer a reality began. I located a manufacturer, trademarked the name and applied for the patent for my design and it issued from the USPTO in 2019. By this time, I was working with my second manufacturer whose task was to take my design and make it a tangible piece of work. This journey was filled with peaks and valleys, left turns when I should have gone right, and speeding when I should have slowed down. I say journey because it took several years to come to fruition. Through it all, my family was right by my side cheering me along and supporting me even at times when I felt defeated. In the end, Klassic Organizer made its debut to the world in 2021. An idea was turned into a design. A design was manufactured into a product. A solution to a problem was given because I don’t know what “can’t” is. Let me help you “Organize In Style” Klassic Organizer is currently being sold on Amazon, Etsy and through direct order self-fulfillment.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
People often see the finished product of items on the shelves but have no idea of the effort it took to get it there. My commitment to invent and produce a new product was the most monumental endeavor I had taken on as an individual. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing or where to begin. I knew I would have to research and learn every step of the way. I had no frame of reference of what the costs should be for technical drawings, prototypes or anything else required along the way. Having served 22 years in the military, surviving multiple deployments to the War Zone and rising to the top 2% enlisted rank in the Air Force, I knew I would figure it out and get it done. My process started in 2016. Like many first-time inventors, I reached out to an online “Invention Help” company which in the end proved to be of little help at all. They were paid but produced no results. Faced with the reality this company was not aligning me with any manufacturers as advertised, I began my own search to locate a company that could perform the work that I needed. The one positive I gained from that experience was being connected with my Patent Attorney who would prove to be a valuable member of my team for everything that would transpire moving forward. In the interim, I found a manufacturing company in the Atlanta area who appeared to be a good fit. They showcased a myriad of items they produced and felt no consternation in their ability to produce mine. After almost two years of broken promises, missed deadlines and pointless meetings, I parted ways with them.
By now, it is late 2018. This circumstance led me back to my Patent Attorney who had a network of resources to rely on. I connected with his resources in earnest and essentially restarted the process. New technical drawings were drafted to convey the concept. A new manufacture was sourced. They directed me toward a different outlook and refined my idea into a luxury version of the original concept. The drawings were changed and they went about the work to produce the first prototype. Within months, I had the prototype in hand. I did not fall in love with the prototype due to the size and immediately scaled it to a 3 tier design with a smaller footprint. I communicated the changes that I wanted and they went back to the design phase to facilitate the new changes. From this point, it took six months to change the drawings and produce the new scaled down prototype. I was pleased with the results and after a few minor adjustments, I signed off on the design. During this time, I researched shipping to become versed in the terms and secured quotes based on the size of my order. After crunching the numbers and accounting for the shipping costs that I would incur, I decided to place my initial order in late 2019. The manufacturer began work to fulfill my order but as 2020 began everything came to a grinding halt. Due to Covid, the manufacturer shut down and did not know when they would resume operations.
By now, I am locked in with them and could not change course. It became a waiting game. All of 2020 was lost and some of 2021 as well. Eventually, restrictions loosened and work restarted in a limited capacity. The world has now changed due to the pandemic. Production slowed and costs rose. Every facet of society was affected. The shipping quotes I secured were now null and void and those costs sky-rocket. Nevertheless, I was under contract for my order and it would have to be shipped. Within three months, my order was filled and after being shipped, I took receipt of it in August 2021. While waiting for the shipment, other aspects were being worked on such as establishing a Sellers Account on Amazon, creating a website, and setting up Instagram & Facebook pages for the business. As simple as that all sounds, it took considerable effort to navigate Amazon. The website creator produced a dated website design and it took constant rework before I accepted a version I could live with. I navigated the process to ship inventory to the Amazon warehouse and initiated sales by October. Ongoing increases with inflation make operating a business more expensive and consumers less likely to purchase luxury items as they struggle to finance their basic needs in life. We welcomed higher than expected sales leading up to the Christmas Holiday.
Forging forward, we are currently contending with the normal first-quarter sales slump and the added limiting factor of being new to the industry. As a small startup, we watch all expenditures closely and seeing damaged inventory because of shipping is not a welcomed sight. We continue to create online content on social media platforms to gain exposure to reach our target audience. One challenge that remains is limited opportunities to show the product at Road Shows and Expos in order for consumers to appreciate the level of quality in person. We circumnavigate this with a heavy dose of social media content. I view the obstacles and challenges as opportunities to succeed. Klassic is in its growing season and we didn’t come this far to only come this far. Klassic Organizer is here to stay!
As you know, we’re big fans of Klassic Organizer, LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As a small business startup at this point, I am virtually responsible for all aspects of the business needs. I conceptualized the vision for Klassic Organizer. Early on, I established the design concept, secured the financing to support the development and negotiated all terms with required agencies. Although I came up with the concept for Klassic, it quickly became a joint effort. I utilized my immediate family for feedback before settling on any decision. I used their group consensus to choose debut colors and to make fabric choices for the interior and exterior. Today, I market the product, oversee inventory, conduct sales, ship inventory and provide customer service as needed. Whatever need arises, I am there to fulfill the requirement. Now that Klassic is in the phase of establishing a presence within the industry, our main focus is gaining exposure so consumers know what Klassic Organizer is when the name is heard. My wife develops all of our social media content for all platforms. She has a brilliant mind to create content to attract new followers and potential customers. I attend events to show and detail the functionality of Klassic Organizer and why everyone needs one in their life. Collectively, we meet to brainstorm ideas to grow the business, discuss new social media content options and communicate progress we have achieved on our respective tasks. In looking to the future, I continue to gather feedback on our current product and sketch designs for new versions to come. The goal is to be better tomorrow than what we are today.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Some of the lessons learned are to fully validate a company’s ability and track record and not trust that everything that glitters is gold. I would also slow the selection process and vet businesses more stringently to prevent rework after discovering requirements were not met. I’d also start on a smaller scale in order to better establish the business in the industry and then scale up. One other aspect I would do differently would be to work harder to locate a U.S. manufacturer to circumvent all the hurdles involved with conducting business internationally.
Contact Info:
- Email: Klassicorganizer@gmail.com
- Website: klassic-organizer.com
- Instagram: klassicorganizer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/klassicorganizer
