Today we’d like to introduce you to Deidre Goodwin.
Hi Deidre, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Back in 2013, I was directing traffic at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Piedmont Ave because the traffic signal was not working. Little did i know , that day would change the rest of my life, after being struck by a car. I was not hurt at all. The mirror of the car struck my duty weapon in the holster on my hip. From that moment, I said “there has to be a better way of communicating the driver’s.
I pictured in my head what later became what I named HALTZGLOVES. For 2 years I worked on the prototype. i had no manufacturing experience and at that time, there were fewer resources to find specific help. after completing the porotype, I search for 1.5 years for a manufacturer. It is still true for today, large manufacturers are not interested in making small quantities. They want you to start out at 100,000 units and sometimes million units.
The largest challenge was coming up with the money for research and development. I could not get funded , so I sold my house and cashed out my 401K.
The miracle of it all was when I found a manufacturer right here in Georgia. I am so grateful for them and the CEO who took a chance on a startup and used their billion dollar company’s resources to help do the final developing of HALTZGLOVES.
HALTZGLOVES is a high-visibility reflective glove, differentiated from other gloves on the market due to its printed direction markings: an “X” is printed on the palm and directional arrows on the back of the hands. The markings provide officers directing traffic the tools they need to safely communicate directions from distances up to a quarter of a mile.
What started as the first blessing soon began a landslide of help that would come my way. Before even receiving my first manufactured glove , we started to receive pre-orders. The next blessing occurred when we were invited to attend the 2016 Chiefs of Police Conference in Savannah Georgia on June 23, 2016. Now there was a race to complete the 1st shipment and get the gloves in time for the conference, As luck would have it, they were flown into Atlanta and we picked up the gloves on June 22, 2016.
The next miracle occurred at the conference. Having never seen the product before we sold 3000 units in 2 days, Then and only then, did I know I had something special.
Having not received outside funding, we did not start with a large staff to help us scale like you see on SHARK TANK, So we had to scale with just our money left. Selling inventory and buying new inventory. Now I know that is the slowest most difficult way to grow a business also know as “BOOT STRAPPING”.
I knew that HALTZGLOVES would be sold to Law Enforcement and as we slowly grew, we expanded to Department of Transportation, Airports, school crossing guards, and construction companies,
In 2018, I decided it was time for a give back program. My mom’s best friend had passed away from breast cancer. I picked up the phone and called the largest Breast Cancer Organization in the world, Susan G. Komen
Amazingly the Director took my call and i told her what I wanted to do and she agreed that we could make a “pink” version of HALTZGLOVES. We signed the contract in December 2018, to start the Pink Glove Campaign for 2019.
To this day, we still have a pink glove. At this point, we went worldwide with our sales.
In December of 2019, I was sitting in my office when we received a call from ATSSA. We were informed that HALTZGLOVES was nominated for “Innovative Product of the Year” for the world. Yes, i started crying and got ready to attend the International event 60 days later. This is like a GRAMMY in the safety world. We were up against 3M and a 9 more billion dollar companies.
Little HALTZGLOVES didn’t win. but just to be on the stage and being recognized for our product in the Safety was amazing. This launched HALTZGLOVES solidly as a leader in the reflective glove business, At this event were were voted the #1 Reflective traffic Glove Company in the World. we were approached by member of the military and started the process of being certified to do business with the Department of Defense.
In April of 2020, we teamed up with a company we met at ATSSA to Host first Expo. HOG Industries brought specialized trucks and equipment to our corporate office. Attendees were HARTSFIELD JACKSON Airport, City of Atlanta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett, and a total of 500 other attendees form construction companies and other local governments.
Unfortunately like many companies, COVID changed everything, Thankfully HALTZGLOVES was counted as PPE and sales continued to grow.
In 2022 came the biggest event in HALTZGLOVES history. In October 2022, my of placing Haltzgloves in big-box retailer stores came into reach. A Home Depot representative called and said the company wanted to add Haltzgloves to its shelves, resulting in an estimated 50 percent increase in revenue.
While Home Depot gets ready to roll out the product, Goodwin is diversifying manufacturing, both domestically and internationally, to accommodate demand. As she grows, she still plans to lean on the UGA SBDC and its team of business experts.
So many other things happened and I have left out some other details which we can discuss.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The largest challenge was coming up with the money for research and development. and then the money needed to manufacture the first order was $35k, I could not get funded , so I sold my house and cashed out my 401K.
The miracle of it all was when I found a manufacturer right here in Georgia. I am so grateful for them and the CEO who took a chance on a startup and used their billion dollar company’s resources to help do the final developing of HALTZGLOVES.
Having not received outside funding, we did not start with a large staff to help us scale like you see on SHARK TANK, So we had to scale with just our money left. Selling inventory and buying new inventory. Now I know that is the slowest most difficult way to grow a business also know as “BOOT STRAPPING
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Ofc. Deidre Goodwin invented a product that sustainably offers safety gloves to those who direct traffic better assistance with visibility and directions. If you have ever crossed the street, now imagine standing in the middle of the road.
“I was standing in the middle of one of the biggest intersections in the city – maybe even the state. “I was in all my reflective safety gear, but the driver said they could not see my hands.”After almost being struck and killed while directing traffic, Goodwin went looking for a product that solved many issues. After months of looking there was no product that met her standards. Knowing safety is priority within school zones and on the road, she sold her house, cashed out her 401k and brought to market this great product.
Haltzgloves is a high-visibility reflective glove, differentiated from other gloves on the market due to its
printed direction markings: an “X” is printed on the palm and directional arrows on the back of the
hands. The markings provide officers directing traffic the tools they need to safely communicate
directions from distances up to a quarter of a mile.
After perfecting manufacturing and obtaining necessary accreditations from the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority, HALTZGLOVES has become a
staple for law enforcement, first responders and school crossing guards.
In October 2022, Goodwin’s goal of placing HALTZGLOVES in big-box retailers came into reach. A Home
Depot representative called and said they wanted to add HALTZGLOVES to their shelves, resulting in an
estimated 50 percent increase in sales.
“I love what I do. It’s so much fun going to conferences, meeting with customers and distributors,. In the world of glove companies, we are small, but we have a product people love and that people want.
Everyday is the Atlanta metro area, people walking, riding e-bikes, scooters, jogging, are struck by vehicles because they are not seen. All pedestrians should wear high viz reflective clothing. HALTZGLOVES can fit inside your pocket ready to be used at any point.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Never giving up, never let someone telling you NO, stop you from pursuing your dream. Never let your vision dim because other people don’t or can’t understand it. Keep grinding!
Pricing:
- Fingerless Glove is 29.99
- Full glove is 32.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.haltzgloves.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haltzgloves_highviz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haltzgloves
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haltzgloves
- Youtube: @haltzglovesamazingreflecti7466
Image Credits
Chat GBT for 1 image alteration
