Marriages that Work ... Hard

Beth Smith

A new type of partnership is emerging as more and more successful company-owning moms decide to team up with their husbands when sales reach the boiling point. Successful companies such as Binksters and Margery Ellen Baby illustrate how cool it can be to have, quite literally, a working marriage.

There’s nothing like a daily dose of desperation to inspire a mom. Kelli Ivie, a mother of three, grew tired of the crazy maneuvers and frantic crying as she blindly scoured the backseat of her car for the inevitable tossed pacifier. She longed for a product that didn’t yet exist: some kind of fashionable clip that would keep the pacifier always within arm’s reach.

Tapping into her Hybrid innovation and creativity, she bought a sewing machine, taught herself to sew, and made the world’s first “Binkster.” When her daughter began wearing her creations, Kelli was surprised at how many friends and even strangers asked where she had bought them. She began showing her “Binkster Buddy” to area boutiques.

“I was nervous calling and making the appointments, but passion is great energy and I used it for fuel to make those cold calls. I had never done anything like it before and it was scary,” Kelli recalls. After the first storeowner committed to a $150 order within the first five minutes, her confidence soared. “Little did I know it would evolve into the company we have today!” she marvels.

Margery Ellen Frank always dreamed of owning her own business but never could figure out what to do. As a film publicist at Universal Pictures, she used her favorite hobby of knitting to unwind from the demands of the day. Her friends raved over the baby blankets edged with chenille trim that she made and urged her to pursue her dream. “I had no fashion background,” says Margery, “but I did have an urgent desire to work for myself.”

Armed with a list of knitters, Margery visited every one until she built a group of the very best. Now, 10 years later, business is booming. Her blankets are still all the rage, and adored by celebrities and moms alike. But not one who’s easily satisfied, Margery used her passion for fine fabrics to create a very successful line of clothing as well. Add 3-year-old twins to the mix, and you’re looking at one very busy mama. “My second biggest talent is managing to sound professional on the phone while morphing into a human jungle gym with eight extra limbs encircling my body,” she jokes.

As the twins made the transition from napping babies to mobile toddlers, it became clear that more help was needed. “I was up at dawn and worked way into the night,” Margery remembers. The several assistants she hired never seemed to work out. “I am a control freak,” Margery admits, “so to finally relinquish responsibilities to someone else was a big deal.”

Marjory cites her two biggest challenges as dealing with major department stores and getting her twins on a sleeping schedule. Those are two very different hurdles, but if her business determination is any indication, she’ll surmount them with needles clacking all the way to the bank.