Mom by Day, Inventor by Night!

The curious Julie Johnson Barkley always knew she would invent something.

“[As a child], it wasn’t unusual for me to pick up something and say, ‘How did they make this?'” Barkley tells PINK.

So, when she heard a voice tell her to find a solution to her ever-tangled iPod earbuds, she did.

“There were already organizers on the market, so I started talking to people – asking about their pain points,” she says. “I looked in every drawer, cabinet, hardware store and toy chest until I finally came up with two pieces – light up yo-yos belonging to my son.”

Barkley knew she was onto something. She took her idea to her AutoCAD designer friend. Upon hearing that her ideas were patentable, the Texas stay at home mom met with a patent attorney.

She remembers the attorney looked across the table and asked, “What kind of business do you do? You need to get your affairs in order because it could go international.”

With the financial backing of a family friend, Barkley produced a prototype and showed her product at consumer trade shows. Her patented Earbud Yo-Yos sell in 12 countries and all 50 states.

But, she learned it’s “easier to get your child into Harvard than get a product into Big Block stores.”

Barkley discovered that entrepreneurs often have to pivot for profit.

“After being on the market for a while, you have to reinvent yourself,” she says.

Barkley experienced this on a personal level also.

“I was a dental hygienist for 20 years and I became a stay at home mom after my son was born. I was also in a relationship I didn’t need to be in anymore. Going through the invention process helped me get out.”

She is still in awe when she hears about people using Earbud Yo-Yos.

“Not too long ago, one of my friends was on an airplane and told me she saw someone using an Earbud Yo-yo,” says Barkley excitedly, “It’s one of the coolest things for me.”

Bonus PINK Link: Find out how one Fire Island business owner is healing from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Did you invent something?

By L. Nicole Williams

Nicole is the Editor at Little PINK Book. Follow her on Twitter @iamnicwill.

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.” Coco Chanel