GFI
Associates Presents...
How to make and bring your product to market seminar!
Ala Moana
Hotel
Pakalana/Anthurium Room
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Time: 9 am to 3:30 pm
Cost: $200 in advance ($250 at the door)
See
the ad above in Midweek delivered right to your door!
Find out more
about Daynin Dashefsky by clicking here!
Any questions
regarding the seminar? Email Daynin by clicking below or call
808-263-8160!
Here's a recent article
on Daynin and her upcoming seminar that was posted in the Honolulu
Star Bulletin!
Inventing
a better life. A local entrepreneur teaches others how to turn
their great ideas into lucrative and marketable products
By Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Daynin Dashefsky usually comes up with invention ideas right
before falling asleep. Some that actually made it to shelves
of stores such as FAO Schwarz include, from left, Hair Care'rousel,
Jewelry Care'rousel and Nail Care'rousel. Her daughter, Briana,
right, dries her nails as sister Kylee watches.
As
a single mom of two daughters, Daynin Dashefsky needed to be
creative in blending work and family life, so she started inventing
and selling her own products. Now, she's conducting workshops
to help others fulfill their dream of bringing their own products
to market.
MARKETING
SEMINAR
"How to Make and Bring Your Product to Market"
When: 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ala Moana Hotel
Admission: $200 in advance; $250 at the door
Call: 263-8160
For more information on the seminar click here!
Dashefsky's
first invention was born at a barbecue at her mother's home in
Nanakuli. Her mom was fanning flies away with a coconut leaf
and commented that whoever made something to keep flies from
food would make millions.
"That
is when I got my first invention idea, the 'No Fly Zone,'"
Dashefsky said. "It's a battery-operated canister with streaming
silk leaves that keeps the flies away from your food when eating
outdoors. It also rotates mosquito coils and incense," she
said. "That is the product that launched my career and taught
me more than I ever thought possible."
Since
then, ideas randomly pop into her head, especially during the
night. "The hardest part of having a creative mind and being
an entrepreneur is shutting off your mind," she said. "Sometimes
when I'm between being awake and being asleep, my best ideas
pop into my head."
Her
daughters might follow in her footsteps.
"They
love coming up with inventions and ideas," she said. Her
Nail Care'rousel set her younger daughter Briana, 7, thinking
about a machine that would paint your finger and toe nails.
Some
of their ideas are "way out there," Dashefsky admits,
but she appreciates that the girls are using their imagination.
The
"Care'rousel" line -- Hair Care'rousel, Nail Care'rousel
and Jewelry Care'rousel -- allow girls to organize accessories
by type, style, color and matching pairs. The items came to be
when Dashefsky was trying to help her daughters conquer clutter.
"My
toys teach children early on how to organize their things in
a fun way, in the hopes it carries over into other areas of their
lives."
Dashefsky's
products are sold throughout the world by companies such as Wal-Mart,
FAO Schwarz, Toys "R" Us, Longs, Daiei and the Lillian
Vernon catalog.
"First
and foremost, my job is making sure I can feed my kids and put
a roof over their heads. I grew up in Nanakuli on welfare, and
I wanted a better life and better opportunities for my children,"
Dashefsky said. "In order to give them those things, I had
to make sacrifices."
One
of the first things would-be inventors and entrepreneurs must
know is that far from the dream of setting one's own hours, taking
long lunches and conducting business at poolside, running a business
requires strict discipline and enormous time and energy, she
explained.
Working
at home meant "it was so easy to always be working. There
were always challenges and fires to put out."
Also,
creating products involved making many trips to China. "It
was difficult to always be at every soccer game, every school
event and every milestone moment in (my daughters') lives. My
being gone so much and being so busy all of the time was affecting
my children," Dashefsky said.
Thus
her switch to teaching the trade. "It gives me more time
to focus on my kids while they are still young. They grow up
so fast, and these are important years for them."
THE
MOST challenging facet of entrepreneurship was funding her dreams.
"Money was always the problem, issue and challenge. The
more money I made, the more money I needed to keep going and
growing," she said. "People don't realize that when
a big chain store orders product from you, you have to pay to
have that product built and shipped, but you don't get paid from
the customer for 30 to 120 days."
Another
reason she chose to teach others to design, patent, produce and
sell their own products is so she can help them avoid being scammed
by infomercials that promise their inventions will be brought
to market. All someone can expect after writing to such a program
is a letter back requesting thousands of dollars to produce and
market a product.
"In
the end, all you get for your hard-earned money is a box full
of books and tapes telling you how to do it yourself," Dashefsky
said.
"At
the seminar, I'll show the step-by-step process so people can
avoid making the same mistakes most inventors make."
But
her most important advice: "It is more important to believe
in yourself than in your product. Products come and go. Banks
and investors don't invest in products; they invest in people.
I cannot emphasize that enough."
Along
with her interest in inventing, Dashefsky is an avid fan and
competitor in Brazilian jiujitsu. She writes a column for Bodyguard
magazine, "The Stronger Sex." Her latest business venture
is the Ultimate Impact Benefit, scheduled for March in Hollywood,
during which some of the best fighters will be auctioned off
for one-on-one training sessions. The money raised will help
get troubled youths off the streets and back in school.
"I
do things because I love to do them ... they mean something to
me," said Dashefsky. "I try to encourage people to
go after their dreams, no matter what other people tell them."
Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin |