Did you know that my sister-in-law Jeannie came up with the idea for the fax machine? About forty years ago, she was asked by her younger siblings why their parents brought the kids’ wish lists for Santa to the store instead of the post office. Quick- thinking Jeannie explained that the store had a special machine that would send the letter through the airwaves to the North Pole. There, Santa’s special machine would receive and print out the list. To this day, she is known within the family as the ‘inventor’ of the fax machine. Funny thing is – Jeannie IS smart enough to come up with such a brilliant idea (although, her 12-year old self might have had difficulty executing it).

Makes me wonder what other good business ideas you Wise Women are sitting on … Could you be the next Jibbitz success story?

Do you know the story of Jibbitz (those decorations you see kids wearing in the holes of their Crocs)? Here’s how the company’s web site tells it. “Jibbitz was born in 2005 when owner and stay-at-home mom, Sheri Schmelzer, and her three children were inspired to decorate their collection of 12 pairs of Crocs in the basement of their Boulder, Colorado home. With clay and rhinestones, Schmelzer developed unique charms that fit into the holes of Crocs. Sheri’s husband, Rich, saw the potential to create a unique accessory brand with colorful snap-on products specifically suited for Crocs shoes.

Beginning with a home equity loan and small assembly line in their basement, the Schmelzers launched Jibbitz, whose name is derived from Sheri’s nickname “Flibberty-Jibbit.” The Schmelzers began work on a few designs to share with family and friends and launched a website on their wedding anniversary, August 9, 2005. Within 1-year, Jibbitz were offered in thousands of stores and had sold over 8 million pieces worldwide.

In December 2006, the Schmelzers realized the “American Dream” when Crocs, Inc. announced that it had acquired Jibbitz LLC. Jibbitz currently operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Crocs, Inc., and Founders Rich and Sheri Schmelzer have remained with Jibbitz as President and Chief Design Officer.”

I will confess it’s almost a hobby of mine: thinking about what service or product would make my life easier and day-dream about what would be needed to get that business up and running. However, the dreams fade and I don’t take any additional steps.

I bet there’s dozens of business ideas floating around in the heads of Wise Women. Even if they’re ideas that you’ve considered and cast aside, wanna share them? It’s a chance to share your creativity and, who knows, maybe re-ignite one of those ideas …