“Don’t bet the farm unless you’re prepared to lose it all. Spreading the risk is important.”

Interview by Mike Sullivan of Sully’s Blog

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Will Howe and Ric Payne are friends and business partners.  The serial entrepreneurs own four Wild Beaver Saloons, two in Indianapolis, one in Nashville, Tennessee, one in Lansing, Michigan.  They’re currently working to open a fifth installment of this wildly popular nightlife hot spot in Lexington, Kentucky.  To add to their resumes, they have also spent time acting in LA, starring together in an independent film called Back Home Again.

Additionally, the pair are inventors.  When they come across an issue, they try to solve it. It all started with the Bag Blocker, an eyemask created to reduce the puffiness around the eyes from lack of sleep. Why would two guys create that? Because after working the bar business, they rarely had a full night of rest. This invention was perfect to keep them looking like they had gotten a good night’s sleep.  Other inventions include “Mister Steamy” and “EyeLovely“.

MO:
Tell me about Mister Steamy and how you came across the idea?

Will:
Ric and I have businesses together, and I was at his house one afternoon and peeked in his laundry room. He has two kids so it was pretty backed up. I asked him how long his dried clothes had been sitting inside the dryer. I mentioned throwing in a wet cloth to add some moisture. We both had mothers who did that. We starting talking about how much better it would be if there was a dryer ball, that could bang into the crumpled dry cloths, with a sponge inside to add moisture & possibly steam. We started researching and found there was not a dryer ball like this on the market.

Ric:
The idea came up at my house in the laundry room, when Will was amazed on how much laundry we had. Well I have two children and you are always doing laundry. We were discussing about cloths left in dryer and how my Mom and Will’s Mom always use to put a wet cloth in dryer to add moisture to cloths as you refresh dryer by running again for a bit before folding cloths. That same day my kids came in my house with a toy ball that sparks the idea for a ball that could hold water while it moved through cloths and dispense moisture. From there we started our testing.

MO:
How did you take the good idea for Mister Steamy, turn it into an actual product, and successfully promote that product?

Will:
Our 1st step was to find products that we could morph into a Steam Dryer Ball. By the way, our original name was Dapper the Dryer Ball then we moved to Steamy the Dryer Ball and got it to market as Mister Steamy. Ric has a promo ball from a fast-food restaurant. I bought a dog toy on the Internet. We started experimenting. Through connections we sent our Frankensteined dog toy to China and went back & forth perfecting it. We had a fully functioning Mister Steamy working for a year. It sat on my desk. I was reading Reader’s Digest about a show called Everyday Edison. An inventors show. They were casting Season 3 in Atlanta. Ric and I decided to go for it. 16,000 people presented in 5 cities. We were one if 9 winners. They connected us with Todd Stancombe who became our liaison between infomercial giants Allstar Marketing & Merchant Media. These two are the elite “As Seen On TV” companies. Ever heard of Snuggies?  They have marketed dozen if household name ASOTV Products.  Mister Steamy is now in over 25,000 retail stores and countless catalogs. It also continues to run on TV. Projected sales is 3-5 million units generating $25-40 million dollars.

Ric:
It is very difficult to get a product to main stream stores, it takes a good marketing strategy and not giving up on your idea. We were lucky to get our product in the right hands who had large distribution channels, which finally was AllStar Marketing who did Snuggies Etc. But, do your home work and test product and market place before approaching these distribution companies.

MO:
Can we expect other new inventions from you or are there other business ventures you’re currently focusing on or considering for the future?

Will:
Yes. We have a 2nd generation Mister Steamy in the works. We also have another invention called EyeLOVELY that is now being tested through Google Marketing on DishNetwork. It’s also a Merchant Media test. Check it out at eyeLOVELYTV.com

Ric:
We are working on several other ideas and have interest from several distribution companies, we are consistently looking and trying to develop products.

MO:
You have a history in acting and I believe that is where you met.  Can you tell me how you jumped from acting to restaurant owners and then to inventing?  Did you have any background in these industry before?

Will:
I lived in LA for 10 years with good success. I was ONLY a waiter for 6 months! HaHa. I met Rick on a show I was hosting through a mutual friend. We collaborated on a movie. From there we opened a multi-level night club, and now own 5 bars together & Mister Steamy. It’s been an unbelievable, creative partnership. We both graduated from Indiana University in business.

Ric:
I have been in restaurant business for over twenty years and been a SAG actor since college days, I have worked on a lot of film and TV projects over the past 25 years. I have been able to juggle several different business throughout my years by simply enjoying what I do and staying focused. The inventing arena was one in which I was always trying to come up with ideas, met Will Howe and as he we started firing ideas around and that is how we started making products. And remember you can never be afraid of failure! It goes with the territory! Keep Trying.

MO:
You’ve been involved in several different industries over the years.  Among them all, which has been your favorite and why?

Will:
That is a tough question. The bar business is exciting. But the freedom Mister Steamy should bring is liberating.

Ric:
I love them all because they are very challenging. Advice to others, there will be many obstacles in your journey of life. Believe in yourself and never give up!

Find a way to manage your time because it is very valuable.

MO:
Would you recommend  to other entrepreneurs to be as diversified in there business ventures as the two of you have been?  What benefits or difficulties has this provided for you over the years?

Will:
It is a huge benefit to diversify when you are an entrepreneur in the invention arena. Having a steady stream of income is the key to allow you to spend time & money on your dream. Under-funding is the biggest road block to success. The starving artist concept doesn’t work well in today’s market. To get a product or any type of business out of your head and into reality you need seed money. Be it, a quality website, packaging, presentation materials or out sourcing, it takes money.  Having supplemental income let’s you chase the dream and still eat.

The other key is to have a few irons in the fire. The saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is good advice. What you think is a million dollar idea might not translate to revenue. Don’t bet the farm unless you’re prepared to lose it all. Spreading the risk is important. I know people get tunnel vision on their “one” dream, but you have to be a realist. If necessity is the mother of invention then diversity is the father of stability.