Pajamas would not be an obvious area in which to start a business – ubiquitously available and at a range of prices, where would a new retailer start?
According to Big Feet, you start from the ground up – in more ways than one.
Big Feet PJs has taken the country by storm with the revolutionary Footed Pajama, which was created in the humble origins of the owner's garage.
Since featured in articles such as the Daily News' Taking the Next Leap, the company has moved forward in leaps and bounds.
Valerie, the owner, spent nine months meticulously planning her siege of the pajama industry and her entrance was as explosive as she would have hoped – she received her first order 60 seconds after putting the website live.
She said: "I didn't realize how many boxes there would be. We backed all the cars out of the garage, and the whole garage was filled to the brim with boxes."
Within a week, Valerie had shifted the initial order of 5,000 pajamas and needed to order more from her Chinese supplier.
As things really began to take off, Valerie spent 16 hours a day in her basement taking orders, boxing the garments and printing out invoices. She then hand delivered the orders to her local post office, where they were sent out across the nation.
By Christmas, Valerie had sold out. Despite ordering further shipments, she was unable to keep up with demand and had a backlog of customers that would take until January to supply.
It took the company only three months to turn a profit and since then things have only continued to improve.
As a web-based company she began investing $20 a day into keyword advertising in order to bolster sales.
Profits increased further and Valerie was soon investing between $500 and $1000 a day during peak season on keyword advertising and click-through advertising.
She uses the rest of her profit to purchase more pajamas, hire more employees and take on extra warehouse space, as well as improve her website and keep her server up-to-date.
Valerie says she always reinvests her profit; such is her belief in the longevity of her business.
Who can blame her for being confident either? This is a woman that had her product feature in the gift basket at the Academy Awards – showbiz's biggest event.
If it's good enough for Brad and Angelina, it's good enough for most.
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