Shari Hammond is the Founder/CEO of Inspired Product Development Group (PDG), the inventor behind Cabinet Caddy and Go Hang It. A single mother, she is a woman of faith, an entrepreneur, a product developer, graphic designer, lacrosse/basketball mom, kickboxer and dog lover. Her company first started as a hobby between Shari and her father. Today, consumer’s live are made easier with products from Inspired PDG.
Please tell us a little bit about your company – what is Inspired PDG all about?
Inspired PDG (Product Development Group) aims to create functional, yet stylish, products that will make life easier.
I get my love of design from my parents. My father, Ron Hunt, is a seasoned inventor with more than 150 patents under his belt. My mother was quite creative and artistic. I grew up making things. I am a designer by trade with a knack for style and knowing the consumer marketplace. Together, my father and I created Go Hang It, an all-in-one picture hanging system with zero measuring required, and Cabinet Caddy, an instant access cabinet organizer.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I come from an engineering/entrepreneurial family. I grew up working in my family’s businesses. While my father was an IBM engineer, one of his hobbies was woodworking and he started making a variety of products that we sold in the local mall. After my father retired from IBM, he and I started to develop compact disc (CD) holders, Discgear, and that was when I obtained my first patent at the age of 16. My father sold that company and started another one where he invented Perfect Petzzz, lifelike puppies and kittens that “breathe.” I worked for the company handling graphic and packaging design, among other tasks.
My father retired again, to care for my mother, whose health was failing, and I started a freelance graphic design business. One day, we both had the idea of going back to our roots and developing products again. So, at the end of 2017, we started developing the Cabinet Caddy and INSP!RED Products and Development Group was born.
What are your plans, how do you plan to grow this company?
Our focus at Inspired PDG is to continue to invent products that inspire organization and efficiency, and make daily tasks easier. We will continue to add products to our product line while increasing sales.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
Because we made mistakes from our previous endeavors, we’ve been able to minimize mistakes with Inspired PDG. For example, we did get a distributor way too soon after our first product was developed and since we hadn’t had a chance to focus on marketing, our product wasn’t originally selling very well. It sat in their warehouse for months and they finally made us take it back. It was a lot of wasted money. Because of this mistake, we set up our own warehouse and which has really benefited the company and our bottom line.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We find problems and solve them.
We don’t necessarily invent something new — we improve ideas and we make sure our products are superior to our competitors – by making sure all of our products have a wow factor and a large target market.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
My father and I walk together every morning. This is our time to discuss and explore product ideas, review daily tasks and priorities, etc.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
I listen to the podcast, “How I Built This” with Guy Raz. It lights a fire under you. It’s incredibly inspiring and you think, If these people can do it, so can I.
Bare Bones by Bobby Bones. Bobby grew up very poor and knew by age 11, he wanted to be on the radio. He got there the unconventional way and his journey is exciting.
War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This is a must-read, must-reference book that will motivate and teach you how to beat resistance and break through creative barriers.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
We’d use it to buy products that solve problems and re-engineer them to make them ten times better.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can visit my company website InspiredPDG.com find me on social media via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email info@inspiredpdg.com
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