Home Business Success

PHOTO BY DAN KIDD

Necessity is the mother of invention, so it is said, and Dan Kidd of Maine has proved the point with his successful home business.

Three years ago, Dan was installing an outdoor wood furnace and was using PEX plumbing lines, which necessitated the use of crimpers for connections. Since, he only needed to crimp two joints, it didn’t make sense to buy a crimping tool at a cost of over $100. Renting seemed like the best option. So off to town he went, accomplishing the task and returning the tool. The crimper worked like a champ, but a couple of days later Dan discovered he needed the tool again, so back he went to town and the rental shop.

It was at this point that Dan, owner of a machine shop, had an epiphany – why not fabricate his own PEX crimper tool? So he did! He started selling the PEX Pocket Crimper on ebay two and a half years ago and, according to Dan, they have sold like hotcakes. But the cherry on this home business sundae is the order from Home Depot for thousands of Dan’s Pocket Crimpers.

Who would have thought that a simple tool-rental experience could morph into such a successful home business? Do you have a home business success? If so, please share it in the comments section, below.

1 Comments

Ebert 3/4/2009 2:36:17 PM

I slowly built up a few dozen websites like http://www.livingoffgrid.org on nights and weekends while working a full time job in the city. Now they're making enough money to allow me to move out to the country - as long as I have internet access.

Like the story above beginning with eBay and moving on to Home Depot, internet access is KEY to success in rural America. I feel fortunate because I couldn't have done this ten years ago.

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