When I have an idea, I always ask for feedback. If I get a positive response, I go full force, not resting until each phase is complete.
Tara Langdale-Schmidt is the co-founder and president of VuVatech in Naples, Florida. – VuVatech – a startup company that created the VuVa Magnetic Dilator, a nonprescription medical device that has proven to provide relief for the thousands of women who suffer from pelvic pain and sexual discomfort. For four long years, Langdale-Schmidt suffered the excruciating pain of Vulvodynia. After numerous doctor visits that failed to diagnose her problem, and undergoing several surgeries, Tara had the “lightbulb moment” to incorporate neodymium magnets into a dilator to help women relieve pelvic pain. A native of Everett, Washington. Tara attended Keiser University and State College of Florida.
Where did the idea for VuVatech come from?
I was diagnosed with Vulvodynia and noticed not many treatment options. I had previous positive experience using magnets to reduce back and neck nerve pain after a car accident, so I then had the idea to incorporate neodymium magnets into a dilator set for pelvic pain. Due to my reduction in pain and positive feedback from doctors, I created VuVatech, a company dedicated to helping women with pelvic pain..
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My typical day is waking up thinking, “how can I educate more women on pelvic pain issues?” Many women go undiagnosed with the correct pelvic pain condition for years. They live with the pain unaware they can be helped. I want women to visit my site and let them understand their pain is treatable and they can live a normal life, enjoying sexual intimacy.
How do you bring ideas to life?
When I have an idea, I always ask for feedback. If I get a positive response, I go full force, not resting until each phase is complete.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Social media marketing. It is the fastest and most private way to educate women about our product and pelvic pain.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
When it comes to the laundry, I might procrastinate. When it comes to my company, it is my number one priority. If I have to stay up all night to finish a task, that is what I do. I literally cannot sleep until it is completed.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
The worst job I ever had was at a seafood restaurant. The management was horrible. It is very important to make my employees feel at home and like human beings. If they love working for me, that is the best compliment in the world.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
If I had to choose one thing, I think it would be to source multiple manufacturers all at once. If you spend too much time with one manufacturer and it doesn’t work out, you have to start from scratch with another. This can waste too much time and money.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Surround yourself with a positive support group. Being an entrepreneur is hard and you need friends and family to help you through the ups and downs.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
To be honest and dedicated. You cannot start a successful company without these two fundamental properties. More important than being honest with customers, you must first be honest with yourself about the time you must dedicate to you new venture. You have to give 110%, and sometimes than can be hard in the beginning because people will throw hurdles your way. Stay positive.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I helped open a seasonal gingerbread house kiosk in two malls. We sold gourmet gingerbread house kits. I was unaware that parents are not as hands on as they used to be and they told us the kits and building the gingerbread houses created to much of a mess. This was heartbreaking. I learned that you must do market research to see if there is a need for your product.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
There needs to be a service that strictly helps new mothers on a daily basis. Different from a nanny, you could hire a person for a day to run all your errands and pay them for each time they perform a service.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I bought a new battery for my laptop. My computer kept turning off and it is my lifeline!
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
VuVatech uses Shopify for E-commerce. It is simple to set up with amazing apps and plugins. You eliminate a costly web developer which can cost you thousands of dollars.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw This book pays tribute to those men and women who have given us the lives we have today They were truly the greatest generation of our country. Brokaw shares stories of ordinary men and women, military heroes and community leaders through extraordinary times created values and helped make this this nation great.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Robert Smithson – CEO of VuVatech and President of 15.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Robert Smithson – CEO of VuVatech and President of Trinity Graphic USA
Scott Sensenbrenner – CEO of Enzymedica and on the Board of Directors for Roskamp Institute.
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.