Proprietors:
Kelly Savage and her husband, Dan, officially opened
The Special Needs Store in December of 2007, but they were "setting everything up, putting it all together, and building the website for a year" before that.
Business Description:
"We are an online retail store which offers a wide variety of resources and products for children with special needs and developmental delays," says Savage. "Our goal is to make the lives of parents, therapists, and educators of children with special needs and developmental delays easier by enabling them to find a wide variety of resources in one location." Products are offered in six categories: Daily Living, Language, PT/OT, Media, Toys, and Health.
Parenting Connection:
When their son, Joe, was diagnosed with Down syndrome shortly after birth, Savage recalls, "We went around in a daze for about two days, grieving for what we thought was our loss. I think we just realized that there are no guarantees in life, and we were just going to go down a different path than we expected. We think about it off and on, but it quickly became simply part of who he was." Joe has a sister, Jessica, who's eighteen months younger. "Honestly, we just loved Joe so much that we decided to have another, and it didn't matter if that child had a disability as well."
Time Investment:
The Special Needs Store is a full-time job for Savage, who is also "a homemaker and all that entails: taking care of the kids, shuttling to therapy, school, and events, and taking care of the house." Finding time to work is one of the hardest things about having a business, she says: "With two young kids, it can be challenging to squeeze in uninterrupted time." But the flexibility is a definite plus. "I can work from my home and be able to take the kids to all of their activities, doctors, therapy, etc."
Success Story:
"Just opening the doors is a success," Savage says, "and we fully intend to make it the best that we can. We are continuing to add products and resources as we grow." So far, feedback from customers has been good. "I've had questions from parents asking if I knew of particular products, asking about some of what we carry, looking for information, and suggesting new products for the store. We are trying to offer not only 'name brand' products, but other parent-made products and alternative products that aren't specifically for special-needs kids, but work very well and are cost-effective options."
Future Plans:
Savage's plans for the future of The Special Needs Store are "to keep growing the business. We are also planning on adding a nonprofit division within the next year, that a percentage of profit will to the nonprofit, to be given out as grants and donations to various national organizations for disabilities." She says her kids are understanding of the expanding business's needs: "They know I have 'work time,' and would really like to play with all of the cool stuff I have in my office."
Business Advice:
Savage suggests that a parent-run business "certainly isn't for everyone. We have about 150 products from about fifteen different sources at this time, and that will only increase. You certainly need to know how to be organized. My background is a B.S. degree in Exercise Science-Athletic Training, so that rehab background comes in handy. I have also worked in customer service, shipping and receiving, purchasing, and account management, which are all needed to run this type of business. My husband has a Marketing degree. It seems like the perfect business for us."
More Inspiration and Advice from Kelly Savage:
What inspired you to start your business?
One day, I spent about an hour on the internet looking for bean bags, of all things. We were working on throwing with Joe. You'd be amazed at how difficult it is to find just a bean bag. I could buy a toss across game, but didn't want to spend that much money just to get the bags. So goes the story for many of the products that you look for for your child. You either hear about it from another parent, therapist, or teacher, or you stumble across something. This particular day, I stumbled across a mom in Pennsylvania who has a son with Sensory Processing Disorder. She makes a set of bean bags that come in primary colors and each have a different filler and the price was very reasonable. This was just one of many searches that we all do and I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if I could go to ONE place that offered a wide variety of products and helpful information?" It is so expensive and time consuming to have to go to five different places for five different items: speech therapy, PT/OT, movies, toys, self-help, etc. Just taking the burden of the time-consuming search would be a great benefit to a parent. Thus, the idea for The Special Needs Store was born.
How did you go about getting started?
We toyed with the idea for a month, talked to friends and family, and brainstormed about all of the things we could do with the store. So many ideas began emerging and the more that I thought about it, the more it just felt "right": like all of the things I've done in my life have finally came together and I am going to do what I was meant to. That "lightbulb" moment.
What advice would you give to other parents about raising a child with
special needs?
Your child will teach you things you never knew you needed to know. You'll find the world is a much more loving place than you ever thought it was. And there is no such thing as a child, or an adult for that matter, that doesn't have some sort of special needs. There are no guarantees in life, so make the most of what you have and enjoy!
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