A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand

ENTREPRENEURS by Jean Gruss | Editor/Lee-Collier

Jeff Archambault, a stay-at-home father, needed a free hand while feeding his newborn. Now, the Baby Butler's at your service.

It's time to edit a familiar cliche: Necessity is now the father of invention.

The father in question is Jeff Archambault, a Fort Myers stay-at-home dad who had to juggle a newborn and a full-time job managing one of his family's restaurants.

As all new parents know, feeding a bottle to an infant takes two hands, one to hold the baby and the other to hold the bottle. You're essentially immobilized. Good luck trying to talk on the phone or reaching for a pen when you're feeding a baby.

So Archambault invented the Baby Butler. Think of it as a souped-up burp cloth that clings to your shoulder and drapes down the side of your chest. Attach the bottle with a Velcro strap that's attached and that frees a hand to multitask.

As simple as the design looks, it took more than three years for Archambault to obtain a patent for the Baby Butler. In all, he and his family have invested $500,000 in developing, manufacturing and marketing Baby Butler.

But Archambault isn't stopping with the baby feeder. He's planning a line of other baby products that will include hand sanitizer and disposable organic wipes.

"The biggest obstacle for us right now is getting our name out," Archambault says. Now that he has a patented product and marketing in place, Archambault is actively seeking investors to raise capital needed for future growth.

The hardest job you'll ever have

When Archambault's first daughter, Emma, was born in 2000, it made sense for Jeff to stay home. His wife was the family breadwinner because she was earning a six-figure salary in medical sales. He took care of the baby during the day and worked in the family restaurant at night.

Then, the Archambaults had their second child, Ryan, in 2003, and life got more complicated. Archambault echoes what many stay-at-home parents say: "This is the hardest job you'll ever have. I would look forward to going to work."

While he stayed home during the day, emergencies at the restaurant would often interrupt his day. A staffer from the restaurant would call urgently to say a supplier needed to be paid immediately, for example.

Newborns need to be fed every few hours and Archambault grew frustrated because his hands were tied at feeding time. So he started tinkering with the idea of inventing a device that could hold the bottle while he talked on the phone.

He hired a couple of seamstresses who worked at a beach store next to one of his family's restaurant on Captiva Island to create what would eventually become Baby Butler. After more than 10 designs, Baby Butler was born. It has beans sown into the top to balance it over the parent's shoulder and anti-skid backing so that it won't slip off.

"I started using it just for myself," Archambault recalls. Then, guests at his restaurant saw him using it with his infant and others wanted one.

Restaurant patrons dining with infants became Baby Butler testers and helped Archambault improve the design. "I wouldn't know a focus group if I were in a focus group," he says.

One day, a retired patent lawyer and his relatives were dining at Archambault's restaurant. One of the guests had an infant. The lawyer suggested Archambault patent his creation and the idea of creating a business around Baby Butler started.

Everything's a leap of faith

Obtaining a patent was the start of a three-year odyssey to bring Baby Butler to market. It cost $10,000 in attorneys' fees to obtain a patent, a process that was lengthened by the fact that Archambault's initial design was rejected by U.S. patent authorities.

Initially, Archambault wanted to call his invention the Daddy Caddy. But after brainstorming with his family he settled on Baby Butler. The name was the name of a defunct manufacturer of children's furniture and Archambault's spent another $8,000 in legal fees to file for "name abandonment" and the right to register the trademark.

To find a manufacturer, Archambault used the Google search engine and found a company called China One Imports that could make the Baby Butler for a fraction of the cost of doing it in the U.S.

How did Archambault know to trust a Chinese company he'd found on the Internet? "We gambled," he says. "Everything's a leap of faith."

Besides being functional, manufacturing the Baby Butler in China would satisfy Archambault's second requirement: It should be affordable. The retail price is $22.

Archambault's first order of 4,000 units is sitting in his mother's garage in Fort Myers. He's spent $20,000 marketing, printing brochures, packaging and launching a Web site. "All the dumb money is spent," he jokes. "This is all learn as you go."

The objective now is to build consumer loyalty. It's available online at Amazon.com and on Babybutler.net. Archambault needs to sell 65,000 units to break even and he's aiming for between $700,000 and $1 million in sales by October 2008.

Of all the things he's sold, including storm shutters, home security systems and mortgages, Archambault says selling baby items is the easiest sale. "People always buy stuff for babies," he says.

Although so far he's selling just two to three Baby Butlers per day, any publicity he receives results in a spike in sales. For example, Archambault landed 20 orders in a single day after he was a guest on a Chicago radio drive-time show.

Archambault, 42, envisions more than a one-product company. He wants to expand the line of baby products to include items such as hand sanitizer and organic wipes.

But to grow more rapidly and expand the product line will take a capital infusion and Archambault is scouting for new investors. He says he's willing to give up 10% to 20% of the company to angel investors.

"We put the word out," he says.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Entrepreneur. Jeff Archambault

Invention. Baby Butler, an infant-feeding system

Key. Be prepared to spend more than you expected to bring an invention to market.