In the final week of Homemade Millionaire, Karen Bean McCombs, 49, of New City, NY, takes home the grand prize with her Switch-A-Dish invention. Her set of interchangeable dish designs is a party planner’s dream, making it easy to switch up the look of your table setting for different occasions in seconds. As a constant hostess who loves spending time with family and friends, it was only natural that Switch-A-Dish stemmed from her desire to keep costs low and maximize shelf space without sacrificing style–three concepts that were made for HSN.
» Shop Karen’s Switch-A-Dish set of interchangeable dishes now
We chatted with Karen to find out what some of her most memorable Homemade Millionaire moments were, and why we should make her product a part of our lives.
Tell us about your “this is it” moment—the moment you knew that this product would make your dreams come true.
It would have to be the night of the final pitch for HSN when I won. That’s when I knew for sure that the product would be featured on HSN. Everyone who had seen the product prior to that really loved it, and I knew that the key for its success was exposure. So that night when HSN chose me, and I knew it would be sold on HSN, that’s when it really hit me that everyone would have a chance to see it demonstrated and buy it. That was the most amazing moment! I knew it had all been worth it. It was very surreal.
What are some ups and downs of the invention process? Any memorable or funny stories about testing your invention?
There have been many ups and downs! My invention started out as paper plates with different designs, the centers cut out, and a plain white plate from the dollar store! So we’ve both come a long way. As for as the manufacturing process, the actual design of the plate and the ring was conceptually hard for the factories at first. Getting the right fit was tricky, but once we overcame that we were well on our way. Deciding on ring designs was the easiest part, because there are so many ideas to choose from, and so many ways to go. We could do a new ring design for every month. Hopefully, one day we will!
What is the one, absolute reason why people should make your product a part of their lives?
People should make Switch-A-Dish a part of their lives because it makes perfect sense; financially, socially & practically! You will save money, save time, save storage room, and make your home and your table look beautiful and festive, all at the same time. It’s not just for special occasions, rather, it will make any occasion special!
Now that you’re a Homemade Millionaire and HSN success story, what’s your next step, dream or goal?
I hope to continue to help people buy and sell their homes. I find my “day job” as a real estate agent very rewarding and challenging. I, like many other inventors, have some other ideas that I would love to take through the process and get to the marketplace. But my real dream came true 10 years ago when my twins Casey & Sheila were born. They are my joy and my real inspiration. They helped me so much during this journey. They were my best cheerleaders. They kept me grounded, made me laugh, and were excited for me no matter what was happening. I hope that I made them proud somewhere along the way as well!
More Homemade Millionaire on hsn.com:
» Read more from our Homemade Millionaire Blog
» Check out previous winner Grace Choi’s convertible jewelry collection
» Read more about the show and how you can submit a product idea to HSN
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