Small Business Success: Tapping into Obama Mania

Sometimes losing your job can be a great money-making opportunity.

Take Marissa Corwin, a Queens, N.Y.-based freelance textile and product designer who was recently laid off by a large media company. With a more open schedule, Corwin and some friends planned a trip to D.C. for Barack Obama's inauguration.

They were talking about what kind of Obama banners they’d make to honor the new president when inspiration struck.

“Bandanas are like personal banners,” she says.  “The idea for the bandanas came out of that.”

From Concept to Cloth

Corwin set to work designing and creating bandanas emblazoned with the president-elect’s face and a variety of references to his Kenyan heritage and Hawaiian background.

She bought the materials wholesale, and made a preliminary investment of $6,000 for design and production of the first batch. Corwin did much of the initial silk-screening while also setting up a production process that can accommodate serious demand for the product. Within a couple weeks she had boxes of bandanas not just for her and her friends, but to sell to the public.

“People have been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive about this project from the beginning,” says Corwin. “In fact, wherever I go, kids seem almost fanatical about the bandanas, wanting to touch them and wear them all different ways.”