Proprietor:
Carla K. Binswanger started Organized4Kids.com with Rose McDermott in early 2008 to create products that empower parents.
Product Description:
The first offering from Organized4Kids.com is My IEP ToolKit, a large notebook with specialized tabs that "helps you organize all your child’s most important IEP-related papers," says Binswanger. "It gives you a way to make sense of them, an easy way to carry them, and -- most important -- a fast way to find them when you need them most." According to a description on the site, the kit includes "tips and charts, step-by-step instructions, strategies for success, twelve high-quality preprinted dividers, three-hole punch, interior pocket, and standard-sized three-ring binder."
Family Matters:
Binswanger's son was diagnosed with autism in 2002, when he was three years old. "We were devastated," she recalls. "After we caught our breath, my husband and I found ourselves responding in ways that really reflected our own personalities. My husband is a great networker, and he started calling everyone he knew to find great providers. I'm a natural-born organizer, and responded by finding ways to organize all the information we were gathering." When she started sharing her organizational techniques with other parents, the idea of Organized4Kids.com was born.
Getting Started:
"Rose had come from working in the school system, so she had that educational perspective and connections with lots of special-education teachers," Binswanger explains. "One day we had this 'aha' moment when we realized the binder system I'd been creating for a few parents I knew would be an incredible tool for all parents with IEPs. We did market research to make sure nobody had a similar product. Then we met with parents, advocates and special-educators to get their input. We spent about eight months writing and editing and revising, to make sure it really was right, and worked hard to find the right manufacturer."
Success Story:
Though the business is new, the partners already consider it a success. "We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from parents and educators and advocates" to the ToolKit, says Binswanger. "Parents are so relieved to receive help in taming all of their paperwork associated with their child's IEP. They tell us wonderful stories about how 'in control' they feel during IEP meetings!" She describes "the look on parents' faces when they feel that they finally have a solution to a huge problem" as the best thing about the business. The worst: "Not being able to get our product into more parents' hands right away!"
Future Plans:
"We're developing a Spanish-language version of My IEP ToolKit," Binswanger reports, "and we have other products in the pipeline as well -- for both special needs and typical children and their parents."
Professional Advice:
Would Binswanger recommend that other parents start businesses as she has? "Absolutely -- there's nothing better than identifying a need, and helping to fill it." It's also been a positive experience for her son, she says. "He's pretty proud that My IEP ToolKit is something that he 'helped to make' -- and he likes knowing that I have all his 'stuff' gathered into one special place."
Parenting Wisdom:
"Get to know other parents with children who have similar challenges as yours," Binswanger advises other parents of children with special needs. "When you feel less isolated, you're a better parent. And when you listen to other parents' experiences, you learn about resources and approaches you may never otherwise have known about."
