We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cara Brzezicki. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cara below.

Cara, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Growing up, I was always pretty creative. I am not sure I was always celebrated for my creativity, so I tried to stay in the box that people expected of me. I was pretty quirky (still am 😍) and that can be considered “weird” and “not normal” for when I was growing up.

I thought after college I was going to stick with being a realtor because I loved homes and everything about them (still do!). But, I found that the feast or famine life was really difficult and I decided that I wanted to go the corporate route. I love training people, so I climbed the corporate ladder. During this time, I had a boyfriend (now my husband) and he broke up with me. I loved acting, so I thought I would move to California, like everyone else who wanted an acting career, wait tables and find my life. I was living alone with my animals and thought I was going to do really move. I decided to not take that risk because I loved my boyfriend and I just believed that he would come back.

Well, he did and 5 years later we married. During this time, I was still climbing the corporate ladder and not doing anything creative. I ended up leaving my corporate job after I had my son. I loved my job, but I could not stand being away from my precious son.

When my son was 6 months old, he liked to throw his sippy cups. It was terribly annoying, but he thought it was funny, so the game continued. I bought everything on the market to keep his sippy cup from hitting the nasty floor. Nothing worked and I was so frustrated. I told my husband that I just want a clamp with a cord to tie around the sippy cup. So, I went to the hardware store, bought a clamp, drilled a hole in it, attached a bungee-like cord and put a hair tie at the end.

It was perfect! My son would throw his sippy cup and it would just dangle and never hit the floor. I would take it out to restaurants and people would come up to and ask where I got it. So, I decided that I was going to create it, patent it and sell it.

I had no idea where to start, so I just started Googling everything that I had to do. I ended up writing my own patent, and found an engineer to make my prototype. I created the Sippie Clippie! Right before I signed the licensing agreement to the Sippie Clippie, the licensee backed out. This all went down in February 2020. I never received a straight answer, but I believe that COVID scared them.

While I was pursuing the Sippie Clippie and the licensing route, I invented another product called the Flusher Blocker. This product was created out of necessity as well. Also, I have written 10 books and have published four so far. I have many inventions in my invention book, but I have to do one project at a time!

I would have never had the confidence to just go for it if it was not for my intuition nagging me to create the Sippie Clippie and to just figure it out. I am so thankful for all of the risks I have taken on my journey. I am even thankful for the risks that turned out to be expensive and ones that did not work. All you need is one yes on your journey of nos!

I have made some expensive risks, but they have allowed me to learn from them and grow. I am currently working on my 5th book to be published in June 2022. I am glad that I just went for it because my inventing journey has led me to my writing journey and now I can do both!

Cara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I mentioned earlier that I fell into the inventing world. I always created things when I was a kid and would probably have pursued it much earlier if it were not for a family member telling me that my invention was stupid. This was a great lesson to learn because there will always be someone who does not like what you do. But, if you believe in yourself, then go for your dreams!!

I had no idea about manufacturing, the patent industry, the licensing industry, or the inventing industry at all! I literally just wanted something to keep my son’s sippy cup from hitting the floor and nothing worked. So, I created it! This is how all my inventions started it out. I am more than happy to support others and especially independent creatives. But, if nothing is on the market and I need it, I will just create it.

Sometimes I create items for just myself, but if I get told that there truly is a need for my products, then I move to the masses.

When I write my books, I write them based on ways we can help each other, the planet, and how we can better everything. I really do care about the products and the books that I create. I try to be as eco-friendly as possible and teach things that are really important to me.

I think that I am most proud of is the fact that I still create. I have been told so many times no for some of my inventions, but, yet they sell. I have had a bad review on one of my books, but for the most part people love them and I continue to sell them. I guess I am just proud that I keep going for it. I believe I am supposed to help so many people and if my creative works are the way to do it, then I will accept my journey and try to be the best at it!

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I am super fascinated by crypto, Web 3.0, the Metaverse, and NFTs. I think anything that is virtual is amazing! I also think this is our future. Think about how kids and adults are amused by Fortnite. Not just because of the fun of the game, but because you can buy skins. I remember when my son first asked me if he could have money to buy skins for a game. I was confused as to why you would want to buy something that is not tangible. It took me a bit to understand and I am one to say that I still do not fully understand, but I do believe it is the future.

I have created about 50 NFTs for my Jazzie Beans book series. I have not put them on a platform like OpenSea yet, but I am planning on it. I think authors have such a huge advantage if they can get their books as a NFT. I am still exploring and learning on how to do this, but I hope to have some NFTs for my books too.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an author and inventor is that I can make my own schedule! I am a mom first and I wanted to be able to be home with my kids and raise them. This is just what I think for me and I totally have mad respect for all working mamas out there! I can work around my kid’s school and sports schedules and still make dinner and lunches and do what I love to do.

I also love that I feel better creating. I cannot even imagine being in a cube again and working for someone else. I really enjoy having my time to myself and my time for my family and work. It takes years to make money and make it sustainable, but if you have persistence and the will, it will happen!!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.JazzieBeans.com https://FlusherBlocker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carebear7154/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jazzie.beans.9
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbrzezicki77/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/carebear7154
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdItIf9IbdUAXP0Hx2FHdQw