We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sherrill Mosee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sherrill thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I’m a problem solver. I love tinkering, creating and just figuring stuff out. After being laid off, I founded a nonprofit organization to help low-income single moms in college pay for childcare so they could continue their education and not drop out of school. My mother was a single mother, who was denied the opportunity to continue her higher education because of the lack of support and finances. As a result, she struggled to care for me and my siblings growing up, and well… life was pretty hard. I wanted to make sure young moms who wanted to go to college, had the support and means to help them succeed. I started a childcare scholarship program and partnered with local childcare providers, colleges, and universities. With grants and donations, I awarded over $3 million dollars to more than 500 student-parents. Unfortunately, when the economy crashed in 2008, I had to close my doors.
While working with the moms, I notice them struggling with their bookbags, purses, and diaper bags. I realized I was struggling too. As a commuter, like many women, I often carried two or three bags while taking the train to work. I carried my purse, laptop, lunch, and sometimes a change of shoes in a plastic grocery bag. It was cumbersome struggling with two or three bags maneuvering from place to place. I wanted a bag that would organize and separate items I typically carried in three bags, into one bag. When I couldn’t find a suitable bag on the market, I decided I would create one.
I had no background in fashion design, merchandising, or manufacturing, so it was a daunting task. For nearly two years, I took various classes and workshops offered by the Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Centers at local universities in order to make my business a reality. Additionally, I was accepted into the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator at Macy’s and launched my business in 2014.
Sherrill , 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?
Of course! I wanted to become an astronaut when I was younger. That was before I ever flew on a plane. I was 18 when I took my first flight. Flying in a small aircraft that felt like riding on a rollercoaster, swashed my dream of becoming an astronaut. I quickly changed my major from aeronautical engineering to electric engineering. I currently hold a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University. I worked for an aerospace company for a number of years before being laid off.
I’m very proud of the fact that along my journey, I have executed my ideas, but most importantly for inventing a new type of handbag. I researched and studied patents to see if my idea existed on the market. I submitted my own and have since been awarded two utility patents for my functional bags. There have been many challenges and obstacles along the way, many times I wanted to give up, but I didn’t. I persevered. I worked through and around the failures. I believe in myself and I believe in what I’m building.
With no background in fashion design, manufacturing, marketing, sourcing, or retail, I am proud of bringing my idea to life and helping women around the world transform the way they carry their personal items in a bag. Women from Iceland, Finland, Australia, Ghana, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan, have experienced MinkeeBlue.
I’m proud when I read my emails, comments, and reviews from women and men stating that MinkeeBlue is just what they’ve been looking for. I’m proud of coming through the worse of the pandemic without shutting down my business. When people stopped traveling and commuting to work, my business suffered. I held on and survived.
To date, I am most proud of winning the first episode of a live shoppable T.V. show, America’s Big Deal which premiered on the USA Network in October 2021.
MinkeeBlue is truly a practical, functional, and stylish work and travel bag. They are designed to: (1) eliminate the number of bags women typically carry while commuting to work and (2) provide organization to a disheveled bag. Many women who work outside of the home carry multiple bags to hold items they need for the day; purse essentials, lunch, shoes, gym gear, change of clothes, and laptop. Other women carry a large disheveled bag for their laptops, shoes, purse essentials, and food. They become frustrated digging at the bottom of their bag trying to find things.
MinkeeBlue customers are women on the go between the ages of 34 – 55. She is a flight attendant, nurse, professor, attorney, engineer, executive, and mom. MinkeeBlue is a versatile organizational bag with a convertible shelf in the middle of the bag creating an upper and lower compartment for better organization. The bag has two entry points for easy access to items, so there is no more digging. MinkeeBlue patented shelf converts from a two-compartment bag to a full tote bag.
A MinkeeBlue customer is stylish and organized. One bag will do with a MinkeeBlue.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
We are very proud of our social media presence for we have worked hard to gain over 100K followers on Instagram and have had two videos go viral on both IG and TikTok. We are focusing on creating video content to demonstrate the versatility and functionality of our products. We work with influencers in travel and the food industries to show the practicality of MinkeeBlue which also helps build our presence on social media.
We work hard to consistently post videos on IG, TikTok, and YouTube. In addition to paid digital ads, organic growth is currently working well for the brand on TikTok. We will continue to focus on this platform to grow our business.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
What built my reputation within the handbag, fashion market is by providing a unique product that solves a problem, looking for opportunities and collaborations to share my product with others, and consistently showing up in front of consumers whether it’s through new product launches, social media, customer service, newsletters, and more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://minkeeblue.com/
- Instagram: @minkeeblue
- Facebook: MinkeeBlue
Image Credits
Credit – MinkeeBlue