My husband and I went to see a movie last year, part of a date night that was desperately needed in the midst of our busy lives. We decided to see the new Mission Impossible movie (about 3 hours long), and had been excited about it for weeks. After a great dinner, we headed to the theater and bought our tickets, popcorn and soda. We went inside to find our seats at a theater we'd been to many times. As we sat down, I leaned back in the seat and visions of "super lice" began to swim through my mind. My hair was quite long at the time, and all I could think of was the summer I came home from youth camp with a head full of lice. I quickly moved my hair off my back and draped it down the front of me, then leaned forward in the seat. I sat like this for 3 hours, suffering through the movie in the most uncomfortable position, determined not to let the lice get me this time!
To some of you this may seem a bit extreme, but after working in the medical field for the last 12 years, I've seen and experienced a whole lot of disgusting things. Bacteria, germs, viruses, insects, parasites, bodily fluids.... you get the picture. I've done some research on what lurks in public places, especially places like theaters, airplanes, buses, trains, even those massage chairs at the nail salon. Public seats are full of anything and everything imaginable. I'm not sure why this particular night at the theater was "the one", but it started me thinking about a solution. I needed to be able to go to movies, take a flight, ride the bus or get a pedicure without being in a constant state of worry or fear over the nastiness my body was sitting on. I told my husband I needed to have a small, sleek, self-contained, washable seat cover to throw in my purse and take with me where ever I may need it. We started brainstorming on what this cover would look like and how it would function. We thought about fabric, ease of use, size, features and colors.
Not long after that evening at the movies, I attended a women's business conference in Nashville (Business Boutique with Christy Wright) and my life has been forever changed. I was given the confidence, knowledge and encouragement to become a woman in business. I learned that nothing will ever get done if we wait for the perfect time. My new motto has become "Don't wait until you're not scared to do thing you want to do. Do it scared." The FlightJacket (FLYTJKT) has been the jumping off point for me. I have done some incredibly scary things over the past year that I never thought possible. From a vision in my mind, to drawing a picture of my creation, to buying fabric and finding a dear friend to sew my very first prototype. There have been several revisions and additions to the original picture in my mind...and the outcome has been fantastic!
We now have an official factory sample and will be launching a KickStarter campaign very soon. We will be taking professional photos of the FLYTJKT and producing a marketing video. What started as a fear of lice and germs on my theater seat became a vision of purpose and ingenuity. I've met some great people along this journey and gained valuable knowledge through persevering past the "scary" things. I can't wait to get the FLYTJKT on the market and out to all of you who've been asking about it, borrowing my prototypes for airline flights, providing valuable feedback and supporting me through this adventure! Here we go!!!