Barbara Kavovit
Founder, Barbara K Enterprises, Inc.
www.barbarak.com
There’s nothing quite like a lady with a hammer (or a screw driver, drill, level or sander.) Come on, admit it, the tool belt is an accessory that trumps even the latest “It” bag.
Truth be told, a home improvement project successfully executed renders a girl blissfully self-reliant. And no one appreciates this more than this weeks launching lady best known as ‘Barbara K.’
A single mom and former New York City general contractor, Barbara Kavovit started Barbara K Enterprises to create tools for women that ‘enhance the home and empower the spirit.’ Bestsellers include her 30-piece tool tote, power-lite cordless drill and roadside repair kit.
Check out how ‘Sex in the City’ helped launch her multi-million dollar business, and how this head-turning-Miss Fix-It built a dream, one nail at a time.
Conquering the World of Contracting
Barbara K: “Right out of college (State University of New York at Oswego) I started listening to my mom and a friend of hers talk about the contractors who didn’t show up and wishing they could do things for themselves. I decided to conquer the world of contracting.”
Without a Clue How to Fix a Faucet
“I listed every home improvement known to mankind that I was going to take care of for the homeowner. I spent time in shopping centers and went up to women as they came out and introduced myself. I was living at home at the time. My parents would answer the phone and it would be for me with a woman saying, ‘I met some girl at the mall and she says she can fix my leaky faucet.’
“I was willing to fix the problem even though I had no idea how. It’s more of a problem not having the business than to worry about ‘What am I going to do when I have it?’”
Hitting $50 Million in Revenue
“Over the next eight years, I built a $50-million construction company. In 2000, I did about $50 million in revenue. I was a construction management company. When corporations would move into a new space, I would do the build-out. I went from fixing a leaking faucet to managing a 35- to 50-man company.”
How She Built Her First Company
“There’s no fear factor. You don’t know what’s going to hurt you because you’ve never done it before. I learned the art of breaking through a brick wall - that brick wall is a metaphor for everything in life. There are always things you’re going to have to break through and conquer.”
Difficult Situation…
“From there I had gotten married, I had a child and then 9/11 happened. I was simultaneously going through a divorce. After 9/11, business stopped - I lost 80-90 percent of my business. In construction, if you don’t keep generating cash flow, you don’t have a business. I was in debt and I had to think quick. My husband wasn’t giving me any money at the time.”
Inspires Brand of Tools for Women
“My ‘eureka’ moment came while I was watching ‘Sex in the City’. It was the episode where Samantha had just bought a new apartment and was trying to hang curtains… they came falling down on her head. It was a disconnect for me, that here are women buying apartments and living on their own, but they can’t hang curtains. ‘That’s it,’ I said, ‘I’m now officially Barbara K.’ I’m the woman that women can turn to for fun, smart solutions to enhance their home and empower their spirit.”
Developing First Products
“What I wanted to do was design the perfect toolkit to help (women). It was going to be super stylish - it was going to have great set of tools that would feel good in your hand, with non-slip grips made for a woman by a woman. It would have the education to go with it because that was the disconnect.”
Scrounging for Start-Up Money
“I didn’t have much money at the time - my business was in the dump. I w
as on verge of filing for bankruptcy. I was able to scrounge $8,000 to make a prototype for the toolkit. I also hired a company to help me create a business plan.
“I started to raise money through a private placement offering and I raised money through a $5-million valuation to start. It wasn’t a scientific formula - that’s what I decided to value the company at the time, and I was able to achieve that. I continued to increase the valuation based on certain milestones that we met and stepping stones we achieved.”
Courting Manufacturers and Buyers
“I went to Taiwan and met a number of different manufacturers, and told one of them, ‘I think that you should make all the molds and tools for me so I can go back to States and sell to retailers.’ That’s what they did and that’s what I did.
“I proceeded to get the names and numbers of all the buyers… you name it, I called them. From there, we did an advertising campaign… each step leads to next step. Each step afforded us a certain amount of awareness. From there, I got a book deal with a major publisher and did a number of TV shows.”
Greatest Challenge
“The greatest challenge is to convince the buyers in the home center stores that women want their own products - products that are made for them that make life easier. We are physically different from men - things should fit and look and feel different for us.”
‘Monumental Feat for a Nine-Year-Old Girl’
“My mom was a teacher and my dad was a mechanical engineer. My dad, when I was nine years old and growing up in the Bronx, he decided that me (and my sister) needed more room/ He decided that we were going to build a bunk bed/ He gave me a hammer and said, ‘Here’s the two pieces of wood - now you have to nail them together.’ It took at least 15 strokes to get that nail into the wood.
“Over the course of the next week, we completed the bunk bed and I helped my dad install it. I’ll never forget that feeling of accomplishment the day that it was finished and the night that I slept on it. The fact that it was so tangible and real that it took the strength of my own two hands to build it… that was a monumental feat for a nine-year-old girl.”
Being a Single Mom and Building a Business
‘If you’re a single mom, or married with a child, or three, or two, you have to manage your time well and include your family on your quest. That’s what I do with my son. If he hears me on the phone talking and he asks me a question… I’ll explain what I’ve just spoken about. He’ll disappear and come back and he’ll draw something (in his art book) - he’s drawn a number of different tools for me.”
Recommended Resources
“Early on, I joined every women’s organization out there. You need people when you’re starting a business. That’s one of the key components of starting a business - you’re trying to meet as many people as possible and communicate your ideas and get feedback.”
Words of Advice - For Big Thinkers
“If you’re looking to build a big business, make sure you have a terrific operations person who works alongside you. If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are you’re a macro-thinker, not a micro-thinker. You see the big picture and you know how to get from A to Z and connect all the pieces, but you don’t necessarily know how to derive the most money from your company.”
Words of Advice - For Small, Struggling Ventures
“If you don’t want to build a big business, that’s perfectly OK.
Absolutely never give up. At the last possible moment when you think you’re failing is when you kick it into high gear and at that point will be the greatest turnaround.”
This Featured Lady was profiled by profiler and mom, Michele Cerza.
