One On One With A Finalist From Oprah’s Next Big Idea Show

Weekend Entrepreneur:

Gwen Yuffa was one of 8 finalists who competed with more than 6,000 people and appeared on Oprah’s Next Big Idea show.

As the inventor of the Color Bug, Gwen devotes the majority of her time to her hubby and their two daughters. Let’s take a look at how she got the ball rolling for her company that was started in 2006.

How did you become an inventor and was this something you had been planning all along?

I had finished a four-year degree and still I had NO idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I thought it might be fun to explore movie set design and enrolled in Interior Design. After 2 months in the program, I was told that I was in the wrong program and moved into the Industrial Design program. The curriculum was a variety of design classes including automotive, special effects, theater, furniture, product, jewelry and toys (to name a few). Prior to the toy design, my strongest designs were all suited for children. My designs included things like children friendly furniture, children museum exhibits, night-lights, and shampoo bottles. It was not intentional but by the time the toy design class came along, I began to just “go with it.”

How do you manage juggling being a mom/wife/entrepreneur?

I have an extremely supportive husband, parents, and children. I am very lucky! I have made my children a part of this process. They are very much involved in helping in small ways, which gives them a great sense of pride and ownership. I have set times that I perform different tasks – emailing when they are playing, phone calls during naptime…etc. I try to cook and freeze portions so I’m not spending time in the kitchen every day. There are things I could definitely improve on but couldn’t we all? The kids have a place in my office and I have a laptop. So I am able to sit outside and work while watching them play.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to embrace their dream but doesn’t have the confidence or feels they don’t have what it takes to succeed?

The bottom line is that at the end of the day, do you want to look back at your life with regret for the things you wished you had done? Wouldn’t it be better to say that you at least tried and lived?

I encourage everyone to write down his or her dreams - whether it’s for career, personal, family, health, etc. It really helps because it focuses you on those things that you’d like to do. Then make a commitment to mark off just 3 things a year. You will find that you will do more than 3.