Greenville Business Magazine 2010 January issue : Page 36
Light BY MARY ANN HESTER PHOTOGRAPH BY NILL SILVER PHOTOGRAPHY N o, this does not have anything to do with smoking – but it has everything to do with a local gentleman who runs a very successful company and who also saw a niche in the marketplace and filled it. Charles Scales has been president of Greenville Office Supply (GOS) since 1992 and one would think that would be a plateful of responsibilities. With a company that has grown ten-fold, offering over 30,000 general office supplies plus promotional and safety products, cleaning and coffee services and office furniture, it seems like this continued success in these challenging times would be enough. But not for this true entrepreneur. “Having an old home started this process,” he says with a smile. “The gutters and the outdoor lighting on my house were in direct conflict with each other. I am not sure which ny that has grown ten-fold, offering over
30,000 general office supplies plus promotional
and safety products, cleaning and coffee services
and office furniture, it seems like t with a Greenville Entrepreneur
Light Up with a Greenville Entrepreneur
Mary Ann Hester
No, this does not have anything to do with smoking – but it has everything to do with a local gentleman who runs a very successful company and who also saw a niche in the marketplace and filled it.
Charles Scales has been president of Greenville Office Supply (GOS) since 1992 and one would think that would be a plateful of responsibilities. With a company that has grown ten-fold, offering over 30,000 general office supplies plus promotional and safety products, cleaning and coffee services and office furniture, it seems like this continued success in these challenging times would be enough. But not for this true entrepreneur.
“Having an old home started this process,” he says with a smile. “The gutters and the outdoor lighting on my house were in direct conflict with each other. I am not sure which came first, but the gutters blocked the outdoor security lighting and I did not want to have to call an electrician to come out and fix what I considered a small problem. I went to my local do-it-yourself store looking for a cheap and easy-to-install way to manipulate the lights around the gutters. As it turns out, there was nothing on the shelf that remotely resembled what I needed.”
So his entrepreneurial light bulb came on about six years ago and, “had I known what a long, convoluted process I was in for, this product might never have been born. I can see why 80 percent of new products never make it to market.”
But the self-professed tinkerer did not give up and made many a prototype with a company in Duncan. And when he showed it to anyone and everyone, without exception they said, “go for it. It is a simple idea and I have never seen anything like it and I would buy one” He also expanded the concept to include lighting indoors in closets, attics and basements wherever flexible lights are needed.
So what is this new fangled idea? It is a 13” flexible tube that you screw into an electrical socket. You then place up to a 100 watt bulb in the other end and aim the tubing where you need the light. Simple but also brilliant.
The name of this product is EasySpot® which says what it does. When asked how he came up with the name, Scales said it was from a car ride with his children. They all chimed in with ideas and the winner was EasySpot. He adds, “it was inexpensive market research and I think it works.”
Then came the challenging parts. Packaging and graphic designed evolved as the original packing was too flimsy. Now it is encased in heavy plastic but you can still feel the piece, as part of it is left exposed. Rolling his eyes, Scales talks about the three times it took to get Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approval; “looking at the ‘typical UL product evaluation process’ on their website is enough to make anyone have second thoughts but the standards are needed.” And then there was the bar-coding issue and the patent attorneys and so on, as his investment in this simple product escalated.
So where can you buy this? About two years ago he contacted someone at Lowe’s who showed an interest in it. After several meeting and months went by with no action, Scales found another source within Lowe’s. This time things happened, and in 2009 Scales had 50,000 units of the product made. Lowe’s is currently stocking them in South and North Carolina and they are also available on their website. (www.lowes.com keyword: EasySpot or item #222235). Even with zero advertising, the product is selling over 360 units a month and Lowe's recently expanded the offering to all 1,700 stores nationwide. If their predictions are accurate, the countrywide sales could generate over $15,000 a week.
But is all this worth it? Scales says, “six years, a lot of money and extremely hard work have gone into this project and I am glad it may pay off. At least I got my lighting problem fixed and maybe I am helping some other folks, too.”
So what is next for this tinkerer? He has some other projects on his “back burner” and they may come to the forefront now. “It has got to be easier to walk through this process the second time around,” he says. GBM
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