An interview with Ros from Ficklets and a Giveaway!

I know I’ve shared my love for Ficklets before and you may or not have noticed their button in my sidebar and maybe you even clicked over to their site to browse around or even better, purchase your favorite design. When I first met Ros, the owner and inventor of Ficklets, on Twitter I knew she was a special woman and I knew that long before I even knew her story or what her website had to offer. At that time it was very important for me to build relationships with friends on Twitter before I ever clicked over to their site. It felt more natural that way, rather than feeling like I was being marketed to by a business owner, which is something that Ros never did. She often had words of encouragement or humorous comebacks to my tweets, but not once did she send me links or (GASP) auto-DMs with some sort of sales pitch disguised as a friendly hello. Since then I’ve gotten to know Ros at a more personal level due to our friendship on Facebook and she’s become a sponsor on my blog. I’ve shared Ficklets with friends both online and offline and I truly love the smiles they bring to the faces of all the little darlings who wear them on their eyeglasses. It brings me joy to hear how successful she is due this amazing little idea she had one day while looking at her beautiful daughter and her eyeglasses. When she agreed to answer some interview questions, I was pleased. I can share how I feel and what she has to offer you as a woman, entrepreneur, and friend, but I think it brings it to a whole new level if you can read her words, all of which come straight from her heart, about this little business that she has a huge passion for.

1.  What inspired you to create Ficklets?  My daughter Gem, an eyeglass wearer, was the inspiration behind Ficklets. Gem’s eyeglasses were about two years old at the time I came up with the idea, so Ficklets was a way to jazz up her tired, old frame as well as add a punch of color and fun.
2. Where does the name Fickets come from?   Ficklets is a made-up word I created, a tip I learned from Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx. Ficklets is derived from the word “fickle”, which means to change often. I thought it appropriately described how much fun Gem and I had changing out her Ficklets whenever the mood hit (which was often, hence the name). 
3. Can you share a favorite Ficklets moment or story? Something that happened with, or was shared by, a customer perhaps?  One of the funniest and indelible moments happened at an optical trade show we exhibited the first year we were in business. A couple of gentlemen walked up to our booth, picked up a sample and said – “now why didn’t we think of this… we’ve been in the [expletive] business for over 25 years and WE couldn’t come up with this idea?” I couldn’t help but chuckle at their overly expressive comment and animated gestures. Their comment solidified in my mind that I was definitely on to something. I later found out they produced eyeglass frames. 
4.  How would you personally define success as a small business owner?  I’m learning to live by this philosophy – “it’s the journey, not the destination”. So for me, success comes in different forms/levels and at different stages. We’ve made great strides since our launch and have experienced some success along the way. Today, we estimate to be in 500 US and international optical stores, was featured in one of the top publications in the optical industry – Eye Care Professional Magazine, as well as in the First Edition of the CRAVE Phoenix Guide book released this past June. Receiving heartwarming and enthusiastic feedback from our customers about Ficklets is a big success in my heart. To hear that my little idea made a little girl or boy feel better about wearing their eyeglasses is the most fulfilling. I’m truly grateful for all the help and support I’ve received along the way.
5. What is your biggest hope for the future of Ficklets, aside from seeing them on millions of cute little faces, of course? A million (or two, or three) faces… now that would be mind blowing!My vision is to grow the Ficklets brand to include line products and continue to expand our markets. On a more personal level, my biggest hope is that Ficklets will to be a financially sound company to provide for my special needs daughter. My husband and I work very hard in hopes that our daughter won’t become a burden on society. We want her, like any parent, to have the financial means to be “self-sufficient” to live a quality life. She deserves that. I also understand that a part of living a spiritual life is about giving back, so I hope to help the adult mentally handicapped community in a way that will help them live a dignified life as they age. I think society tends to forget them once they’re out of the school system. 

She’s pretty wonderful, right? A caring, generous, creative woman with an adorable product! I’d be so grateful if you’d like the Ficklets Facebook page,  follow Ficklets on Twitter, and spend some time getting to know Ros and taking a look at her precious little gems for eyeglasses. Just in case you find something you absolutely love, Ros has kindly offered a special discount for my readers. Simply enter the code cathy at checkout to receive 25% off of your order- that’s for everything, including sale items!!  Since Ros has me feeling all kind and giving and because I love that football season has started, I thought it would be fun to give away a pair of football Ficklets (just like the ones in the photo shown here.

To enter simply leave me a comment with the name of your favorite football team – it could be a pee wee team, high school team, college, or NFL (I promise not to delete your comment if your favorite team isn’t the same as mine) – doesn’t matter, just tell me!

The giveaway will end on September 24th at 11:59 p.m. EST and I will use a random number generator to select a winner. That winner will have 48 hours to send me their shipping information or I will choose another winner. Please only one entry per person and U.S. only.

Disclosure: Ficklets is a sponsor of this site and as part of that relationship I will sometimes write posts sharing news or fun stuff about them and their products. Everything I say is honest and opinions are always my own.