Joy Mangano

Joy was a struggling single mom of 3 kids when she came up with the idea for the "Miracle Mop." With little money but knowledgeable about business, she hired her first production employee from an ad posted at a local church by her pastor. She had lots of good ideas for products but very little money to run her company at a profit. She had to invest in the usual business tools such as product molds, engineering, production, etc. and that caused her company to operate at a loss for the first couple of years.

As her products began to sell on TV and in stores, she developed advanced business skills and more importantly "people skills." She would search for just the right employees as well as dependable engineers and manufacturers to help her bring her products to market.

While Joy went about her normal daily routine of caring for her 3 teenage daughters and taking care of her home, her inventor's mind would see how to improve whatever household item she was using. If the iron wasn't easy to use and cumbersome she would come up with ideas on how to take the wrinkles out of clothes in an easier quicker way.

Her famous and very useful "My Little Steamer" is one of her most popular products and always sells out during on-air presentations on HSN.

Joy Mangano understands that it's her unyielding attention to producing high quality products and working with high quality people that have made her a success. She puts a lot of emphasis on how important it is as a business person to develop good "People Skills." She hires friends and associates she has known for years who are very talented in their field of expertise. She doesn't kid herself that she would be able to handle every aspect of her business by herself and be as successful as he is now.

During meetings with staff, they come up with all kinds of ideas for new products and the best way to manufacture and market them. After a decision is made she brings her rough drawings to her expert CAD guy who draws up the blueprint and specs for the product.

She also credits her parents and brother for giving tremendous support to her and helping her build her brand. Both her parents and brother work with her company. But,it's her father who formerly owned a bus company that provides savvy business advice during crucial decision time.

She's up at 5:30 in the morning and working til between 7pm to 10pm every night. A hard worker, she has said that you must have a sixth sense when it comes to risk taking and decision making in order to be successful and innovative.

Just a Few of Joy's Popular Products That She Designed:

* Image 4 Deluxe Four-Panel Dressing Mirror

* Charge It All Valet Organizer

* Totally Tables All Wood Set with Tablecloths

* My Little Steamer

* Closedrier Portable Drying System

* Snuggly Pillow Blanket with Neck Roll

* East Hampton Designer Drop Bag

* The Hamptons Reversible Glam Tote

* Sonic Jewelry Cleaner

* Clothes It All Luggage System

* And of Course Huggable Hangers!

Joy's corporation is called "Ingenious Designs LLC." She started it in 1992 and is in charge of operations, product design and development, creating, marketing, manufacturing, etc. Her company was aquired by Barry Diller in 1999 by his "InterActiveCorp." Ingenious Designs LLC is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSN and has become it's fastest growing business!

Ingenious Designs is located in a large 50,000 square-foot factory in Edgewood and has approximately 200 employees who manufacture the products seen on TV, internet and in stores.

She was happy her company was aquired by HSN because it allows her ideas and product development to be backed by a giant rather than the struggling on her own with each product.

Another great milestone in Joy's life happened 1997. Joy was named Long Island Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.

Quite an accomplishment for the former struggling single mom with 3 kids.

Regarding her daughter's reaction to her skyrocketing multimillion dollar success, she says
'They've seen the excitement of building this huge business out of virtually nothing. It's the American dream. They know that if you have good ideas and are willing to work extremely hard, the sky's the limit.'