Top 50 Mompreneurs, 2011

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Debbie Glickman | Fairytale Wishes

Company: Fairytale Wishes

Location: Highland Park, Illinois

Children: Daughter, 11, son, 8 ⢠Age: 43

Inspiration: When her son was too scared to switch from a crib to a big boy bed, Glickman solved the problem with a white lie. “It was either find a solution or sleep in this child’s bed forever,” Glickman says. “I knew about the calming properties of lavender, so I bought spray from a bath and body store, told him it was a magic potion that would promise him sweet dreams and sprayed it on his pillow. He totally bought it.” After seeing how well “sweet dreams spray” worked on her own son, Glickman did some research and found that nothing like her idea existed.

Perspiration: Glickman invested $15,000 of her own money, matched four childhood problems with four scents, wrote a backstory to each one and created a gender-neutral mascot named Freddy the Frog. “Freddy explains things, like: Monster repellant spray smells like bubblegum because monsters hate gum since it sticks in their fur and fangs,” Glickman says. “The whole idea is to empower kids with their own imaginations. If they believe they’re brave enough to deal with monsters under the bed, then I’ve done my job.”

Problems came on the business end. Coming from a creative, not a financial background, Glickman struggled to manage the logistics of the company. “I had no idea what to do,” she admits. “I asked for help whenever I encountered a problem that I didn’t know how to deal with.”

Success: After launching two years ago, Fairytale Wishes products are now in 16 states and are being tested by Bed, Bath and Beyond.