BY LESBIAN.COM
Frustrated at not finding sex toys designed for lesbians, Alice DeRock decided to design her own and launched Wet for Her.
What do you do and why?
I am the founder, creator and owner of Wet For Her, a sex toy company that designs and manufactures products specifically for women. Why? I was inspired and motivated to launch Wet For Her once I discovered that the majority of the sex toys available on the market were not only designed by men but also mostly created to replace the one organ we women do not have, namely the penis. Our goal was to invent sex toys that would enhance a woman’s pleasure, particularly between lesbian couples. We are women who love women and we know what makes us feel good. We felt that we needed to fill a gap in our sex-toys life.
What did you do before you started your company?
I was a Room Division Manager in the luxury hotel industry. I was managing 250 peoples and taking care of all the VIPs. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and create products. The world is so big and there are so many ideas. What made me choose Wet For Her was that my desire to bring something different and new and do something for my community. WetForHer gathers all those elements.
It was important for me to create a business where I would have an undisputed legitimacy and credibility.
How did you come up with the idea for your company?
A few years ago, my girlfriend and I were looking for sex toys and all we found were realistic ones with this thing that we hated: a ball sac. We really wanted to find something that was designed and manufactured by lesbians for lesbians. After some extensive research, we were surprised to see that there actually was no sex toys made by and for lesbians … and that’s how we found our new professional careers.
What’s the single most important piece of advice you received when first starting your company? What would you tell a young entrepreneur in turn?
The most important advice is that without money and/or sales you don’t go anywhere. You need to create products that innovate. If you can’t sell easily your products or create the demand it will be hard to establish longevity. When we see a successful company we think that they did it very quickly. More often than not, it actually requires years to reach a comfortable level of success, not to mention a lot of financial investment and hard work.
Another important advice was listening to customers’ feedback. You have to learn quickly from good or back feedback to adjust your strategies. And lastly, you have to enjoy the process of being an entrepreneur and be willing to put in long hours and persevere.
What aspect of business ownership came as the biggest surprise to you?
At the beginning I have to say that although I knew I was going to have to do it all, I just had no idea what “doing it all” really meant.
Handling everything from the designing, the shipping of orders, mounting the website, supervising sales and trades, etc, was extremely taxing. Once I got the routine down, then came another challenge: Having to answer thousands of questions from customers who were interested in learning more about the company and the products.
What do you find most rewarding about owning your own business?
The most rewarding aspect of running your own business is to have happy customers, to see your business grow and going where you want to take it without changing your mission statement.
Where do you see yourself / your company in five years? Hopes / dreams / plans?
In five years, I hope Wet For Her will be known and recognize worldwide as the best and the No. 1 lesbian sex toys designer and manufacturer.
My goal is also to have released on the market additional new and unique products for lesbian couples so they have fun in bed and never fall into a dreadful sex routine or worse, the mythical lesbian bed death.
What resources would you recommend to someone who is contemplating starting her own business?
I would highly recommend reading books from successful entrepreneurs, such as Donald Trump or Anthony Robbins. Personally, I also follow one motto, which is F.O.C.U.S (follow one course until you succeed).
What would you say is the single most important key to sustaining a business long term?
Don’t rush. Be patient and grow slowly. We always think that when you grow to soaring heights you make more cash, but this is wrong. To grow costs a lot because you constantly have the re-invest in your business, and you need to have a very good cash flow. So yes, my advice is grow slowly.
What obstacles did you face in establishing your company and how did you overcome them?
Being in the adult industry, I had to face lot of denials from banks, insurance, website payment process, etc. They don’t want their name to be associated with the adult industry, much less a sex-toy company. What helped me were my existing business industry relationships. Other established business owners can easily recommend you to people with whom they work. That definitely made it easier to get my foot through the door.
Learn more about Wet for Her.
