It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention.   I want to honor some of our unsung sheros who invented things we use everyday.

Marion Donovan was a young mother in the post-war baby boom era. Tired of the leaky cloth diapers she invented the disposable diaper. Marion made her first prototype using a shower curtain.

Manufactures said Marion Donovan’s product wouldn’t work. Undeterred, Marion went into business for herself.  Many years later she was able to sell her business for $1 million dollars.

Next time it rains you might find yourself thinking of May Anderson.  Back in 1903 she was granted her first patent for a window-cleaning device that could clean rain, sleet or snow from a windshield using a handle inside the car.  By 1916 windshield wipes became standard equipment on all cars.

Bette Nesmith Graham is one of my favorite stories.  She never intended to be an inventor; she wanted to be an artist.  After World War II ended, she was a single mother with a child to support.  As an executive secretary she took great pride in her work, and sought a better way to correct typing errors. She recalled that artists simply painted over their mistakes, so why couldn’t she?

Bette used tempera water based paint and colored it to match the stationery she was using.  With a small watercolor brush she dabbed that on any typing mistakes she made.  He boss never noticed.  Soon another secretary saw the new invention and wanted a bottle.  She called it “Mistake Out”.

In 1956 Bette started her homed based business, Mistake Out, which she later renamed, Liquid Paper. By 1967 it was a multi-million company. Bette Nesmith Graham believed money to be a tool, not a solution to a problem. Graham sold her corporation for $47.5 million. She set up two foundations to help women find new ways to earn a living.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®