My Day at QVC
I just got back from a whirlwind 24 hour trip to QVC’s studios in West Chester PA not far from Philadelphia. I was there to sell the child safety device that my husband and I invented called KinderKord. Visitors to the sprawling campus of QVC usually stay at the nearby Sheraton Hotel. I’ve actually been on QVC a few times before so I was somewhat familiar with the routine, I even knew about the nearby Outback restaurant where you must test your fortitude against having the bloomin’ onion prior to your QVC camera appearance. When checking in, with a giggle I asked for whatever room Joan Rivers usually stays in when she comes to sells her wares – and they knew exactly what I meant!
The morning was reminiscent of my days at Good Morning America; up before dawn for hair and make-up for an early morning show with “Mary Beth Roe” a long time popular QVC host. As a mother of four she was perfect to help me sell KinderKords which for those of you who don’t know, are worn like watches but have retractable cords which connect parents to their children. Finally a way to stay connected to your child without using a leash, which just didn’t sit right with my husband and me. And as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and with two little sets of twins, we decided we better figure out “a better way”.
Though I had agreed to co-host with Mary Beth for the entire hour, I had only 8 minutes of real selling time – so the pressure was on! QVC had asked us to ship them 3,000 KinderKords for this sales event and we had no idea what to expect. My husband Jeff was in the green room where he watched two screens monitoring every call coming in and every order being made. For me the eight minutes selling on camera flew by in a flash – and the next thing I knew I was back in the car on my way home and writing this blog – oh yeah, we sold out! Yeah!!!!
Come on, really, as inventors, it was truly thrilling to see our efforts come to fruition, and know that 3,000 children are a little safer today.
Joan Lunden truly exemplifies today’s modern working woman. An award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker, successful entrepreneur, one of America’s most recognized and trusted television personalities, this mom of seven continues to do it all. As host of Good Morning America for nearly two decades, Lunden brought insight to top issues for millions of Americans each day. The longest running host ever on early morning television, Lunden reported from 26 countries, covered 4 presidents and 5 Olympics and kept Americans up to date on how to care for their homes, their families and themselves.