Auto parts supplier turns luck around with bracelets
Greg Ramfos made a pretty penny selling rivets, rings and fasteners - auto parts to big auto manufacturers. But when two of the big three filed for bankruptcy his company I-A-G went under it looked like Greg was finished.
INVESTORS BUY AND USE MARIJUANA BUT NOT TAKE ANY HOME WITH THEM. FROM RAGS TO RICHES, WHEN AIG WENT UNDER TWO YEARS AGO, IT THREATENED TO TAKE DOWN FAMILIES WHO DEPENDED ON AIG FOR THEIR PAYCHECKS. BECAUSE TURNAROUND KID WHO IS ACTUALLY A KID. PAULA IS IN SYLVAN LAKE. WHAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND YOU? Paula: LOOK AT THIS WAREHOUSE, AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RIGHT HERE. THESE ARE FOLKS WHO HAVE JOBS, A FUTURE, BECAUSE OF ONE MAN WITH A GREAT DEAL OF TENACITY, WHO REALLY LISTENED TO HIS 9-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER, AND IT'S PROOF POSITIVE THAT CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN AS WELL AS HEARD. HE MADE A PRETTY PENNY SELLING AUTO PARTS, BUT WHEN TWO OF THE BIG THREE FILED OR BANKRUPTCY, AIG WENT UNDER. YOU DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TURN TO OTHER THAN YOURSELF. Paula: HE HAS A WIFE AND TWO KIDS WHO ARE NOT ONLY GOING TO LOSE THEIR STATION IN LIFE BUT EVERYBODY ELSE. MY WHOLE LIFE... HANG ON A SECOND. Paula: ONE DAY HIS DAUGHTER TORY CAME HOME WITH A SILLY BAND. AND THEY WERE LIKE REALLY COOL. Paula: ONCE A RICH MAN, HE THOUGHT THE 6 BUCKS WASN'T EXTRAVAGANT BUT GOT AN IDEA. I WAS IN LOVE WITH PEACE SIGNS. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL BAND. I SAW SOME OF THE GRAPHICS AND I REALLY LIKED THEM. I PUT GLUE AND WOULD CUT THE PICTURE OUT AND PUT IT IN HERE. Paula: HE INVENTED PERSONALIZED BRACELETS. ANOTHER FAVORITE IS ME, BECAUSE I CAN CUSTOM A BAND AND PUT A PICTURE OF ME ON IT. Paula: THEY WERE ON TO SOMETHING, ROXO BRASSLETS. IT DESCRIBES YOU. SHE ENDED UP WEARING SOME OF THE BRACELETS TO SCHOOL AND THE KIDS WENT CRAZY, AND SHE WAS COMING HOME WITH A LEGAL PAD OF ORDERS. Paula: IT TURNED INTO A FEW THOUSAND ORDERS AND THEN MORE. THE KIDS BECAME ADVISORS. ALL THREE OF THESE KIDS WERE BASICALLY MY MARKETING TEAM OF TELLING ME WHAT I NEEDED TO DO. AND AS CRAZY AS THAT IS, THESE KIDS KNOW MORE THAN A PROFESSIONAL. Paula: NOW THERE'S A PLAN AND PEOPLE WORKING AGAIN. THE BRACELETS ARE IN MAJOR RETAIL OUTLETS. WHAT ARE YOU SHIPPING ON A GENERAL DAILY BASIS? WE CAN BUILD ABOUT 70,000 A DAY AND WE HAVE TYPICALLY BETWEEN 20-30 WORKERS A DAY. Paula: AND ALWAYS CLOSE BY ARE AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRL, HER BROTHER, AND THEIR FRIENDS. Paula: AND LISTEN, THIS IS THE AMAZING THING: THE COMPANY HAS GONE FROM ZERO TO A COMPANY GROSSING $2 MILLION IN TWO YEARS AND EXPECTED TO DOUBLE THAT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR AND HAVE LICENSES FOR DISNEY STUFF, NASCAR, THE TOP 18 UNIVERSITIES, THE MAJOR SPORTS TEAM. LOOK AT THIS. THEY'VE ACTUALLY BRANCHED OUT INTO SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS. AND DO YOU RECOGNIZE THESE PICTURES? BECAUSE WE WERE A LITTLE -- Ruth: YEAH, THERE'S AMY, MY AMY! Paula: WE HAD ONE MADE FOR YOU. Ruth: OH, MY GOSH, THANK YOU! YOU COOKED THIS UP WITHOUT ME KNOWING IT. THIS IS WONDERFUL! OH, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Paula: WE'VE BEEN COOKING IT UP FOR A WHILE. ISN'T THAT GORGEOUS? Rhonda: YES! Paula: YOU CAN PERSONALIZE THEM ONLINE. IT'S AN AMAZING TURNAROUND STORY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES OF THE WEEK. Ruth: THIS IS SO WONDERFUL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! I LOVE GETTING SURPRISES AND BEING SURPRISED. THIS IS FANTASTIC! THANK YOU SO MUCH! AND THIS STORY PROVES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES, IN THIS CASE A
