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The Stork
News®
Story: Our Beginning
The Tasteful Gift Alternative
Provides A Creative Business Opportunity
Ideas,
we all have them. But only a few possess the genius, timing, or
the will necessary to manufacture a product nationwide from a
simple idea. Cheryl Young is one of those rarities.
Who would have thought that a
brainstorm from the legend of the stork would trigger what has
become a lucrative and ever-growing business? Not even Mrs. Young.
But it happened. The result is Stork News® of America Inc.,
which not only proclaims the births of babies all over
Fayetteville , NC , but all over the nation.
It all started when Mrs.
Young found her children growing older and her husband urging her
to go to school or get a job with her extra time. She felt
comfortable with neither and enjoyed her creative time at home.
About that time a new baby
was born in the neighborhood and the proud parents had put the
traditional bow on the mailbox. Interestingly enough, Mrs. Young
had recently come across an antique leather post card that had a
stork on it with a baby riding on its back. The idea blossomed and
she began sketching out her creation. Her artistic ability had
always been a strong attribute, but this was obviously her
masterpiece. The stork was then transferred from its sketch-status
to an eight foot piece of plywood. After her husband cut out the
form, Cheryl brought the first stork to life with color!
As luck would have it several
ladies were attending a coffee next door, and they came over to
take a look at this latest creation, which had piqued everyone’s
curiosity. One of the women had a friend who had just delivered a
baby and she asked if Mrs. Young would put the stork out for her
friend. Cheryl was thrilled, and in a very short time the stork
was out on the lawn to welcome the mother and her new baby home
from the hospital. As the new parents arrived home this large
stork welcomed them with their daughter’s name in beautiful script
lettering, along with her birth weight and date of birth. The
other side of the bundle said “Congratulations,” and showed the
parents’ names. The stork soon brought other people in the
neighborhood out to see this interesting display. People would
stop their cars and get out to get a closer look. At the end of
the week Mrs. Young decided that the bundle plaque would be the
couples’ keepsake, and they were tickled pink.
From that point, Mrs. Young’s
mind began to really work. She purchased some bubble gum cigars in
pink and blue, Then she had some stickers printed with her phone
number and the name of her new business, “Stork News.” She wrapped
the stickers around the bubble gum and passed them out where ever
she went. This brought a smile to every face along with the
inevitable question, “What is Stork News?” Everyone was curious
about this crazy idea, as it grew and grew.
The calls were coming in and
storks were being made. From this time on, Stork News became a
full-time commitment for Cheryl Young. She would stay awake as
many as three nights in a row to get enough storks ready for
orders. When her husband came home from his full-time job he would
find himself right beside her constructing, painting or sanding
storks. He helped with developing business plans and activities,
and then they saw a lawyer to copyright her idea. Shortly after
that, franchising came into the picture.
Within a year of her idea,
someone who had received a stork had a brother very interested in
taking the idea to Iowa . Although reluctant to move so fast, Mrs.
Young did sell her first franchise. Today there are over 130
franchises in the United States , Canada and Puerto Rico , and the
business is still growing. It all happened with very little
advertising. There have been a few magazine articles and stories,
and now Entrepreneur lists Stork News as one of the top 20
low investment franchises.
It was nice that Mrs. Young’s
desire to stay home worked out, but that didn’t last very long.
Her work area soon outgrew the office over her garage, where she
carried a few novelty items and passed out candy, expanding into a
large, beautiful retail store that looks and even smells like a
little baby heaven! It has everything from bassinets to heirloom
christening gowns, and has further expanded into maternity clothes
and clothing for toddlers and young children. She also has a
warehouse where the storks and bundles are manufactured for the
ever growing numbers of franchises.
Cheryl Young is a warm and
loving person and her business portrays that same feeling. She
loves what she does, and she gets to deal with happy people on a
one of the happiest of life’s many ups and downs.
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