We have a product to sell, of course… but there’s more to the story.

Inspiration for entrepreneurs

When I think of inventors, Thomas Edison comes to mind. His saying, “I have not failed 10,000 times – I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work” truly inspires me. Here is a man whose invention literally impacted the world with his invention of the light bulb.

A lesser-known inventor hero of mine is Madame C.J. Walker, who was the first American self-made woman millionaire – of any race!  She achieved this distinction back in 1910 when not only was it not common for women to be in business, but it was even rarer for a black woman.

Her gift was that she was a visionary. She knew that if she could get her product into more people’s homes, it would not just help them, but it would provide overall economic empowerment for people.

At the time, there really weren’t any commercially available products to care for black hair so there was no path for her to follow. Even though no one had done that type of thing before, she believed it was possible to help people and to scale her business into a national and international brand.

Madam C.J. Walker truly inspires me because she created a company with a great idea at a time when she couldn’t just go out and get crowd-funding, or a grant, or a loan. She wasn’t born into a wealthy family.  She had to bootstrap and start where she was and she ended up amassing an empire that created jobs for thousands of people that grew a brand that exists to this day.

Imagine how much effort it took to make a million dollars, when her product sold for 15 cents a tube! She had to sell one tube at a time door to door, salon to salon. She had to develop the supply chain, train and recruit her saleswomen, and find distribution channels at a time when there were no commercial delivery systems. 

The origin of Lift Your TableⓇ folding table risers

We used folding tables to prep and serve food but when our people began to complain about back pain and neck strain, we traced it to the height of our tables.  Folding tables were designed for seating, with a surface at table height.

But when you’re catering, there’s ZERO sitting going on. Food prep is best done while standing. So there we were, crouching over the folding tables to serve our clients. Any of you who’ve worked with surfaces that are too low know how painful it can be!

Big cans, cinder blocks, and pallets were just some of the methods our clients had tried to prop up their folding tables. Unfortunately, each of these methods had its problems. But at the time, there was nothing specifically designed to lift up folding tables.

So we went to work and made our own:  a product that was safe, sturdy, and professional looking. Our people loved them. We discovered that other vendors did, too. Then we found a plastics manufacturer to make our product from furniture grade PVC. 

Our first risers were our standard kitchen-counter set, designed to fit bent-leg or “wishbone”-style folding tables up to 36″. These models were designed originally with a repositionable foot. 

We decided that we want to know what our customers are looking for. Every January we send a survey out to customers who bought during the previous year who’ve provided their email address. We ask for their feedback on our product, who they are, and what we can do to better address their needs.   

We discovered through this feedback process that some clients needed a higher surface. They needed the table to be at bar height (which is about 42” off the ground.) Because the risers can be customized, clients who need their surface lifted between the 36” and 42” heights cut them down to fit exactly what they need.

Many clients had different folding tables, where the legs are straight instead of being bent. Our next innovation was the straight-leg kit just for them. 

Due to customer demand for a product that keeps the folding table in place, we also developed kitchen counter and bar height sets with non-slip, non-marking feet. Then came the Standing Desk Kit, because the associated health benefits of standing and moving more are real. 

Our latest creation to respond to customer feedback is the XL set, which lifts your folding table up to 48” high. Very tall customers can now work without straining their backs. Many vendors have also purchased this set to feature products in their booths.

Just as when you’re thinking of buying a specific type of car and suddenly you notice them everywhere, we started seeing folding tables wherever we went.

And not just only in industries similar to catering, like party and wedding planners and event coordinators. All kinds of different types of customers started coming through in our orders and surveys. 

Crafters, especially quilters and sewers. DJs. Dog groomers. Gift wrappers. People at places of worship. Teachers. Exhibitors and trade show organizers. Offices. Retail stores and warehouses. Safety managers and other EHS personnel. As you can see, a pretty eclectic mix!

The rest, as they say, is history. Today, thousands of sets later, our folding table risers are sold in all 50 states and two dozen countries all over the world every year.  Notable clients include Whole Foods, Netflix, Pepsi, Nordstrom Rack, Stanford University, Lululemon, Holiday Inn Express, Goodwill, The North Face, Cheesecake Factory, Urban Outfitters, and many others. 

Best of all, we help clients save money too. Rather than splashing out on a brand-new table or paying costly premiums to rent higher tables, they can simply retrofit ones they already have. Safety teams also save on their budgets with fewer OSHA recordables and worker’s comp claims from staff who have aching backs from crouching over a surface that’s too low.

Becoming an entrepreneur

This business, under the B Team umbrella, is the result of having a need, figuring out how to solve it, and then deciding how to make it available to other people. We uncovered a simple solution for something that causes pain: tables that are positioned too low for people to stand and work at comfortably. 

Maybe it sounds simple, but it wasn’t easy! In my early career, I was a sales executive for several Fortune 100 consumer products companies. Whenever I was presented with a new product to sell into my accounts, it was already packaged and priced with an extensive marketing and distribution plan in place to ensure its success. 

But when I developed my own consumer brand, I had to figure out the basics of everything from how to price it, package it…how do you even get that number that’s on the back of the package (the UPC?)  How do you insure it, advertise it and get it into the hands of the people who need it?

Manufacturing Lift Your Table® folding table risers has been a journey and challenging learning process for me and continues every single day. My small but mighty team and I are excited to come to work every day because of the opportunity ahead of us to save backs in every work and school environment!

We are thrilled to become an industrial safety product in businesses and schools. They realize the importance of creating an ergonomically friendly work environment for their employees. That allows the staff to work longer and more productively, with fewer call offs and injuries.

For us, a weekly highlight is reading customer reviews where people talk about how they previously had to give up a beloved activity (for example, quilting) because they just couldn’t tolerate the back pain and neck strain from them trying to use a folding table in a standing position. After they discovered our product, they were able to resume doing what they loved.

These stories keep us motivated – just knowing that our product makes such a huge difference in people’s workdays reinforces how important what we do really is.

Giving back

We believe strongly in giving back to our community, and so we chose a location in Desert Hot Springs across from the high school. We want to give local students the opportunity to work for a local business, while having the opportunity to take pride by working in their own hometown. It gives us the opportunity to mentor young people interested in business and entrepreneurship.

Founded in 2012, we’re one of the first few woman and minority- owned manufacturing companies in the Coachella Valley, having been certified by both Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and National Minority Supplier Development Council. 

The Coachella Valley community has been very supportive of us as well. In fact, we developed manufacturing business acumen and company expansion by attending workshops and counseling offered by Coachella Valley Women’s Business Center. It’s a nonprofit organization that counsels, teaches, encourages, and inspires women business owners at every stage of development and growth.  

What is my biggest gift?  I truly believe that it’s almost never seeing a barrier; I don’t have a limit.  Even when something is seemingly impossible, in the back of my mind, I feel like there’s a way to figure out how to do it. I’m always looking to come up with a way to get better, a way to improve.

And now you know… the rest of the story!

Do you crouch over a folding table to work or play? Start saving your back today! Find our full line of folding table risers at our online store.

Lift Your TableⓇ… SAVE YOUR BACK!