January 28, 2009 | Category: Women Who Inspire
Getting Down to Business with Doreen Garrett
 Doreen Garrett enjoying some solitude on a hunt.  "We are family." Nick, Larry, Denise and Doreen. |
By Tammy Sapp
At age 16, when most girls her age were contemplating what outfit to wear on Friday night, Doreen Garrett, founder and owner of OTIS Technology, was building an enterprise. By 1985, this teen had invented a portable gun cleaning kit and launched a brand that would become synonymous with quality. Now, 24 years later, OTIS is a company with 180 firearm maintenance products that are recognized by professional firearm users as the most advanced gun care system available.
Not only is this a story about a determined young woman, it's also about a family that rallied around her idea to develop a successful business that manufactures American made products. And it all started on a deer hunt with her dad. A wet mucky day and fall over a submerged root put the stalk on hold as Doreen tried to shake the mud out of her grandfather's Model 94 Winchester. Trying to salvage the day, she used a stick to dislodge the mud, but ending up breaking it off in the barrel. A ruined hunt and a cold walk back to the cabin got the wheels turning.
"Thomas Edison had an easier time inventing the light bulb compared to what I went through finding suitable materials engineered for strength and safe for field use," Doreen said. "After much testing, failures and working with many people, I finally had a product I was satisfied with. In my excitement one day I said to my friend that this kit had everything - it's The Whole Kit and Caboodle. The name stuck and eventually became the registered trademark."
Doreen started making Whole Kit and Caboodle's for friends and relatives from her parent's home in upstate New York. And when they started to sell, she knew she was onto something. But to reach the next level, she needed a larger market to cover the cost of the patent and to keep the product affordably priced. So she talked her family into taking prototypes to the SHOT Show in 1985.
"I had to fib to get into the show because of my age," Doreen said. "I was only 17 at the time."
The show was a big success for Doreen. There was tremendous interest in the product and she received lots of advice on packaging, marketing and more. It wasn't long before the business started to take off and the whole family got in the act.
"My brother Nick was two years old when I started," Doreen said. "I can still remember him stamping UPS boxes when he was little."
Today, Nick, who has a degree in robotic engineering, is the company's VP design engineer, while sister Denise Miller is VP of sales and marketing and the VP of manufacturing is held by Doreen's brother Larry. Doreen points to one family member in particular who was important to the company's success, especially in the early years.
"I owe many thanks to my family, friends, suppliers, and sales reps who have had faith in my concepts, especially my dad. He has been instrumental right from the start," she said. "Without his engineering expertise and knowledge of guns The Whole Kit and Caboodle would not be. That is why I named the company OTIS, after my dad."
One of the most important roles Doreen's dad played was acting as the face of the company in the beginning, especially when it came to negotiating military contracts. Over time, Doreen grew into the role she holds today as president and CEO.
Doreen said she was raised to believe she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. And she did. She asked for her first bank loan at age 17. And while it might have taken her longer to close a business deal at first, she got it done. The final piece of the puzzle fell in place when she earned her bachelor's degree in Business from SUNY Institute of Technology.
Instead of taking her growing business to the big city, Doreen's company moved first to a horse barn in Talcotville, New York and then in 2007 to Lyons Falls, which would eventually become a 63,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art warehouse and manufacturing facility.
That facility includes a corporate day care, not because it's a money maker, but because Doreen recognized it was important to give peace of mind to the parents who work there, knowing their children were close by and well taken care of. This is no run of the mill day care either. It's used as a model by the state of New York because it's a nontoxic environment with non-toxic flooring, geothermal heating and other safety features.
"I love to hear the kids laughing and playing from my office. And when you think about it, these kids could be future employees with my kids," she said. "I want to show that there are good jobs in this town and that you don't have to move away. It's nice to grow a company in a place you want to raise your children."
Lyons Falls, which is nestled in the Adirondack Mountains, is a small community of about 500 people. And about 150 of them work at Otis. From this tiny town and a family run business, OTIS manufactures products that are sold worldwide to military and law enforcement agencies including the FBI as well as the U.S. Postal Service and large retailers such as L.L. Bean and Cabelas.
Doreen attributes her success to leading with compassion. She said it's important to be flexible and put people first, then the job. She's watched many of her employees grow professionally right along with her. Together, they've gone from the early years before daycare when they juggled babies and phone calls, to a business that has received an award for Outstanding Support in Operation Iraqi Freedom and has been inducted to NYS Small Business Hall of Fame.
What Doreen loves best are the letters she's received from satisfied customers - a soldier thanking her for a product that saved his life to hunters on an African safari grateful they could clean their guns afield and salvage their hunt.
"We strive to be a great manufacturer, bring jobs back home and take care of our soldiers, law enforcement and border patrol officers, those people who put their lives on the line for us."
With all that Doreen and her family have accomplished in their first 24 years, it's a safe bet that the future holds even bigger and better things for both Otis employees and their customers.
At age 16, when most girls her age were contemplating what outfit to wear on Friday night, Doreen Garrett, founder and owner of OTIS Technology, was building an enterprise. By 1985, this teen had invented a portable gun cleaning kit and launched a brand that would become synonymous with quality. Now, 24 years later, OTIS is a company with 180 firearm maintenance products that are recognized by professional firearm users as the most advanced gun care system available.
Not only is this a story about a determined young woman, it's also about a family that rallied around her idea to develop a successful business that manufactures American made products. And it all started on a deer hunt with her dad. A wet mucky day and fall over a submerged root put the stalk on hold as Doreen tried to shake the mud out of her grandfather's Model 94 Winchester. Trying to salvage the day, she used a stick to dislodge the mud, but ending up breaking it off in the barrel. A ruined hunt and a cold walk back to the cabin got the wheels turning.
"Thomas Edison had an easier time inventing the light bulb compared to what I went through finding suitable materials engineered for strength and safe for field use," Doreen said. "After much testing, failures and working with many people, I finally had a product I was satisfied with. In my excitement one day I said to my friend that this kit had everything - it's The Whole Kit and Caboodle. The name stuck and eventually became the registered trademark."
Doreen started making Whole Kit and Caboodle's for friends and relatives from her parent's home in upstate New York. And when they started to sell, she knew she was onto something. But to reach the next level, she needed a larger market to cover the cost of the patent and to keep the product affordably priced. So she talked her family into taking prototypes to the SHOT Show in 1985.
"I had to fib to get into the show because of my age," Doreen said. "I was only 17 at the time."
The show was a big success for Doreen. There was tremendous interest in the product and she received lots of advice on packaging, marketing and more. It wasn't long before the business started to take off and the whole family got in the act.
"My brother Nick was two years old when I started," Doreen said. "I can still remember him stamping UPS boxes when he was little."
Today, Nick, who has a degree in robotic engineering, is the company's VP design engineer, while sister Denise Miller is VP of sales and marketing and the VP of manufacturing is held by Doreen's brother Larry. Doreen points to one family member in particular who was important to the company's success, especially in the early years.
"I owe many thanks to my family, friends, suppliers, and sales reps who have had faith in my concepts, especially my dad. He has been instrumental right from the start," she said. "Without his engineering expertise and knowledge of guns The Whole Kit and Caboodle would not be. That is why I named the company OTIS, after my dad."
One of the most important roles Doreen's dad played was acting as the face of the company in the beginning, especially when it came to negotiating military contracts. Over time, Doreen grew into the role she holds today as president and CEO.
Doreen said she was raised to believe she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. And she did. She asked for her first bank loan at age 17. And while it might have taken her longer to close a business deal at first, she got it done. The final piece of the puzzle fell in place when she earned her bachelor's degree in Business from SUNY Institute of Technology.
Instead of taking her growing business to the big city, Doreen's company moved first to a horse barn in Talcotville, New York and then in 2007 to Lyons Falls, which would eventually become a 63,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art warehouse and manufacturing facility.
That facility includes a corporate day care, not because it's a money maker, but because Doreen recognized it was important to give peace of mind to the parents who work there, knowing their children were close by and well taken care of. This is no run of the mill day care either. It's used as a model by the state of New York because it's a nontoxic environment with non-toxic flooring, geothermal heating and other safety features.
"I love to hear the kids laughing and playing from my office. And when you think about it, these kids could be future employees with my kids," she said. "I want to show that there are good jobs in this town and that you don't have to move away. It's nice to grow a company in a place you want to raise your children."
Lyons Falls, which is nestled in the Adirondack Mountains, is a small community of about 500 people. And about 150 of them work at Otis. From this tiny town and a family run business, OTIS manufactures products that are sold worldwide to military and law enforcement agencies including the FBI as well as the U.S. Postal Service and large retailers such as L.L. Bean and Cabelas.
Doreen attributes her success to leading with compassion. She said it's important to be flexible and put people first, then the job. She's watched many of her employees grow professionally right along with her. Together, they've gone from the early years before daycare when they juggled babies and phone calls, to a business that has received an award for Outstanding Support in Operation Iraqi Freedom and has been inducted to NYS Small Business Hall of Fame.
What Doreen loves best are the letters she's received from satisfied customers - a soldier thanking her for a product that saved his life to hunters on an African safari grateful they could clean their guns afield and salvage their hunt.
"We strive to be a great manufacturer, bring jobs back home and take care of our soldiers, law enforcement and border patrol officers, those people who put their lives on the line for us."
With all that Doreen and her family have accomplished in their first 24 years, it's a safe bet that the future holds even bigger and better things for both Otis employees and their customers.