Jamie Peltz Has Soared to Success Inventing Products to Help Others

When you encounter a task that is frustrating or difficult, do you begin thinking “how could this be done better?” Jamie Peltz does! She invents products that make her customer’s lives easier.

Jamie graduated from The Ohio State University and received an MBA from John Carroll University. She has always been a problem solver and looks at common everyday problems from a slightly different perspective.

After working for a large corporation for 17 years, she suddenly found herself unemployed, but saw this as an opportunity to follow her dream to become an entrepreneur. Over the years she and her team have received multiple patents and been able to commercialize her inventions.

SureSwatch® Temporary Paint Swatches

An example of one of her inventions that makes life easier is ‘SureSwatch®,’ a paintable clear film to test paint colors on a wall, under different lighting scenarios, without actually painting the entire wall.

Has this happened to you? After spending hours on Pinterest looking through interior design pictures, you finally decide to change the color of the walls in your home. You head out to the hardware, or paint store and search through the thousands of tints and hues on those tiny paint chips. A decision is made, paint is purchased and applied, but to your dismay it looks totally different than you intended, once it dries on the wall.

Jamie designed ‘SureSwatch’ to avoid that mishap and help correctly choose the right color the first time. ‘SureSwatch’ allows you to see real paint on your wall, in various lighting scenarios. Jamie told us, “People shouldn’t have to live with a bad color choice. If you take that extra step to use ‘SureSwatch,’ before your paint you’re going to be much happier and know you have made the right color choice before you spend your time and money on the wrong color choice.”

Most people don’t realize that paint is available in three different bases, white, medium and clear as well as flat, semi-gloss and satin sheens. The bases and the sheens all influence how that paint color will look on your wall. That is why it is important to always test in the sheen and brand of the color you intend to paint.

An added benefit to SureSwatch is it comes with a Primer Decider™. The Primer Decider quickly shows whether a primer can enhance your color. “Most people do not realize the reason they need so many coats of a red paint it is made in a clear base. Imagine adding food color to a glass of water, it takes a while to get to the true color. That is what happens when painting with vibrant yellows or reds. By using the right primer, you will achieve the vibrancy you desire, quicker.

‘SureSwatch’ was created because Jamie experienced the problem of choosing the right color for repainting her child’s room.

“I have all these little tiny paint chips and I’m wondering, How am I supposed to figure this out?”

Problem-solver Jamie quickly realized, if she had this problem trying to paint, other people were struggling with finding the correct color, as well. She wanted to create something temporary to alleviate the permanent nature of trying sample paint directly on the wall and then priming and sanding the spot before painting wasn’t satisfactory.

“If the new color isn’t right, you have spent time and money for a huge mistake. ‘SureSwatch’ helps to solve that problem.”

‘SureSwatch’ is available in all Home Depot stores as well as in ACE Hardware stores. Marketing efforts have centered on training store employees to understand the product and recommend it to shoppers. All they need is ‘SureSwatch’ and a sample paint container tinted to the color you want to test.

Forget Me Spot™ Stain Patch® Spot Remover

Jamie just released ‘Forget Me Spot’ in December, 2021, and that product can be found in Meijer stores throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

Sorting through her family’s dirty laundry looking for stains was a constant irritant. As everyone knows stains need to be addressed rather quickly, or the clothing will be permanently damaged. Busy mothers with children may not have the time to drop everything to treat a stain and immediately run a load of wash. Or even worse, they may not know about the stain, until it’s too late.

‘Forget Me Spot’ is a pre-treatment patch placed over the spot. The clothing can then be thrown in the hamper and mixed with the other laundry.

“You can put off laundry for a day, a week, or even two weeks, because it’s already pre-treating the stain. We have found that the longer it sits on the stain, the better it works. Once placed in the washing machine the patch dissolves and the stain disappears.”

‘Forget Me Spot’ became a labor of love for Jamie and involved a rather long journey. It was actually created prior to ‘SureSwatch’, but she struggled to get it manufactured and placed in retail outlets.

“When we were getting ready to produce ‘Forget Me Spot,’ we were having difficulty sourcing the materials, due to supply chain issues created by the pandemic. I searched every resource daily to find the ingredients. I don’t know if it was a labor of love, or stubborn persistence, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.”

COVID Created Shipping & Manufacturing Issues

The COVID pandemic created a different set of problems for her business.

“Two years ago, at the height of COVID, the warehouse I was using stopped shipping my product. We only had 48 hours to come up with a new plan. For nearly two years, we moved all packaging and shipping to my house.”

A second issue resulting from the pandemic is the rapidly rising cost of materials. A few suppliers were able to resist raising prices the first year, but with continued rising costs, especially in corrugated materials, Jamie’s suppliers were forced to increase their pricing.

“The rising cost of materials and raising our pricing is a double-edged sword. It’s not easy for small manufacturers to pass on price increases. Higher pricing to the consumer could result in less sales. Every entrepreneur must find the equilibrium to maximize sales, while keeping profit margins where they need to be.”

Jamie found a new shipping source and just recently began shipments from an outsourced warehouse once again.

Advice to Inventors

“People constantly come up with new ideas. Just because you think it’s a great idea, doesn’t mean the consumer will agree.”

Jamie has found that market research is a must. Even searching Google for similar products can be a very enlightening exercise. She also has found that budding entrepreneurs want to rush to create a prototype.

“A manufacturer will charge several thousand dollars to create the prototype. Most people have enough materials at their home, or at a nearby craft store to quickly put together a prototype, while not investing a ton of money in the beginning.”

Personal Life

Jamie likes to spend time with her husband and their three grown children. Two of which help her create business videos used in her marketing.

She enjoys exercising and likes to hike. She is a lifelong learner and, an avid theater goer and attends live productions.

“My work is my hobby. I really enjoy what I do. It’s never really been work for me. It’s really my passion. Between kids, outdoor activities, and inventing, I’ve got a pretty full life.”

To learn more about Jamie’s products, ‘SureSwatch’ is available at Home Depot, or ACE Hardware stores, plus you can find them online at: www.sureswatch.com. ‘Forget Me Spot’ can be found in Meijer stores throughout the Midwest, or online at: www.forgetmespot.com.