Small Business Success: The CareerBags.com Story
by Ellen Hart

It was 1989 and I was preparing to go to NY for a business meeting. I was on my way to negotiate an important deal for my company. I would be the only woman in the room and I wanted to feel confident and make a good impression in my new power suit. After weeks of searching for a briefcase that looked professional but not too masculine, I gave up. Department stores had nothing in the form of business cases for women and the luggage stores kept showing me the same Burgundy Briefcase used by Melanie Griffith in the movie “Working Girl”.

How is it possible that these products didn’t exist with millions of women working every day? My friends - attorneys, accountants, business owners and architects - all had the same dilemma. I gave up searching and found someone to make me a faux pink snake skin attaché case just in time for my meeting. (Remember, it was the 1980s and I was living in Dallas, so don’t judge me)

Not wanting to walk into the meeting with a handbag and the case, I put my personal items in the file pocket. During the meeting, I opened the case and reached for a file folder and out flew a tampon that lands on the conference table. We all got a good laugh out of it. The deal got made and on the flight home that evening, I shared my story with two women carrying over stuffed black tote bags. Both were attorneys that apparently couldn’t find a fashionable and professional business case, either.

I researched the idea, found information on every briefcase manufacturer that I could find, and discovered that no one was going after this growing market of professional women. I sold my business and decided to do it myself. I had no clue how to go about this, but I was convinced and determined.

A year later I met my husband, a luxury leather goods designer who loved the idea. Together we designed the first line of business cases and accessories for the professional woman. We called it Veronica Hart and eventually sold it to a Hartmann luggage. I became the director of the new women’s division and had placement in many great accounts from Macy’s to every top luggage store in the country. After four years, we moved on to other things but I never really let it go. I loved the concept and wanted to really see it through.

In 2006, two of the largest retailers in the country contacted me and said that they were still unable to find quality, fashionable business cases and laptop bags for women. They said customers were walking out of their store empty handed and asked if we would consider a re-launch of Veronica Hart. After a few days of research (now easier because of the Internet), I realized that there were plenty of designers out there making these products but asked myself, why were they so hard to find? Where were they being sold?

Knowing how difficult it is to get into major stores, I had my answer. Department stores wouldn’t give them a chance and the luggage stores only had a limited amount of space. These smaller vendors were selling to boutiques so it was impossible for busy women to find a great selection without driving to 20 different stores. Some products were on e-commerce sites but they got lost in a sea of men’s products. 

There simply was not one easy to shop location where women could choose from a large selection, get the information they needed, and feel part of a community that really understood their needs. In my research I saw the term Career Bag used on a site in the UK so I grabbed the domain name, trademarked it and knew exactly what I needed to do. Create a store!

So we invite Connections magazine readers to stop by our store and enjoy the wonderful online shopping experience we've built with a lot of passion and hard work. Visit us at CareerBags.com and be sure to ask about a portion of your purchase being donated to PBWC's scholarship program.

As seen in this issue of Connections magazine:

Ellen Hart
Founder,
CareerBags.com

Shop today and a portion of your purchase will go directly to PBWC's scholarship fund

We also thank Ellen and CareerBags.com for the generous product donation to our upcoming feature story - a "makeover" for PBWC's 2009 Scholarship winners.

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