Diet plate inventor
Dream of starting up your own business? Read how one woman fulfilled her dream of inventing a diet plate, with a little help from the right people
Kay Illingworth, 52, is divorced with a son, Alex, 19, and a daughter, Kate, 17. Kay lives in Glossop, Derbyshire.
Old Job: Housewife.
New Job: Invented the Diet Plate in 2002.
Start-up costs: £6,500.
First year’s turnover: Made £1,478.84 in sales, but had a £50,000 loss.
Current turnover: Expected turnover for this year is £1,000,000.
Needing a change
“When my 19-year marriage broke down, I was devastated. For three years, I cut myself off from friends and spent hours alone eating chocolate, ballooning from 10st to nearly 18st and a whopping size 26. My knees ached with the extra weight and I knew I had to take back control of my life, so I visited a dietician.
She gave me a diet sheet to follow and I totally changed my eating habits, and gave up chocolate. But revisiting her three weeks later, I’d lost barely a pound. Guessing at portion sizes just wasn’t working. That night I looked at some pasta sauce and calculated it was 6oz, 3oz of which I was allowed. But when I weighed it, I was stunned to discover it was 16oz. I was shocked that my visual perception was so out.
The templates
I hunted out my son’s geometry set and I calculated how 3oz of pasta sauce would look on a plate. Then I did the same for rice. The amounts worked and so I decided to calibrate a plate. Using measurements for each food group, I drew on to a greaseproof-paper template.
Getting started
The plate worked for me and I knew it would for other women, so I went on a two-day course in patenting, which I’d seen advertised in the local paper for £45, and started the patent process.
I borrowed on credit cards and from my mother, and friends worked for me for free. After various ups and downs, I had a lucky break when I was interviewed about the plate on American TV during the Super Bowl, which yielded lots of orders. But although I was selling them for £19.99 each, my income wasn’t covering my debts.
I had the choice between saving my 16th-century home or the business. So I sold the house, moved into a much smaller home, and cleared my debts.
Huge sales
I threw myself into work, and developed a plate for children and one for men. Then I spent 16 hours a day on the phone, promoting the plate. I hired a PR company and results were amazing – a mention in just one magazine caused a huge spike in sales.
In June 2007 a Canadian study showed that using the Diet Plate was the best way for sufferers of type 2 diabetes to lose weight. The publicity raised our profile in the UK and brought us another huge rise in sales. It’s been tough but now we’re on target to make a million pounds in 2008 – not bad for a formerly depressed, fat housewife!”
The Diet Plate, £19.99, is available to buy from thedietplate.com
Top tip “Believe in your business 100 per cent.”
Other inspiring stories of making 100k:
French property entepreneur
Organic cereal creator
