One of my favorite
women inventor stories is of Bette Nesmith Graham. She was a secretary and artist who supplemented her income by painting windows at the local bank - in holiday scenes. One time, she realized that the same paint she used to cover over artistic mistakes could be used to cover over typing errors.
Bette used her own kitchen blender to mix up her first batch of liquid paper, the substance used to cover up typing mistakes made on paper. I imagine kids everywhere wondering how there were mistakes on the paper and why she didn't correct it in the file before hitting print but of course, this was long before computers.
She was a single mother to one son named Michael Nesmith - writer and producer and one time member of the Monkees. Bette Nesmith Graham started the Mistake Out Company (later renamed Liquid Paper). By 1967, it had grown into a million dollar business. She later sold her corporation for $47.5 million!
She was a famous entrepreneur - maybe you are one too? We are looking for great business minds in the
CosmoGirl MYOB Challenge, running through June 30. The award is $10,000. That's a lot of paint!