By Romy Taormina
This month, meet Huggies MomInspired grant recipient Romy Taormina, who is the creator of Psi Bands.
From the very beginning I knew there had to be a better way. With both of my pregnancies I suffered from debilitating morning sickness. I finally found relief by using acupressure wristbands; however, the lack of choices left me with dull gray wristbands that became waterlogged when wet and stretched out over time.
So, like so many other “mompreneurs,” I decided to take matters into my own hands and invent a product devoted to helping those who suffer from nausea find relief — without giving up on style and comfort. My company, Psi Health Solutions, Inc., is the maker of Psi Bands, FDA-cleared acupressure wristbands for the relief of nausea due to morning sickness, motion sickness, anesthesia, or chemotherapy. Unlike any other product on the market, Psi Bands are stylish (come in several designs), waterproof (no more soggy wrist bands), adjustable around the wrist like a watch (so they fit most wrist sizes) and at the acupressure point for personalized comfort, reusable, and affordable.
Now, five years after launch, Psi Bands are available at more than 6,000 high-end drug, sporting goods, and natural food stores, such as CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid, Babies “R” Us, Whole Foods, and REI, among many others. Psi Bands are also sold around the globe in Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the Middle East.
The media has taken note of our product, and Psi Bands have been featured in well-known publications such as O, The Oprah magazine, SELF, Women’s Health, USA Today, Fit Pregnancy, Entrepreneur (as a “strokes of genius”), and many more. And, we have caught the attention of Tory Johnson, huge proponent of women in business and regular contributor on Good Morning America, who has featured Psi Bands on the program as a mom-invented product.
As the co-founder and “Nausea Relief Chief” for Psi Bands, I have been recognized by several leading organizations with the following honors: Huggies MomInspired Grant winner; Trailblazer from Wells Fargo and the National Association of Women’s Business Owners; and Make Mine a Million $ Business from Count Me In and American Express OPEN.
Before I even had a product in hand, I knew if I was going to give up time with my family that I had to be improving the overall good. The verbal and written testimonials I receive from Psi Bands users keeps me energized.
I am often asked what advice I would give to other moms who are trying to bring products to market. I adhere to the simple phrase, “Believe in yourself.” In addition, I would strongly recommend joining other female entrepreneur support groups. The women in these groups are dynamic, experienced, creative, and believe in the motto “give, give, get.” There is sharing of information, both professionally and personally. In order to fulfill my professional desire to share knowledge and the lessons I have learned during my entrepreneurial journey, I teamed with a former Target buyer, Vanessa Ting, and created a blog, Both Sides of the Retail Table, which provides product-based entrepreneurs with retail strategies for getting—and keeping—product on store shelves from both the buyer’s (Vanessa’s) and the entrepreneur’s (my) perspectives.
To learn more about Psi Bands, visit www.PsiBands.com.
