Entrepreneur John Barca has turned his life-long passion and pursuit of creative problem-solving and ingenuity into a successful new business with a three-in-one beverage and phone holder.
As a child, Barca’s parents instilled in him the importance of hard work and developing creative solutions to improve every day challenges. He started working at the young age of 12 in the family’s restaurant washing dishes and busing tables, then quickly became instrumental in all aspects of the business where he played a key role in everything from ordering supplies, food preparation, kitchen management, customer service and troubleshooting, and developing ways to improve all facets of the business.
Barca later went on to graduate from the Florida Law Enforcement Academy and today serves as a full-time local law enforcement officer.
“The problem-solving lessons and business techniques instilled by my father during childhood have served me well in my life, my career in law enforcement and launching a business,” says Barca.
In addition to developing continued improvements in the family business, over the years Barca has invented numerous solutions for a variety of tasks. While growing up fishing, he cleverly adapted store-bought fishing lures to attract larger fish. As a backyard farmer, he designed and built an all-purpose garden implement, which he uses in his garden today and may become Barca’s next solution to find its way to hardware stores one of these days.
A couple years ago, while walking the beach, Barca observed people trying to keep their drinks and cell phones sand-free and stable. At the same time, he was thinking about his day-to-day experience of trying to use the only cup holder in his vehicle for his beverage or cell phone. Either his coffee was precariously perched somewhere near the front seat or his phone was falling on the floor or between the seats. There was never a stable place for both.
In true Barca fashion, he was determined to develop a creative solution that would make life easier, and he set out to design a product that consolidates and keeps your beverage and cell phone in one convenient, secure and clean location. Thus, the idea for the three-in-one STAND-Bi was born.
While solving the beach and car dilemma in the design, his wife Caroline found yet another use for the product in her home office and the STAND-Bi now keeps workspaces organized and drinks from leaving ring marks.
Each STAND-Bi features a built-in bottom that fits various-sized cup holders in cars, trucks, boats, motorhomes, golf carts and even strollers; a snap-on sand spike for use at the beach, lake or campsites; and a detachable foot that is ideal for desks, tabletops and other solid surfaces. Constructed of durable ABS plastic, the STAND-Bi is dishwasher safe, UV protected, and also of great importance to Barca – it is made in the U.S.A.
As all entrepreneurs and business owners, Barca has faced many challenges in developing the STAND-Bi and starting a business. Balancing a full-time career while starting a new business is challenging says Barca. Becoming marketing savvy, especially in today’s social media world, was a challenge. Being committed to keeping his product made in the U.S.A. and supporting local communities has made it harder to keep costs down.
“Hard work, determination and endless research have been critical to our success,” says Barca. “You need to be very structured and organized.”
From product design and testing, to manufacturing and production, to trademark, patenting and marketing, and everything in between, Barca and his wife Caroline, a full-time real estate professional, sought advice and learned from many in their community and beyond about every aspect of the business.
They spent countless hours researching, test-marking several designs, reaching out to numerous millennials and experts to learn as much as possible about marketing and social media, found local manufacturers, improved packaging, lowered distribution costs, and obtained federally-registered trademarking. Since launching the product, they husband-wife team have added several color options, it can be customized with company logos and colors, and they even further improved the product design to include an adjustable-sized sleeve accessory to fit nearly any sized cup holder.
As a result of Barca’s ingenuity and steadfast determination, hard work and research, and Caroline’s never-ending support, the STAND-Bi is now sold online at STAND-Bi.com, as well as in more than a dozen hardware stores, surf shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in Florida, and has been covered by Florida Insider Fishing Report, Motor Home Magazine, Overdrive and American Digger Magazine.
But Barca’s work is not done. He and Caroline are currently working to expand distribution to retailers across the country.
