Sheri, Rich and their three children


 
Sometimes the best ideas are right under your nose...or in one mother's case, right on your children's feet!

For years, Sheri, a busy mother of three, stayed at home and cared for her children Lexie, Julian and Riley. Like many others, Sheri's children were crazy about the latest craze in footwear—Crocs.

Sheri says every member of her family had a few pairs of these colorful rubber clogs. Then, one day while Sheri and her children were having fun with arts and crafts at home, Sheri stuck a silk flower through a hole in a pair of Crocs. "[I] said, 'Oh, look, how cute,'" she says. "Then, we found all this other stuff, and we were sticking them in holes."

When Rich, Sheri's husband, came home and saw his family accessorizing their shoes with buttons and baubles they found in the sewing kit, Sheri says a lightbulb went on over his head.

Jibbitz on a pair of purple Crocs


 
Sheri and Rich ran with the idea and realized there were a lot of Crocs roaming the streets with no accessories. From that first flower, Jibbitz were born. "It was such an obvious idea," Rich says. "My kids were playing with [them], and I thought, 'If my kids like it, every kid's going to like it.'"

Jibbitz—the playful name Sheri and Rich gave these decorative designs—started out simple. Sheri says she began buying things like peace signs, happy faces, hearts and rhinestones at craft stores and gluing them onto cufflinks. Then, she'd stick the cufflinks into her children's Crocs and send them off to school.

Once her children started wearing their fancy footwear in public, orders began rolling in. Jibbitz quickly took over the family's basement. Then, Sheri launched a website, and after just two weeks, she was overwhelmed with requests for Jibbitz of all shapes and sizes. Retailers caught on and began ordering hundreds at a time.

Although Sheri and her family glued Jibbitz night and day, she soon realized they couldn't keep up with the orders themselves. They moved their business from the basement into a huge warehouse. Within 12 months, Jibbitz were being sold in more than 3,000 stores.

As fate would have it, it was Sheri's daughter, Lexie, who really took the family business to new heights.

Sheri sold her company for $20 million.


 
One day at the local pool, a man approached Lexie and asked her about the Jibbitz on her shoes. Lexie explained to him that her mother made them. Then, the man handed the 7-year-old his business card and said, "Have your mommy call me."

That man was Duke Hanson, the founder of Crocs. A little over a year after making her first Jibbit, Sheri and Rich sold their business to the Croc Company for $10 million, with an extra $10 million if they meet sales goals.

Sheri and Rich still run the Jibbitz company, and they say business is booming. Currently, Sheri says they're focused on building the brand and coming up with new products. Soon, Jibbitz will launch a line of wristbands, hats, belts and purses.

Although Sheri's swamped at work, she still manages to be home with her children before school and when they get home each afternoon. What does Lexie think of her parents' sudden success? "I think it's really, really cool because all my friends just really like it because they get free Jibbitz all the time from me," she says.

Marsha comes up with a way to support her children.


 
In 1978, Marsha, a stay-at-home mother of two, says her life was shattered. She was divorced, her car was repossessed, her home was in foreclosure and she had nowhere to turn. "I remember looking out of my kitchen window, looking at my kids, thinking, 'How are we going to survive?'" she says.

Almost overnight, Marsha says she was forced to come up with a way to support herself and her children, Cindy and Brad. One day, Marsha noticed a scrap metal truck parked at a local gas station and got an idea. 

Marsha decides to start collecting scrap metal.


 
Although Marsha didn't know a thing about the scrap metal business, she says she thought if the man driving the truck could do it, then she could do it.

Marsha began visiting scrap metal yards, where workers laughed and told her women didn't collect scrap metal. But nothing deterred this desperate mom. "I went to industrial parks, and I looked for companies that manufactured metal products and asked if they would do business with me," Marsha says. "It was never beneath me to pick up aluminum cans or even pick up hubcaps along the highway. Everything had value."

When Marsha wasn't with her kids, she was in her truck collecting all sorts of metal. She worked around the clock to put food on the table and pay the bills. "I needed to survive," she says. "I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way. Most men thought, 'You can't stay in this business. ... You'll never make it.' [Now] they're gone, and I'm here."

Marsha shares the secret to her success.


 
29 years of backbreaking work and long hours, Marsha's company, United Scrap Metal, is one of the largest scrap metal companies in the country. The Illinois-based business is bringing in a revenue of more than $140 million, and Marsha employs almost 200 people.

When Marsha first started out, she says men would surround her truck and yell obscenities as she loaded car batteries and iron pipes. Their taunts backfired. Marsha says the obstacles she faced only made her stronger.

"I was underestimated," she says. "I was the first woman ever to do this. ... The more they underestimated [me], the harder I worked."

"[You're a] great inspiration to women everywhere," Oprah says.

Noël, inventor of Strap Tamers


 
Moms across America are turning brilliant ideas into big business. Not all moms are making millions, but most say coming up with creative ideas, being able to work from home and making money gives them a sense of pride.

Noël says she came up with her brilliant idea because she was tired of seeing her teenage daughter's bra straps hanging out of her sleeveless tops. So she invented Strap Tamers™, which are comprised of a clip with a pin built into it. "You pin it to the inside shoulder seam of the garment, then you slip the bra strap into the clip," Noël says. She adds that Strap Tamers are laundry-safe, so you don't have to take the clips off your shirts before you wash!

Grace, inventor of Patemm Pads™


 
Grace named her invention, the Patemm Pad™, after two of her children, Patrick and Emma. The Patemm Pad is a round-shaped diaper-changing pad with pockets for diapers, wipes and other baby needs.

Grace says changing her own babies' diapers gave her the idea. "I was so frustrated with the rectangular pad, trying to align my little kids on the pad, so I said, 'You know what? A round one makes so much more sense.' Now I put my baby in any position," she says.

Debbie and Kathleen, inventors of a digital day counter


 
Debbie and Kathleen's invention answers the question: How many days ago did I open that jar of food? Their Days Ago™ Digital Day Counter counts the days from the time you open a jar. "It really eliminates the doubt of knowing when to throw [food] out," Debbie says.

The timer can be attached to a food jar using a magnet or a suction cup. Kathleen says people can use the counter to remember how many days ago they did various other things, such as watering the plants or changing the kitty litter.

Marilyn Montross, director of vendor relations for QVC


 
Do you have a big idea? The Oprah Winfrey Show is teaming up with QVC and launching a search for the next big idea. Marilyn Montross, director of vendor relations for QVC, says the creators of the original inventions that are chosen will get a chance to launch their product on QVC. "Products that appeal to women that are unique, that solve a common problem, are exactly what we look for," Marilyn says.

Find out who won Oprah's Search for the Next Big Idea!