Startup Company Puts Family First, Takes Business On The Road

Sept. 10, 2010 - PRLog -- Hempstead, TX – The decision to start a business is a tough enough one to make.  Along with the many ups and downs that go with the territory, business owners must learn to expect the unexpected.  Over the past two years, Tobi Kosanke has learned that lesson very well.  As the owner of Texas-based Crazy K Farm Pet and Poultry Products, LLC, she has faced a number of obstacles.  Each one has made Kosanke more determined than ever.  She recently took her award winning company on the road to prove she means business, and has been operating it from a Florida hospital bedside.

Crazy K Farm Pet and Poultry Products’ home base is in Hempstead, Texas.  The company manufactures quality pet and poultry products, including the patents-pending Hen Saver® hen apron, the Avian Haven® hut for caged birds, and the Kitty Holster® cat harness.  All are Kosanke’s inventions.

“Over the years my main hobby had been creating products to improve the quality of my animals’ lives,” Kosanke said.  “When covering their feed and medical bills while staying home to care for my special needs daughter became impossible, I was inspired to form Crazy K Farm Pet and Poultry Products, LLC to manufacture and market my unique, patent-pending inventions.”

Crazy K Farm (http://www.crazykfarm.com) has quickly grown from its humble origins as a manufacturer of pre-paid, made-to-order items sold solely via Kosanke’s personal eBay account, to her products being manufactured by the tens of thousands and sold in stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  Crazy K Farm has earned distinction as a StartupNation Home-Based 100 Competition double award winning company.  For the past few years, Kosanke has operated the successful business out of her home with her brother’s help.

“My brother, Keith Cohen, has worked without compensation from the beginning as Crazy K Farm’s sales executive,” Kosanke said.  “He has attended trade shows at his own expense and called many retailers and distributors to get my products into the stores.  Without him, there would be no Crazy K Farm.”

On June 28th, Cohen suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.  He was admitted into an intensive care unit in Florida where he was not expected to survive.  The next day, Kosanke made the decision to take her daughter and business on the road in order to be with her sole surviving immediate family member.

“For the six weeks that my brother was in the ICU, on the neurological ward and in a rehab center, my daughter and I spent six to eight hours every day with him,” Kosanke said.  “My daughter would lie in the bed next to him (post ICU) watching TV while I sat in a chair at the foot of the bed running my business from a laptop.

“My brother is on the mend now, but it is a long road to full recovery from brain injuries.  For the foreseeable future, Crazy K Farm will continue to be both Texas and Florida-based as long as my brother needs me, helping to care for him and facilitate his transition back into his normal life,” Kosanke said.  “Although I hope he will be back on the phones in a few months, we really don’t know what the future holds for him.  Before his stroke, my brother had been working hard to get my products into the large stores such as PetSmart and Petco. My main business goal is to complete these sales for him, as the commission I would be able to pay him would go a long ways towards paying his $140,000+ hospital bills.”

For more information or to schedule an interview with Kosanke, please call (717) 676-8327, or send an email to getnoticed@thewriteplacepr.com.

About Crazy K Farm
Crazy K Farm® is located in Hempstead, Texas approximately 45 miles northwest of Houston.  Chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, goats and sheep are raised on the 35-acre working farm.  The majority of the animals are rescues.  Crazy K Farm® manufactures quality pet and poultry products including the patents-pending Hen Saver® hen apron, Avian Haven® hut for caged birds and Kitty Holster® cat harness.  The company is a member of the Houston Better Business Bureau, and is in the process of becoming a woman-owned business through the Small Business Administration.

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