CAMPUS AND AREA
University Daily Kansan, June 29, 1984
Page 8
Local entrepreneur finds his fortune in the toy business
By LORI ELLIOTT Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
A six-year-old Costa Rican boy gathered oranges from the trees in his back yard, put them into a basket, and went into town to sell them. As he grew older, he sold bicycles, cars, land and even clogs.
Now, Jorge Valverde, 3600 Harvard Road, owns Tico Imports, a company that imports wooden toys from Costa Rica.
"I sold the first thing in my life when I was 6 years old," Valyerde
said. "I've been in the business of selling since I was a child. I grew up learning how to talk to people and how to listen."
VALVERDE CAME TO the United States five years ago to get his doctorate in communication studies, but lost his scholarship because of budget cuts. He then got a job as a dishwasher in the Kansas Union to put himself through school.
In February, Valverde asked his parents to use his last $500 in savings to buy wood and leather clogs. He had them sent from Costa Rica, and sold them to the people of Lawrence
from the roof of his Oldsmobile for $8 a pair.
He said that he made a profit — even though a police officer forced him to make the decision.
"I like facing the unknown and taking calculated risks," he said. "I have to keep my mind busy."
Valverde's latest business venture began when he saw a teenager selling some wooden toys while in Costa Rica visiting his parents for Christmas. He saw a toy he now calls the "Flexible Man."
THE "FLEXIBLE MAN" is made of wooden sheets that are connected with strong elastic. The figure can be put into as many as 2,000 positions, Valverde said.
"This will help children develop their creativity, because they can use their imagination." Valverde said. "Because the toys are abstract, the child is never wrong when he describes the figure as a dog, a man or an airplane."
Valverde brought two of the "Flexible Man" toys back to Lawrence and showed them to Joan Reiber, director at Hilltop Child Development Center, 1314 Jayhawk Drive.
She wanted to place an order right away, but Valverde said that he didn't have order forms. He also hadn't assigned prices and hadn't given the toys any English names yet.
Imported toys such as these are now available for day-care centers and pre-schools in the Lawrence area thanks to Jorge Valverde. Valverde imports wooden toys from Costa Rica. The average price range for the toys is $5 to $25 dollars.
However, when Reiber said that she wanted to place a $180 order. When Reiber said that she wanted to place a $180 order.
"IWAS SURPRISED at the quality of the toys, and the good price." Reiber said. "The finish on the wood is very smooth, not rough like many wooden toys. The children really enjoy the trucks and trains, and the 'Flexible Man' appeals to every age group." she said.
Valverde sent letters to the factory in Costa Rica and ordered the toys, thinking about what to name the toys in English.
"I had the names in Spanish, but they were not very attractive, so I translated them into American names like the 'Centennial Train' and the 'Flexible Man.'" Valverde said.
Valverde began designing a logo for his business cards, making order forms, and showing his toys to every day-care center and pre-school in town. He was also trying to take his comprehensive exams for his doctorate in communications studies.
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fulfill their human potential, he said
HE WAS SURPRISED with the sales of his toys. He said that nine out of 10 places he showed the toys placed orders.
"Ninety percent is a very high ratio," Valverde said. "Usually only one out of 10 people will buy something."
The first order Valverde placed was in February for $300 worth of the toys. Because business has been so good, he is expecting a $15,000 shipment next week to fill the orders he has taken.
Valverde plans to become a designer of toys and other educational equipment to help children develop their creative abilities and
talent to handle potential, he said. Valverde said that he and his wife had a licensed day-care center in their home, so they were able to get first hand reactions to the toys from those children.
"I was in a dilemma. I am a graduate student, about to finish my Ph.D., so I can teach. But I realized I can have a mix of everything I've learned. I have a degree in accounting, a master's in industrial psychology and I'm finishing my Ph D in communication studies.
"I JUST PULL together whatever I have learned," Valverde said, "and that is what is so fascinating."
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