MailboxMan has solution for anchoring roadside boxes
When Scotty Joe Stastny lost his job as a national account executive for a food company, he took some handyman-type jobs that sparked a new business plan.
While Stastny, 46, spent time restoring a friend's Wisconsin cottage, he had a tough time finding the parts to fix the mailbox. And there was no easy way to do the job and still have it look good. So, the Elgin man, who worked in the food industry for 23 years, invented a product that allows homeowners to install a more secure mailbox more easily, and he started a business, A MailboxMan Inc., to promote it.
Working with a manufacturer in Wisconsin to develop the product, Stastny invented a Mailbox Collar, or support, that holds the mailbox post in the ground with cement.
The patent-pending collar - essentially, a square, hollow tube - is made of highly pressurized composite of recycled plastic and wood fibers.
The mailbox pole slides into the tube. If the mailbox is knocked down, the homeowner can replace it without digging another hole for new cement. The same collar can be reused.
When installing a new mailbox, the homeowner digs a hole, puts in the square collar and fills the hole with cement. The mailbox post is then put into the collar, and the area is covered with grass or dirt. The $34 collar comes with directions to ensure the mailbox is in compliance with postal requirements.
Stastny also sells mailboxes, which he can get at lower prices when ordering in large quantities. Stastny installs the new product for $99. Or the do-it-yourselfer can order it online at AMailboxMan.vpweb.com.
He says it's easy to install, adding that the hole does not have to be as deep as with other post installations.
"It's also more stable. The mailbox doesn't wiggle and wobble," Stastny said. "It fits like a glove," Stastny said.
The entrepreneur is now trying to interest municipalities and public works departments in the new product, especially for the winter when the snowplows are out.
Stastny pointed out that the first thing that people see when they approach a home is the mailbox.
"It's curbside decor," he said.
Stastny is in the process of inventing diverse other products, as well, including a gourmet tartar sauce. When he left the corporate world, he was inspired to become an inventor while reading an autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.
"At the age of 45, he reinvented himself and became an inventor," Stastny said.
For more information, call (847) 727-0065.
• Kim Mikus covers small business and retail. She welcomes comments at kmikus@dailyherald.com.