GWBC POP 2024: Rashmi Hudson with Alltimate Luggage

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from GWBC Power of Partnering event at the Georgia Power Headquarters. I’m so excited to be talking to another Perfect Pitch finalist, Rashmi Hudson with Alltimate Luggage. Welcome.

Rashmi Hudson: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: So, tell us about Alltimate Luggage. Is this the ultimate luggage?

Rashmi Hudson: It is. Every house should have one, just like a car in every driveway.

Lee Kantor: There you go.

Rashmi Hudson: And here’s why. There is so much wrapped up around how we feel about ourselves based on how we look, and we are the only ones that can help you unpack wrinkle-free and get out the door in four seconds flat.

Lee Kantor: Four seconds? You have timed this?

Rashmi Hudson: No. It’s probably more like three seconds.

Lee Kantor: So, how did you get into the luggage business?

Rashmi Hudson: It actually came out of a need for my son was going off to med school in a couple of years, and I wanted him to concentrate on his interview and not how he looked. As much as people don’t want to be judged, the minute somebody sees you, they’ve made an opinion already. And it shows a lot of respect when you show up for the job, whatever it may be, dressed appropriately. And I didn’t want him to worry about that.

Rashmi Hudson: And so, it was you can have a garment bag, but there’s not a great way to carry it. We invented a way to be able to carry it wrinkle-free so that, you know, kids don’t have to worry about it when they go off to interviews, adults don’t have to worry about it when they have their big, important events.

Lee Kantor: So, it’s a garment bag, or it’s a duffel bag, or it’s a carry-on, or it’s all of those things?

Rashmi Hudson: It’s all of those things. The beauty is that we are a three-piece travel set. It’s three individual pieces, a garment bag that wraps around a duffel, and the way it connects, it counts as one piece of carry on luggage that easily fits into the overhead bin. And simply disconnect the garment bag and you are out the door in four seconds.

Lee Kantor: So, now, what was it like prototyping this? How did you just kind of build the first iteration of this?

Rashmi Hudson: That was the difficult part. It wasn’t easy trying to find somebody to do the prototype and to protect your intellectual property at the same time. And so, it took a while to be able to get a factory, to find one took me more than a year. And we intended on buying the product from them, but it didn’t work out because of cost purposes. But you go through iterations. It’s important to get the prototype the way that you want it. Otherwise, the factory sample is going to be flawed and you’re going to end up with a flawed product in the end.

Lee Kantor: But you could picture it in your head. You were just having trouble of getting it manufactured at first.

Rashmi Hudson: I actually am from India, and I have been sewing since I was four years old, made my wedding dress, made my gowns and everything. So, I sewed a sample, but it certainly didn’t have the structure. And God led me to a luggage designer who knew what to do to make my dream come true. So, all the features are in it are things that I wanted and things that he contributed to it as well.

Lee Kantor: So, why was it important for you to get involved with GWBC? What were you hoping to get out of that relationship?

Rashmi Hudson: I wanted to have the certification of being women-owned. I thought, “Oh. Well, hey, I’m the one that owns my business. I run it. Why do I need a certification?” But it’s important to have that, and they are very thorough and I am very much interested. I come from a corporate world, and I was actually in charge of sales promotions for Aflac for a long time. And it’s hard to break it into a business as a vendor, and they give you the certification that lets people know, “Hey, I am a woman-owned business, do business with me.”

Lee Kantor: There you go. And so, what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Rashmi Hudson: Please help spread the word. One of the things that I think is most difficult for small businesses, and we’re all in the same loop, is to get that organic growth. And the only way to get that organic growth is for everybody to share their social media and to follow you so that they can like, and those algorithms are crazy. And so, in order to make it work on Meta, you really have to engage with your audience, so engage with us, please.

Lee Kantor: So, you’re looking for individual travelers or people that might use this individually but also corporate clients?

Rashmi Hudson: Yes, absolutely. Corporate clients, they will help make break, because our business might be seasonal otherwise, and this is a very good avenue for us. One thing I also wanted to mention about being certified through WBENC is that it also gives you that WOSB certification to do business with government.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more and connect with you on social or on your website, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Rashmi Hudson: The easiest is alltimateluggage.com. It’s a play on the word ultimate, so it’s A-L-L-T-I-M-A-T-E-luggage-.com. And there’s a contact form there, that’s an easy way to get hold of me.

Lee Kantor: All right. Well, congratulations on all the success. And thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Rashmi Hudson: Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor, back in a few at GWBC Power of Partnering.