Joy Clymer assessed the scene: A few were bruised. Others had severe fractures, their skin speckled and streaked with red. Amazingly, some survived unscathed. She sighed and crumpled up the plastic wrap. Once again, the journey from her kitchen to a friend's house had wrecked another batch of homemade goods. This time it was deviled eggs. But instead of crying over spilled yolk, Clymer whipped up a solution everyone can enjoy--as long as they have a credit card handy.

Clymer has a knack for entrepreneurship; a home-based medical transcriptionist (MT), she started her own service company, Advanced Medical Transcription Inc. The long hours give Clymer plenty of time to ponder. "When I sit at the computer typing my reports, I'm thinking of a million things, coming up with ideas," she said.

The deviled egg debacle made Clymer realize there must be a better way to travel with treats--a tote of some sort that would hold items in place. "I went on the Internet and looked around; went to some stores, tried to find one and couldn't, so I thought I'll go ahead and talk to an invention company," she said.

Clymer submitted an idea for a travel tray to Davison, a product development firm. Five years later, "Party on the Go" is available for purchase. "It was surreal," Clymer said. "I've always heard that term, but I never understood it until I lived it, but surreal was how I felt."

The product was featured on QVC last June. It's a bit of a departure from Clymer's original design--Davison added interchangeable cake, cookie and vegetable trays, and produced a variety of colors--but changes were for the better. "I was just so happy with how it was presented," she said, adding that she bought one in lilac.

Friends and family supported her endeavor, but they didn't know much about the invention until it hit production lines. Clymer had to keep the details confidential until she knew it was a go.

The call from Davison came as a surprise, but once her product was picked, Clymer was confident Party on the Go would sell to cooks and caterers alike. As of August, sales already reached 25,000, and other distributors will soon be carrying the product. The initial check was more than Clymer usually makes in a year, but she's careful about putting her eggs in one basket.

"This is not going to make me a millionaire--that I can see," she said. "I don't want to be too optimistic and quit my day job. I want to continue doing what I do--and I like what I do."

That being said, the MT has other ideas up her sleeve. Another invention is in the works (mum on the details, of course), and she's wanted to write a children's book for years. Flex hours may help Clymer find time to explore her literary side, but she said transcription is always her priority.

The MT/inventor/aspiring writer encouraged other HIM professionals to act on ideas. "If you're passionate about it, go for it," she said.

But when it comes to inventing, do your homework first. Research the product to determine if there's a market for it, Clymer advised. If there's a competitor, figure out what you can bring to the table. And be prepared to drop some dough. "It isn't cheap," she said. "It's going to cost you money to make money."

For Clymer, she's just happy to have a tray.

Cheryl McEvoy is an assistant editor with ADVANCE.