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Austin Business Journal - November 25, 2002

Taking care of personal needs

Double Trouble Delivery aids sufferers, caregivers by bringing personal care products to their doors
Stuart Wade
Special To The Austin Business Journal

At 4:25 a.m., Denise Hall's alarm will shatter the silence in her Southwest Austin home.

Before her day is through, Hall will deliver and pick up her 7- and 4-year-old daughters from school, rack up at least 50 miles en route to visiting her Double Trouble Delivery Service clients and put in 10 hours at the IRS job she's held for 15 years.

She'll roll in to her driveway again at 9 p.m.

Ever since she donated a kidney to her older brother in Illinois two years ago, Hall's life has changed. Before her brother's experience with incontinence, the 40-year-old IRS computer technician never had encountered the disorder.

Hall conducted plenty of research before starting her unusual company, Double Trouble Delivery, in 2000. Launched using her own savings ? and named for her active daughters ? Double Trouble provides next-day delivery of personal care products to incontinence sufferers and caregivers who live in Travis, Williamson or Hays counties.

"One of the biggest problems for the elderly incontinence sufferer is having no means of transportation to get to a store, so Denise's company is a real lifesaver," says Cheryl Culbertson, owner and founder of Elder of Options of Texas.

"Children with aging parents might also find it a tremendous help. In our busy lives, it's hard for us to go across town at a moment's notice, so picking up the phone and placing an order really helps."

Hall has become attached to her regular customers, who range in age from their 40s to 104.

"They come from all facets of life," she says. "Many are still active, they still work and several even own their own businesses."

Incontinence is one of those maladies that evokes images of the elderly or infirm, but it actually affects many others. One in 10 males suffer some form of incontinence, and some postmenopausal women develop forms of the malady, which will continue to affect many more people as baby boomers age.

Whether serious or mild, incontinence can cause feelings of embarrassment and isolation.

"It's a self-esteem issue," Hall says. "Most people associate incontinence with elderly assisted care. But many of my clients are still very active, some are business leaders, some have physical handicaps."

"Stress" incontinence, as it is known, is common in women in their 40s and 50s. The disorder involves leakage after a cough or sneeze or after physical exertion.

"Urge" incontinence relates to not getting to the bathroom quickly enough. It's more common among people who suffer from infections, who use certain medications or who suffer from neurological disorders such as stroke, multiple sclerosis or dementia.

Despite the stigma some sufferers feel, living with incontinence is easier than ever.

Products available to sufferers are more comfortable, softer and thinner than ever, with pull-ups in many cases replacing the disposable adult diapers commonly associated with incontinence. Shields and pads also are becoming more common.

Hall buys these and other related incontinence products wholesale and delivers them free to her clients in bulk. The client pays only for the product.

"A lot of my clients are too embarrassed to seek help," Hall says. "It takes nerve to admit the problem and many who suffer, particularly males, wait for years before doing something about it."

It all began with a single client, and now Hall has scores of them. Hall says her revenue already has doubled from 2001.

Hall's discreet delivery service finds its clients through word of mouth and through her association with the Elder Options of Texas, which works with personal and institutional caregivers. During the two years she's been at it, Hall also has become connected with hospices and other agencies that use her services.

"I sit down with a customer, discuss the options available to each one, and then we will deliver to them by the case," she says. "We also donate products to homeless shelters."

The nonprofit Business Investment Growth Austin recently honored Hall's company as the "Most Creative Business Idea" during its annual Central Texas Micro Enterprise of the Year Awards.

"Denise brought her idea to us and went through a 12-week entrepreneurship training class," says Jeannette Peten, president of BIG Austin, which provides loans of up to $35,000 for a business.

"We helped her realize she needed to expand her services to meet her expectations. She was very excited about that because she would have gone down that path longer."

While working more than 40 hours a week including weekends with Double Trouble, Hall still works another four days with the IRS. In a typical week, she and a relative will visit 50 to 75 clients.

"I just changed my tour of duty with the IRS so that I'm able to do my deliveries," says Hall, who hopes she can build her clientele to the point where she can leave the IRS, but she says she isn't there just yet. "If I can [leave] I will, but it's nice to know I have the job security."

The challenge getting started was finding clients. Now that she's got them, Hall is balancing her regular job and home life with the responsibility she feels to her new "extended family."

"The money doesn't get made unless I make it, but it's really not about money anyway," Hall says.

She maintains a Web site and advertises through medical booklets but emphasizes word of mouth has been the main sales avenue.

"You've got to believe in your work and your product," Hall says.