Filling A Need : Ruth Matlin, 68 Sherman Oaks

When I retired five years ago from nursing at the age of 63, my husband said to me, “You don’t play golf and you don’t play tennis, so what are you going to do with the rest of your life?”

I ruminated on this and hit on an idea. When I traveled, I often found the paper toilet-seat covers we are pampered with here are not available in public restrooms elsewhere. So I took to nabbing a handful out of the bathrooms at LAX and stashing them in my travel bag. I figured if I was doing this, other people probably were too.

The idea for my business was born. One of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur is devising a name for your product. My husband and I mulled over many, many names. One day it unexpectedly appeared during a brainstorming session when I exclaimed, “If this thing ever flies, we’ll really be sitting pretty!”

Sitting Pretty paper toilet-seat covers are now available at Gelson’s Markets for $1.30 for a package of 10. They can also be found at Mayfair and Fedco outlets. Our company doesn’t have any competitors, except for a similar, more expensive product that’s offered by several catalog companies.

I do demonstrations at Gelson’s, and I always suggest that shoppers buy several packets and place them around a bottle of wine as a bon voyage present for friends.

We had about $100,000 in sales in 1995, and employ people who work for Goodwill to package our product, which we buy in bulk from large paper manufacturers.

My goal is to have the seat covers available someday in airports across the country so travelers will have them at their fingertips. After all, everyone needs them, and I think they will be the Kleenex of the 21st century.