I
started my first business at age thirteen. It was nothing special, just mowing
lawns to earn some spending money. Sir
Richard Branson, billionaire entrepreneur and owner of over two hundred
companies, started his first business at age nine… selling Christmas
trees. But this week’s story features an
entrepreneur who started even younger…
Lani
got her first business credentials when she was only seven years old, selling
hand-crocheted hair scrunchies to her Pittsburgh schoolmates so she could buy
an iPod. It’s hard to imagine this as
the beginning of an entrepreneurial career, but for Lani, the next step would
come very soon.
Lani
had extremely sensitive skin from the time she was born. This is normal for babies, but for many
children, the sensitivity goes away by the time they start grade school. Not for Lani.
She remained easily irritated by many of the additives, scents, and
colorings in common soaps and skin products, and had to be extremely careful
with what she used.
When
Lani was eleven, her mother suggested that she and her siblings make their own
Christmas gifts for friends and family that year. Given her skin difficulties, Lani decided to
take her mother’s idea as an opportunity to make an original gift while helping
herself in the process. Her mom drove
her to a local health food market where she purchased sugar, olive oil, vitamin
E, vanilla and almond oil. With these ingredients,
she created her own all-natural body scrub that was free of irritants, and gave
jars of it out that Christmas.
What
she didn’t expect was the response: by
Valentine’s Day, recipients were asking for more. Lani realized she must have a good idea on
her hands, and began doing research to refine it. For nine months, she studied the effects of
chemicals and preservatives on skin, as well as the skin-care market. She learned that everything you put on your
skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream, just as if you had eaten it. With that in mind, she began experimenting
with the gentlest yet most effective all-natural ingredients she could
find. She tested her various mixtures on
herself and her family, then gave some out to friends, asking for feedback.
Lani finalized a formula that not only worked well, but was also
technically edible. Her mother’s friend tried it, and loved it so much that she
purchased a large quantity for her company.
Suddenly, Lani had secured her first corporate client. Turning the family basement into an office
and functioning lab, Lani’s family helped her personally make, package, and label the jars of her scrub to fulfill the orders. And they kept coming.
It
wasn’t long before the local media heard about this eleven-year old CEO, and
featured Lani in a variety of newspapers and local television. But despite her young age, she realized
quickly that she was serious about her business. By age fifteen, she was selling over $40,000
per year of her scrub and was featured in Forbes Magazine, all while balancing
the life of a high school sophomore. A
typical day saw her get to school early for crew practice, followed by classes,
then more practice, dinner, homework, and somehow, she still kept on top of
managing her business.
The
real coup came a year later, when she began working to get her product into the
Whole Foods health store chain. It took
several months as Lani worked through all the requirements of the lengthy
process. Nearing the end of the
nine-month negotiation, the only remaining hurdle for Whole Foods was the
price. On the phone with Whole Foods’
buyer while riding in her mother’s car, Lani finally said, “With all due
respect, are you trying to tell me your customers are price sensitive? Because if you are, you haven’t spent much
time in your stores.” At the end, Whole
Foods agreed to carry Lani’s scrubs at her desired price.
At
age nineteen, Lani Lazzari, CEO and founder of Simple Sugars, appeared on the
investment TV show Shark Tank, where she successfully made a deal to
secure $100,000 from billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban to help grow her
company. Lani’s advice for young
entrepreneurs is applicable for anyone:
“You have to be passionate about your business and really love what you
do. Don’t start a business because your parents want you to or because someone
else tells you it’s a good idea. You have to really want it or you won’t be
able to motivate yourself enough to succeed.”
Dreams
that fall apart are based on someone else’s work of art. Dreams that come true are born deep inside of
you!
Until next week...
Live Your Dreams
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