My Entrepreneurial Road Trip!

This entrepreneurship road that I’m on began sitting on an ironing board in a Chinese Hand Laundry in the late 1950s.  My mother was part owner and they washed and ironed mostly sheets and shirts.  It was a humble beginning, but for a 50-something African American woman and a 60-something Asian man to own a shop in Harlem NY was historical.   As I got older I understood that there was more to the store then just laundry.  It was a front for a numbers’ spot. Yes, the poor man’s lotto back in the day.  Until they got shut down, life was good. Then we moved to New Jersey for a hot minute and then my Mom’s entrepreneurial dream got deferred. 

My Mom had a husband who had been cognitively injured (Traumatic Brain Injury TBI today) and was in a VA hospital in Albany, NY.  Long story short, we became very middle class with a very large pension check each month in 1966.  We moved into a big house in the Bronx. I was one of those long skirted Catholic school girls with pigtails and dreams.  The seed to be my own boss was already planted.  First, I baked cakes, for bake sales, cupcakes and birthday cakes. Then in my late twenties I learned how to do complete catering and large events.  I still continue to do this even now at 61, when profitable.  

I have never been scared of hard work nor getting my hands dirty. Doing my own yard work with the hedge trimmers and lawn mower keeps my body moving.  What does this have to do with an article about entrepreneurship? Plenty! Being successful is about doing the work and not being afraid to learn and make mistakes. I learned in my leadership courses that leaders lead by example. As long as I’m building teams of leaders, I will show them how, by doing.  

Being introduced to Melaleuca in March of 2016 was also a long road. I was with another company for 10 years and believed in the products.  The nutritional supplementation education I received from that company would only be the stepping stone to Melaleuca. My full-time position in higher education was rewarding in helping adult learners achieve their baccalaureate degree, but the pay was not.  In 1999, I was 42-years-old returning to college and was hired by them in 2002. Since then I have earned 2 additional advanced degrees. I’m also an ordained minster and peer volunteer.  Whether ministry, catering or my Melaleuca side-gig, I give it my all.   

My introduction to Melaleuca came during the “Wedding of the Century” of my daughter.  She planned an elaborate extravaganza to be paid for by her Dad.  Five months before the wedding, he pulled the plug on the finances and Melaleuca stepped in.  In looking at the business model, I saw the potential to help a lot of people eliminate harmful grocery store cleaning products and replace them with safer for your home products, while increasing my paycheck. You see the college I was working for was having some financial challenges and no raises or promotions were on the horizon. 

Melaleuca has over 480 products and the line is consistently growing.  We have over $2 billion in sales as of December 27, 2017 and our shopping club membership is increasing daily.  No sales slips to write up. No deliveries to make. The back office and website are managed by the corporate office and all I have been doing is showing the people I love and care about how to shop for better quality products.  The 12th of every month, for the last 28 months, my checking account has seen the increase! Today I’m very happy that I’m on the Melaleuca Road to financial freedom, with safer products that actually work!