Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / She turned $128 into a 6 Figure Business at just 9 Years Old, with founder of Lily Lou’s Aromas, Lily Harper (Part 1)

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She turned $128 into a 6 Figure Business at just 9 Years Old, with founder of Lily Lou’s Aromas, Lily Harper (Part 1) · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Lily Harper for Female Startup Club.
• 0:12
  Welcome back to the show. It's Dune here, your host and hype girl. Today's episode is a very special one. This is the youngest entrepreneur we've ever had on the show by a really long shot. And Lily is proof that when you set your mind to something and you follow your dreams and goals, amazing things can happen no matter how old or young you are.
• 0:37
  Lily Harper is a nine-year-old entrepreneur and the founder of Lily Lu's Aromas. And her story starts when she was being emotionally and physically bullied in school. So during the pandemic, when schools were shut down, students were actually sent to learn from home. And this is when Lily found a passion in creating beautiful scented candles with her mom. And this is when she started to thrive. Okay.
• 1:03
  With a hyper-creative mind, Lily is continually coming up with new ideas and has set huge goals for herself and her company. An important foundation of Lily's personal and business life is that she's involved in every decision from Lily Lou's aromas to how her school day is planned out, and this gives Lily the opportunity to learn and acquire knowledge and essential skills while maintaining the freedom to grow in the direction she chooses. She's a great leader.
• 1:32
  It was such an honor to get to chat to Lily about her journey and what she's been building so far and just how she's living her life. I loved this episode so much and she is such a big inspiration to me and I hope she's a big inspiration to you too. Let's get into today's episode. This is Lily for Female Startup Club. Lily, hi, welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Hi.
• 2:00
  Thank you so much. I'm super excited to do this. I love podcasts. Yes, and you're so good at that. I'm so excited to have you on the show. You're by far the youngest guest I've ever had, and I'm excited to hear your story and how you got started and why you got started. So do you want to kind of give us a little bit of an introduction into who you are and what your business is? Yeah, perfect. So I'm Lily. I'm the founder of Lily Lives Aromas.
• 2:28
  I make non-toxic, slow wax candles that don't give you headaches. And that's a little bit of my introduction. But do I tell my story? Well, let's get straight into it. I want to hear your story. I want to go back to like the very beginning when you had the light bulb moment, thinking about candles, thinking about starting a business.
• 2:50
  Okay, perfect. So I started my business because I was bullied at school, schooled both mentally and physically. I was pushed down metal stairs. I was going rocks. I felt really hurt. And that's when COVID hit. And I was homeschooled. And everybody was homeschooled. And then me and my mom love taking care of our mental health. So we go upstairs. We light a candle. We do our skincare. We journal. Watch our favorite show.
• 3:19
  But we realized that the candles we were using were actually giving us headaches because we just started getting headaches out of nowhere. And we kind of thought it was the candles. So we searched it up and they had toxins in them that were bad for you. So I wanted to make a change in that.
• 3:38
  to make them eco-friendly, sustainable, non-toxic. So I started doing my business. And yeah, now I'm just kind of doing a business now by accident. Oh my gosh, I love that.
• 3:53
  Had you originally, you know, when you were kind of realizing that there was this problem you're experiencing in the house and, you know, the smell was giving you headaches and things like that, were you originally thinking, oh, I'm just going to change these candles for myself? Or were you already thinking, wow, maybe other people might want to buy this and thinking about starting a business? The thing is, is that when I started my business, I didn't actually know I was doing my business until I started getting orders. And then I realized that,
• 4:20
  oh, I'm actually doing a business. So I wanted to do it because of our ritual, because candles are the part of our mental health and our ritual. So I was like, oh, let's just make this for me and my mom. And then we started selling them for funsies. And then we kind of just got orders. And we were like,
• 4:39
  Oh, again, it's snowballed. I love that. Yeah. I want to kind of stick around this time when it was like early days, you're kind of just sort of, you know, starting to realize that other people might want to buy your products. How much money did you need to start the business? And what was that really early, like first few steps to being like, okay, I'm going to make these kind of, you know, on mass or make a bunch of different products to start selling? Yeah.
• 5:07
  Yeah, the price of being seven. It was actually, I had, well, it was not my bank. It was the bank of my mom and dad's. They actually gave me the money to be able to get the supplies that I needed. So I had the money and I started like getting all the supplies I needed. And it was around, I think, $100 to $150. Yeah.
• 5:30
  And how long did it take you kind of, you know, developing different samples and different kinds of candles to get to the point of being like, wow, this is the candle that we're going to start selling. This is like the finished product. It took us a couple of months to get the skill because we had no clue what we were doing. So I started off with wax melts.
• 5:51
  um it was like an easy step to do so we started doing it we got the wrong wax it started crumbling it was absolutely worse um but yeah but we started making wax months it was it was good and then after months and months months then we got the skill of it and then I started doing candles and then any more
• 6:13
  And when you were in that kind of like phase of, okay, you know, we've spent months and months and months developing and then you're starting to put the word out there, are you kind of, you know, telling your friends and family or are you at a market or had you already immediately started being on Instagram or another social media platform? Like how did you start getting the word out there for people to buy your candles?
• 6:36
  So basically, I first started with the social media, building the social media platform to start getting my, the,
• 6:46
  So when I started doing social media to drive online traffic to my store, I started making a website. And then when I started making a website, orders started to come in, which my granddad, which was my first order. Oh, I love that. For somebody as a present, which was a black smile. And then many orders. And then we just had this, like,
• 7:10
  big wholesale order come over and it was like a lot of candles and we were like how many candles do you remember i don't know maybe like 100
• 7:21
  I was like, oh my gosh, wow. And we were like, wow, that's a lot. How are we going to make those? I was like, what are we going to do? So we started just making them and getting all the wholesale order. And yeah, it was just truly memorable. I really loved. And are you making them kind of in your kitchen with your family? Yeah.
• 7:44
  Yeah, so I'm making them in my kitchen at the moment as they're like, it's called my maker station. It's we're trying to look for a warehouse at the moment to maybe do like somebody like do it for us or maybe some we do it in a warehouse. And but it's just kind of kind of hard at the moment because a lot of ones are quite expensive. But at the same time.
• 8:09
  we have our kitchen has taken over like the candles have taken over about this much space to cook um so yeah we're trying to find one at the moment i love that that's so cool i love that all your family's involved too that's such a special special time i love it
• 8:28
  When you were kind of, I want to stick around the Instagram kind of social media part of the story in the beginning, because you started in 2020-ish during the pandemic. So it's been a couple of years now. You have a huge following online. But in those early days when you were just getting started, was there a moment you remember kind of online when things started to snowball and spiral and kind of go viral for you?
• 8:52
  So yes, when I started building my social media platform, I posted a video that went absolutely viral. And we got, we started getting a lot of orders. And that's when my, like, my Shopify account started going, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. I love that sound. I did the biggest, biggest happy dance for the rest of the day. And I loved it. I was so happy. So I did the biggest happy dance.
• 9:20
  And when that video went viral, were you kind of like, what was your strategy after that for social media? Were you thinking, okay, I'm going to post every single day or multiple times a day? Or what was the kind of, what was your thought process at that time?
• 9:35
  Yeah, so we were going to do like, so I started like I was going to post like every single day to keep that strategy up. Because if I, because sometimes people say to me like, oh, if you don't post enough, then you're going to lose your strategy and then it's going to go down. But if you post every single day after a video that is gone, then you're going to start getting that strategy up.
• 9:55
  So I wanted to start posting more and more and more. And we started getting out because I provided value to the people who were watching it. Because sometimes when I'm editing my videos, I'm like, is this going to provide value to the person who's watching it? And is somebody going to watch it? Is somebody going to be interested in it? Because my videos are educational. Like they're like you're learning how like candles are like toxin, have toxins in them.
• 10:22
  And so I say, is this going to provide value? And if it is, then I post it and I post more and more and more. And that's how I have 300,000 or 350,000 followers across my platforms. Wow, that is just so cool and so impressive. When you think about that, you know, where you've arrived to in the last three years,
• 10:49
  What has that meant for you? What is that like? Like, is this what you could have envisioned when you were just getting started?
• 10:55
  I had so many dreams. I still have so many dreams when I was younger and still do. But yeah, I wasn't really envisioning this as much. Like I'm in big retailers now. Like I had, I'm everywhere now. Like I did not envision this when I was younger. When I was younger, I was like, oh, this is going to be a business. This is going to be good. Like just a small business. But now I'm like,
• 11:20
  this is huge now. Yeah, but I was definitely having big dreams when I was younger. I was reading or listening to one of your recent episodes or interviews online, and you were talking a lot about how you manifest your goals and your dreams. And I'm wondering for you, what are you manifesting at the moment and what's your process? Manifesting? I'm
• 11:48
  so many things right now to be in big retailers like to be around the world like my like my like my candles around the world like big retailers like indigo um like whole foods like so many so many big retailers uh that I dream of being in that I would do biggest happy dance ever if I did get in um but yeah I'm manifesting so many things right now um but yeah
• 12:17
  Oh my gosh. I'm excited for you. You're getting into all of those retailers. That's going to happen. Someone listening to this episode is going to pass it on to a buyer and they're going to get in touch with you. I'm manifesting that for you. Oh, I appreciate that.
• 12:33
  What are the kinds of marketing strategies that you're using with the business now outside of organic kind of Instagram and social media channels? What else have you kind of learned and started to implement? Can you say that again? I'm just 10. I'm 10. So like my mind like has to take a moment to. Yes, of course, of course. Sorry.
• 12:52
  What else are you doing outside of organic Instagram? So are you doing kind of any paid ads online or are you focusing a lot on PR or email marketing or, you know, TikTok, things like that? What else are you doing? So I'm doing everything at the moment except paid ads because they're scary and I don't know what to do with them.
• 13:14
  um and uh but yeah at the moment I'm doing uh social media is going really well because like you get to connect with people like even from Spain like even from like so many other countries you get to connect with people and to be able to you know have like have like good connections and stuff and then also doing pop-ups like
• 13:38
  you got to meet people from, from like that area and like, they can like find out your social media and be able to connect with so many people. Because sometimes like even in PR people like, if I'm in an event, then people are like, Oh, Lily. Then sometimes if I'm in like, sometimes if they, if I'm in social media, they're like, Oh, it's Lily. And then sometimes if I'm in a magazine, they're like, Oh, it's Lily. So, so,
• 14:08
  Yeah, but they're all working for me at the moment and I just really love it. And I feel like after kind of the pandemic, in real life pop-up events and things like that is so what everyone's craving right now because we were so indoors and online and now the kind of IRL experience is what we're really craving. So I can imagine that works so well for you. It does, it does. It's amazing. Yeah.
• 14:38
  Step me through a day in the life of Lily as both a girl who goes to school or is homeschooled and also a girl who is an entrepreneur and young businesswoman.
• 14:52
  Every day, I would say every day is different. It's a different day. Every day is the same. So like, the only thing is that my mom and my dad only try and bring in like what I'm doing in my business, try and bring up like bring in other subjects into my business. So I'm learning as well as like doing my business.
• 15:11
  So make sure that just every day I'm learning, I'm creative, because every day one could be me all doing math. One other day can be me all doing like artsy and doing crafts and stuff like every day is different. And just my parents and me just try and bring in the subjects for me to do in my everyday life as well. It's doing math.
• 15:34
  Sounds amazing. Yeah. Sounds so amazing. What was your day like today? What did you do today? What did you do relating to the business?
• 15:44
  So what I did today is I kind of like, I just like woke up, I brushed my teeth, I do my skincare, I got dressed, I said good morning to my mom and dad, just went downstairs, checked with my team, started like doing the making and then started doing other stuff and just like doing stories to keep everybody updated. And then yeah, working with the team and everything I need to get done and then, yeah,
• 16:11
  Yeah, now I'm doing a podcast. And now you're on a podcast. Great day. What a great day. How do you come up with new ideas for new products or new launches that you're putting out? Let me tell you something else. At the moment, I would say...
• 16:31
  Well, how I create the idea of doing, like, my candles and stuff. Like, my full collection just released. So how, like, I make it, like, and I create the design of it is, like, okay, so I'm going to use this vessel, like, the beige vessel. I'm going to use this wax. Like, because sometimes in different collections, I use different wax. Like, if it's, like, pink wax or, like, orange wax or something. But, yeah, like, we, like, put the wicks in. And then we, like, I see and I start designing what the –
• 17:01
  Label's going to look like, is it going to look like, oh, like the pumpkins, like I have to come up with a name, like pumpkin swirl. And that's something that's related to like full. And I start creating a movie idea. Then I start putting it in.
• 17:18
  printing out the label, put the label on, and then I start making the other ones and designing. And it's, I really love it. That's so cool. Does your community in places like Instagram, do they ask for certain kinds of products and kind of tell you what they want as well?
• 17:35
  So yeah, they also do that. They also say like, oh, could I like, I make custom candles. So people are like about the custom candles, could I have like this for my wedding or could I have this for like Thanksgiving or something? And like, it would be a picture of her husband and like her and stuff or a dog or something. And like, we would like just design it of the picture and then put it on the candle, however they want it. And then we send it to them and they're happily joyful with it.
• 18:03
  Oh my gosh, I love that. That's so great. I love that. Oh my gosh. I was reading something that you were talking about also in another episode or another article online that you used to have a fear of public speaking. And I feel like a lot of people listening might also have that kind of
• 18:22
  you know, I have a podcast now and I've interviewed hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people, but I used to also have a massive fear of public speaking. So I want to know how you overcame that and how you are, you know, so great at speaking online now in person too, I'm sure. So I did, when I was younger, I did have a big fear of public speaking because, um, I would have stage fright for a lot of people because sometimes like I mess up. I'm like, oh,
• 18:49
  oh no, I'm embarrassed. So sometimes I go over that and I walk out into stage. I'm like, okay, there's a lot of people, but I thought this. And I walk in and I think happy thoughts. And I'm like, I got this, I can do this. And I just speak however I want to speak. And then I come out and then I'm like,
• 19:12
  I want to do it again. That was actually really fun. So I would say just believe in yourself. Trust yourself and, yeah. And speak kindly to yourself, your inner dialogue. Speak kindly to yourself. I love that.
• 19:30
  Yeah, I think you made a really good point there because it's easy to get into the kind of the rhythm of speaking that negative inner thought. And you really do need to believe in yourself and do need to be like, I have got this. Give yourself a pep talk and get out there. Get out there and try. I love that.
• 19:50
  What is your vision for the business? You know, what are the next kind of years look like for you in terms of the ultimate dream? I know you want to get into retail. I know you want to get into these really big stores, but what else is the dream? What's the vision?
• 20:04
  I have lots so there's also like I want to be able to like do my own skincare brand I want to be able to do my own hair care brand I want to be able to do my own body wash like so many ideas like so much more and yeah I have like about a bajillion of them I would tell them yeah I'm excited for you that sounds amazing very very cool
• 20:30
  Thank you. Thank you. Do you have a message or some advice for anyone listening who is maybe thinking about starting a business or has a dream to start a business in the future? So I would say trust yourself, got this, like...
• 20:48
  like chase your dreams and you are amazing. Everybody's different. And there's a good one that I'd love to say that is, somebody said that don't let your inner thoughts take over other people's opinions. That's a good one. Thank you for sharing that. I love that.
• 21:18
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 21:42
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 22:05
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that. Thank you.
• 22:20
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 22:45
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 23:07
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show, and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.