Lee Rhodes
Appearances
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
That's such a good question. So, I mean, I lived in the world of no, but I had a product that I believed in and worked for me. So it was, every single day was different. Every single day I'd woke up feeling, you know, like I could take over the world. And then the next day I woke up and felt like I was shoveling out of a, you know, 10 foot hole. So,
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Um, I think that the, the, the answer no always for me meant, okay, so how do I make this work for myself? And so when I didn't have funding, I would put together, you know, I, I've used my own money, which was tough. Um, I had three small kids, so I used my own money. Um, And I figured out ways we did, you know, we did a little hand to mouth situations.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
We would order, you know, people would say, you know, you've got to order 10,000 of those boxes in order to get you, you know, the right deal so you can afford your business. And I would end up having to do a hundred a time until I could do 300 at a time. And, um, The beginning was okay because it was $20,000, $50,000, so it was a little bit more doable.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Once we started to grow and we were a million-dollar business, all those expenses became more difficult. And I had a couple people come to me and say, we're really inspired by what you're doing, we love what you do, and we'd like to invest in your company. And that was probably the turning point
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
on allowing me to go from a million dollars to a $5 million company because then I had cash that I could actually... And not everyone's going to have that happen to them. I understand that. But I do think that was 20 years ago and now the world has changed. You know, there are... There are venture people.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
There's a different set of helping things set up for entrepreneurs than there were when I started. 100%.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
My name is Lee Rhodes. I was in Seattle, Washington. I got diagnosed with lung cancer with three very young children under four. And someone blew a tiny little vessel for me, hand-blown glass, which is huge in Seattle. It's in Marano, Italy, and it's in Seattle, Washington. And it was sitting on my kitchen island. I dropped a tea light in it.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah. I mean, so many, I think hiring is a big mistake. I think I like to hire the way I like to have friends. Like I want people that I want to be around and hang out with. It's not a great way to hire, you know, so true. Okay. Okay.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And so, uh, the hiring is a big, big, big, like if you can get someone who's really good at it or someone to help you, or even just get a consultant, like some, anyone to hire, I find great.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
is a huge lift for me um i've also just made you know i i've banked on things happening you know you you you have a lot of glassy baby you have a lot of customers who want your glassy baby and then one of them decides oh actually i'm going to go right and i'm going to do the gift basket from harry and dave instead and you're sitting with 50 000 units that happens all the time
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And I think that as an entrepreneur, you just have to be ready. You have to just absorb it, put your palms up and say, thank you. I know there's another plan for me and those 50,000 units. Because the minute you go down that spiral and that swirl into that bathtub, everyone follows you. Remember, everyone you're working with is following your passion and your determination every single day.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
every single day. So when you falter and when you, you know, people say, oh, you can't get mad or you can't do all these things. Those are all natural. Of course, you're going to get mad at people.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Of course, there are many things that frustrate you, but the core values that are going to get you through are always being, exhibiting your determination and your passion and your compassion for everyone around you and why you're doing what you're doing and But I mean, I've endless, there've been endless times when I've thought to myself, this can't work. This can't work.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
To exhibit determination and passion and commitment and compassion and empathy, all those things that you have to come to the door with every single day. You can't falter on any of those because once you falter a little bit, you're no longer, you know, standing upright and you don't have to. Oh, by the way, it doesn't have to be your employees definition of all those things. It has to be yours.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
You define your determination. You define your compassion. You defined your passion. Your employees don't because you're going to have people who just don't like you. They don't want to work with you. It's kind of like Glassdoor. Do you know what I mean? You let people go for a reason. All of a sudden, there's this article on you on Glassdoor that says you're all these things.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
You're like, yeah, but I let you go. I think the most important thing entrepreneurs need to do every day is remember that they're the ones in charge defining themselves, not their employees and not the world. And if you stick to that, you'll be fine.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And the color of the glass lit up and it made me feel something. I felt calm. I felt like I could handle everything that was happening and coming at me. And that's the beginning of Glassy Baby. We sell, we hand blow about 1,700 colors of one thing that we use generally for products. for votives and we put candles, tea lights in them, but people can use them for whatever they want.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Like, Oh my God, I can't do this anymore. I've tried the wheel so many times. And I, and I think that, you know, people, entrepreneurs are always looking for solutions for things like, tell me how that, what happened. And then what did you do? Yes. Okay. There are so many answers of in stories like that in every entrepreneur's history, especially someone that's got a company as big.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
But the most important thing I will say to you is you have to define you. And every single day you have to live that and hold true to that because no one can tell you any of those things if you're defining yourself. They might not like it and they can move on. There's a lot of options out there.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah, I'm going to return to the hiring part. I'm going to return to I think understanding the difference between – For me, it was really understanding the difference between marketing and a business model because everyone kept saying, you can't do that much giving, you can't do that much giving because it's your marketing, it's whatever. And I bought into that.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And you're going to buy into different storylines That are given to you and they're going to be fed to you over and over again by really smart people you love. And you're going to buy into them. And you need to try to make sure you're listening to your own language. Because actually the giving has nothing to do. I was totally right on this. Because it has nothing to do with marketing.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
It's what we do. It's how we do what we do. And yes, I know a ton of customers don't care and I know whatever, but for me, if it, it is the motivator and it is the, it is the value add that makes sure people understand glassy baby work. Why do they work? Because we get, we, we do so well, we give $15 million away. And so I think it's sticking to whatever it is that gets you up in the morning.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And, you know, it's not really the paycheck for me. So I, but I know it is for a lot of entrepreneurs and that's fantastic. Like let that be your guide then. What does that mean you have to do? If it's your paycheck, if you want to be a billionaire, if that's your dream, What do you have to do to get there? And remember, when you map stuff out, maps are meant to be washed and reworked, right?
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I mean, look, we were just talking about Asheville this morning. I mean, that's going to need an entirely new map. So they're made to be ruined. So just believe that whatever map you have that you wake up with every day, the most important thing is to be able to have it change and continue to follow it and have it be your guide.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
They each have a name and they each have a story and they mean something to people. Once you have color and flame and dancing light, you feel better no matter who you are and no matter where you are. And these are really just beacons of hope and healing and they work. And I think that's the most important thing about what I do every day is that we sell a product that
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I would say day-to-day legacy is... is so much more, you talk about the word sexy, but it is the sexiest part of my day, is knowing that there are people out there sitting in a chemo room somewhere who are going to get They're parking paid for and they don't even know it. And that's something that Glassy Baby did.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
That's something that the customers, not me, that's the people buying Glassy Baby, lighting Glassy Baby, believing in Glassy Baby, believing in flame, believing in the way flame touches you, the way color touches you, the way stories, each has a name and a story, the way all of that can be just as important as, you know, as making a million dollars and giving $100,000 away.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
That $4 of parking is just so... Yeah. Day-to-day matters as much as the end of your life. And that's one thing you learn, too, when you're sick with cancer or you're working in hospice.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I'm still, you know, I'm still not great at it. I have a great team now, which I'm really excited about. So, I mean, I really do. And I'm thankful every day. But I have made so many mistakes. But they're not mistakes because they're bad or I'm bad, even though, again, Glassdoor. It's that, you know, people need to match. People need to find interesting what you're doing and how you're doing it.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
You know, no one works harder than me. No one knows the business better than me. No one's and I'm not a great CEO. I just happen to know what I do very, very well. Like no one knows the insides and outs better. No one cares about it more. No one probably finds the joy of a new glassy baby and the name and the story being out in the world as much as I do.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And so you kind of have to drink the Kool-Aid a little to work for glassy baby. And that's a hard to, that's hard because I don't know who's going to drink it. And I don't think all businesses are like that. I think, you know, I think some restaurants are like, there's some places where there's also passion involved and you got to like buy in. Right. And, um, That's what I would say to people.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I would have people identify whether they're a drink the Kool-Aid business or not. Because if you are, then you need to hire differently than you do for just a road like getting your books done. People that do our books have to figure out, okay, they need to love the fact that we're giving huge checks every month, writing them to giving partners. That's not easy when you're running finance.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
makes the world a better place, even though it's a tiny little motive and a tiny little piece of the economy.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
There's a lot of things that happen in the small business that – I think kind of being part of the team really at your core and you can't ask someone, you can't pay someone enough to do that. You can't ask someone to be that. And that's where hiring becomes a problem for me because I don't know whoever, whoever it's going to be. And I never, you know, I lose people. I'm not mad at them.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I'm not mad at myself. I hear them when they say you're these five things that are awful. I said, thank you. Yes. I'll try to work harder on those. But then the next person, you know, You'll have the same...
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah, letting go. I'm pretty good at letting go. I'm pretty... But I guess I'm also... Because I'm a mom and I'm all those things, you know, I know how to, you see something goes wrong, you fix it, you move on. You fix it, you move on. That's a learned trait. And I, you know, most people you work with don't know that yet. That, you know, like we just had something fall apart completely.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And my executive team was like, okay, well, I've got a photo shoot. I've got a meeting. I've got like, they all had things to do that day. And I was like, oh, hi, everyone. No, regroup.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Concentrate. Fix this. Like, it's like you're going down a river and there's a big boulder in the river. Okay. You're still floating down the river, but you can get around the boulder. Like you can't do anything about that. It's the same thing. You need to get that issue taken care of, put that fire out and then move it aside and don't concentrate it on it anymore.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
A lot of people on my team, we have fires and we, God, we got to put the fire out, we got to put the fire out, we got to put the fire out, and then they go ahead and do their thing while the fire is burning. And I think it's learned that you need to get rid of the fire, move it aside, no matter how it, it may come back to you and it may rear its head again and you may lose the opportunity.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
That might just be what happens with it, but don't let it sit there. And I think With hiring people and training people, it takes time to give people the confidence to And build up their confidence enough to have them be the ones saying to me, no, Lee, we're not doing that right now. We're fixing this problem. That's what I really want to see in people.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I want to see people taking, if they've taken the bull by the horns and it hasn't worked and the bull's still loose, figure out how to get the, catch that bull and then move forward. I don't want to see the bull running around. And that's a hard lesson to learn.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah. I think every entrepreneur, as they start their plan, they can write it down all they want on a piece of paper. They can get as organized as they want. But just innately, every business and everything you do in life has levers. And some of the levers are helpful and some of the levers aren't as helpful. And for me, I didn't have many of those levers.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah. Thank you. It is, it's the most important reason why we all come to work. I know that for a fact, all of us at Classic Baby, because it's hard work. We have a foundation and we give, we give $5,000 baby grants over every month and we give to, And then we give big donations. We give to the environment. We give mostly to cancer.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
We give to angel flight that flies patients around who live in rural areas. We give to, we've never really said no to anything doing basic needs, which are my passion. That's what I saw in the cable room. People, you can't get well if your basic needs aren't met.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
If you're not having anything to eat and you have chemo all day and then you go home and you have the $1 burger at McDonald's, that's not a McDonald's. It's just simply your body needs more. It needs more nutrients. It needs better food. And so – We like to cover all of those, get into those basic needs. So we do a lot of small organizations that are just doing the really hard work.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I mean, they're running around their cars and delivering handmade food that they made. People like that for us, that's my sweet spot. Like who's really touching people every single day? I do love universal parking. It's kind of a passion for me. Because I did see when I would go to the chemo room, it was $16 every single day when I had chemo. That's $8 an hour parking. That was back in 1997.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I haven't heard that. That's hilarious. Yeah. I mean, but some people don't have $16. If your cash card is empty and you don't have $20 in your pocket and your credit card's maxed out, you don't have $16. And now it's $40. So that's a sweet spot for me. Anything that's really just doing anything for those basic needs so that we alleviate some of this stress. Because I do feel like
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Boy, is the world stressful right now? It's crazy stressful and getting more so. So anything we can do to – and we always look for opportunities. Anytime anyone has an opportunity, I'd love to hear about it. We have $5,000 to start, and it's a great partnership. We grow our partnerships. I'm very passionate about elephants. Very passionate about elephants. They cry and they –
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
We are one planet. And nothing, you know, whales and pretty much whales and elephants. So those are kind of my passions, cancer, whales and elephants. And I try to service, you know, we do some big splashy things.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Right now we have a huge partnership with Be Positive, which is an incredible children's cancer organization where the founders lost their son when he was, I think, 11 or a middle-aged middle schooler. And they've just started this cancer facility where they pay families mortgage, rent, car payment, while families have children going through cancer. And it's called Be Positive.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I had a business where I was a woman, so I couldn't get a loan anywhere. Even to this day, getting a loan for me means I need to you know, put up something, whereas any other man, uh, is out there getting a bank to, you know, be their partner. Um, I think that in retail specifically, um, levers are important. You need to be able to have a sale. You need to be able to have a discount.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And it's just the most amazing organization. So we're giving them $300,000 this year, which is huge for us. Huge. But I really feel like they're touching a lot of lives and doing a lot of good work. And so anything like that, where I feel like we're actually sitting outside now, I do also, you know, I do also encourage people to light a glassy baby because that also does a really lot of good work.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
You know, the glassy baby do a lot of heavy lifting. You, you'd be surprised what it, what it means to have 30 seconds of something that's just for you. That's just candle in a, in a colored glass.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Well, we're just glassybaby.com. Silliest name ever. G-L-A-S-S-Y-B-A-B-Y. Sorry. And I'm just L-E-E at glassybaby.com. And there's also customer service or, you know, We're pretty low key. We we'd never we answer every email we get. And we're just we're just trying right now to, you know, put our palms up and absorb what's happening around us as everyone is.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And it helps to be able to light a glassy baby, I think.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
This was so much fun. I had so much fun. Thank you so much for having me. And sorry about some of the twists and answers.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
you know, or, or, you know, January sale or something like that. We don't have any of those because of the nature of our business being handmade. Everything is still as valuable and there's no, we're not perishable. So we just hold onto them.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
But I think, I do think you're right that the most, when I have to put a one to 10 of the levers that you, that you have when you start your business, the number one thing that's been the most difficult is being a woman. The caveat to that is I have a man's name. My name is Lee Rhodes. And so I have sat in banks.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I have sat in insurance offices where people were saying, oh, we're just waiting for your husband. And I'm like, oh, no, I am Lee Rhodes. So I've lived the experience so much. And I think that The the the answer of as a woman getting the answer no for me has meant, OK, how do I make this work and how do I make this happen for myself? And I think that's what women specifically need to figure out.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
For men, I haven't been one, so I don't know.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Yeah. I guess I say this all the time, and I think it's just the most important thing, is as a woman, we get up every morning and we are multitasking all day long. It is not a skill set of mine. I've had to force myself to multitask. Women, if you're a mom and you're a wife, generally you're a multitasker, especially if you're working. And that's just what we do.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And I think that the most important thing for women, especially if you're an entrepreneur, is to... Take that minute between noon and one and don't fill it with anything. Take that hour and don't fill it with anything and just give yourself a break.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I said, I think that the most important thing we don't do for ourselves and the way to get ahead and really stay focused on your business or on your passion or on, you know, your Pilates classes, whatever it is you're doing. the way to make that really have impact in your life and be fulfilling and continue to make you passionate is to give yourself a break.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And you just got to take the time to do that and breathe through that because even though we're multitaskers, we cannot do it all all at once. We can do it all. We just can't do it all at once. And that's the biggest thing I tell women all the time because it's something that It took me forever to learn. My kids are in their 30s. So, you know, I don't take care of them anymore.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And I'm still learning that skill, which is, I think, you know, a lot of really successful women will say to you, just take a break, center, reorganize. And I think men are much better at that than we are. They're better at asking for help.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Well, so my products are made in Montana recently and in Seattle, Washington. But I did go, I was told by a very, very smart retailer many, many years ago. He said, you're never going to make it work. First of all, you can't make something in America handmade. You can't make that. That'll never work. You can't make something handmade in America and sell it at the price you'll need to sell it at.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
That'll never work. You can't do either of those things and be successful and give money away. at the cash register, which is what we do. And everyone said to me, you absolutely cannot do it. It will not work. You'll go under. There's no way this business model has legs. And it was so interesting to me because one of the gentlemen who I believe in so much said, you need to make these in China.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And I thought to myself, okay, well, I'm making them in America. I don't know what making them in China, but I really respected him. And I really wanted to do right by him and have him kind of believe in me. So I went to China. We made Glassy Baby there. We imported them. They sat in boxes in my warehouse for years, for probably three years total.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I could never incorporate the story of we made these in China with my, we pay a living wage to hand produce. blown glass artists in Seattle, Washington, with 401ks, with incredible benefits, with a living wage. And we sell these healing lights and these beacons of hope and these deep breaths that we help people take. And we're not willing to make them here in America.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
We're going to make them in another country to save a dollar. None of it fit with me. So they just sat. And I eventually I opened one box and eventually they just went. I think they got donated to somewhere. But we could never incorporate that that that very smart man, that very smart person. line item gentleman who said to me, you got to make this in China, you'll never make it.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And what I didn't, what I didn't realize and what I hope people don't have to make that mistake that I made is you can listen to people and you can learn from what they say. If you listen to yourself as well, that's the lesson I learned. Yes, I hear you. I want to do what you say. I want to be successful. I want to be financially secure. I want to make a lot of money.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I want to give a lot of money away. I want all that to work. But instead of then testing and not believing in myself and feeling like I had to prove he was wrong before I could be right, just skip that step. Skip that step. Just believe in yourself and believe you're right. And it'll save you a lot of headache.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
So our giving at Glassy Baby was the inspiration and it's been there since the inception. That's what we do. I sat in chemo rooms with people who were less fortunate than I by miles. They didn't have healthy food. They didn't have friends to drive them. They couldn't afford to pay to park. They missed chemotherapy because they couldn't get the bus fare together. I mean, we're talking about
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
Chemotherapies are like battlefields. They're the ultimate equalizer. It doesn't matter how much money you are. It doesn't matter how pretty you are. It doesn't matter who your dad is. In a chemo room, you're just as equal as the guy next door who owns the gas station you go to. It's the same.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And being involved, being a part of a family that was part of the great equalizer was was a life changing experience for me. And all of a sudden I thought I should be able to do something to help some of them have bus fare. I should be able to do something to help some of them be able to pay to park.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And so when we started, when I got this little candle and it was it created such passion in me to do something positive.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
better and more with my life so the the the beginning of glassy baby was about giving money back and that's how it was so we don't give money back at the end of the year we don't give we give it at the actual payment process because it's part of our business model it's not part of our marketing right It's actually exactly what we do. It's a line item in our cogs.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And so unlike most businesses where people give at the end of the year when they see their P&L and they're like, oh, I can give $100,000 their way or something, we do it at every single time you buy a glassy baby.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
I think there's, there are, From my personal experience, there are two things. First of all, glassy baby work. When you take the time to sit down with, and it doesn't have to be a glassy baby. It can be anything. A little tea light in something that's colorful. brings you to a place of calm.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
We are all animals, you know, we're all on this earth and we're all connected and we're connected through things like flame and color and dancing movement and anything that makes you have kind of a visceral reaction. That's what we all are. And that's, that's what everyone needs in their life. No matter whether it's a baby or whatever you, it's sunset or sunrise. It's all the same thing.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
It's that same feeling of You can't even control that breath you're taking. It's because your body is in control. And I think that, you know, eating well was always part of our lives. You know, we were in a cold cereal family. We had eggs and toast in the morning or oatmeal and sandwich for lunch, solid dinners. You know, I do love a glass of wine, too. So there's that. But, yeah.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
You know, I think the most important thing for me with eating and really caretaking was making sure I was never alone eating. It was a time for around those meals with my children or with friends or with my husband. It's that time. It's really the time to... Let yourself absorb other people's energy, good food, but the energy and the conversation.
I am Charles Schwartz Show
How She Built a $30M Empire
And even if you're bickering, even if you're whatever, it's it's a model. It's being friendly and having a community no matter what your community is. That's so important. Your community can just be your husband. You know, there's all these things about you need 50 friends.