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Business

How One Entrepreneur Launched A Successful Business by Accident

Mar. 13, 2013 8:30am Becket Adams

Lynsi ODell Launches Coconut Rain, The Marketplace At TheBlaze Helps

Coconut Rain Founder Lynsi O’Dell

When Lynsi O’Dell’s husband suffered a debilitating brain hemorrhage in 2007, the responsibility of providing for their family fell on her shoulders.

She had to leave her job running a day care to look after her husband and immediately set about looking for ways to ease the strain on the family’s finances.

So, as a means of conserving cash and addressing her children’s sensitive skin condition (eczema), she started mixing and matching different laundry detergent recipes, looking for the perfect natural blend.

Two birds with one stone, right?

“I received a recipe from a friend and I was desperately trying to save money at the time,” said the Jenison, Mich., resident in an email to TheBlaze.

Juggling a part-time side job, caring for her sick husband, being pregnant with their fifth child, and experimenting with different recipes, it was a full year before she hit on the perfect formula.

“I was working as a server in a Bistro at the time and it seemed like a great recipe. I loved making it, but my kids’ skin sensitivities and eczema were at the forefront of my mind. They were still breaking out so I took a year to tweak it and make it natural,” she said.

After she had perfected the blend, something happened: People really, really liked it.

“Once my friends found out about what I was doing, they wanted to try it,” she said.

And the more it got out, the more people wanted to try it. Eventually,the inevitable happened: The Michigander decided to go into business for herself.

“I thought my Mom was nuts when she suggested I should go into business. Starting a business was not on my radar at all. I mean really — who wants to start a laundry soap business and compete with big name companies?” she joked.

“Against my better judgment, I sent an email out to my friends and family and sold 15 gallons. I then went to a craft show and sold 75 gallons. I knew I was onto something! It has been nothing but a gift since I made the decision to quit my Bistro job and work it 150 percent!” she added.

And thus was Coconut Rain born. From there, her business continued to grow — but it wasn’t easy.

“I’m going to be honest: It’s really hard sometimes! I have to work in blocks. I produce for an hour then go to a doctor appointment, school party, etc.,” she said. “Sometimes I mail out my daily orders on the way home from getting the kids from school.”

“I am forced to complete orders up until the early hours of the morning. Without a doubt, my family comes first. I will never get this time back with them and I don’t want to miss it,” she added.

A few years after launching Coconut Rain, she connected with The Marketplace by TheBlaze, an online store featuring some of the best and finest small businesses in the nation.

Luckily for her young business, it wasn’t a moment too soon.

“On the day of launching with The Marketplace, exactly six minutes after, I received a phone call from my biggest client. Their fiscal year budgets were not allowing the purchase of our laundry soap any further. I was absolutely devastated. How would my business continue to thrive? My faith was shaken to say the least and I questioned the future of my company,” she said.

Not all was lost.

“The next morning as I logged into my account, I had more orders than I could have even imagined. In the first four days of the website being live, I generated more revenue than I had with my ‘biggest client’ in a month,” she said.

They received 323 orders in their first 24 hours. In September 2012 alone, Coconut Rain tripled its normal monthly profits. It has since grown by roughly 40 percent since joining The Marketplace, according to Grand Rapids Family Magazine.

Coconut Rains products

“I manage five distributors across the state of Michigan, where the meaning of unemployment is very well understood,” she wrote in an op-ed that ran on TheBlaze in September.

“With their commissions they provide food for their families, diapers for their babies and gas money for their minivans, which they use to transport their children to and from school,” she added.

Still, even with the success of her business, there’s still a lot of work to be done — and the whole family is pitching in.

“My husband has been my biggest cheerleader. He works in Business Development for an Electrical Company so he helps me with marketing and sales. I don’t have a college degree, so I had to learn about the business world the hard way,” Lynsi explains. “He’s a great help – he will make retail deliveries for me, mail orders and help me produce product. OR, just simply make the kids dinner while I am working.”

“My kids are so helpful. My 15 year old is a big help! She loves earning money, so she will help me label product bags and such. My 13 year old son likes to earn his payment in the form of video game time or a milkshake from his favorite fast food restaurant.”

“He helps to load finished product into our vehicle for delivery and helps me lift product boxes. We have been in the media a lot lately and they feel a sense of pride when asked about the family business. They are helping to make it a success by the contributions they make as well,” she added.

So where does she see her business going from here?

“Our business is debt free, so I think that plays a major part in our success. We don’t have any financial investors to pay back with our profits. So I’ve never faced the challenge of thinking that my business is in danger — because it has been really lucrative,” she said.

“In recent months, my business has received national attention because of its success. It is growing quickly and has experienced a 38% sales increase since May alone. The need to expand to meet demand is evident,” she added.

As Coconut Rain continues to grow, seemingly defying this struggling economy, her business savvy grows as well.

Starting a business “can be very rewarding, [but] it can be very trying on your family. Dedication to making any business successful is a must. You can’t put in an hour this week and an hour next week. You need to be devoted 100 percent,” she said.

“Start slow, build a solid foundation and a solid reputation so that people can trust you. My Dad gave me that advice and it was the best advice I’ve ever gotten,” she added.

–

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Featured image Coconut Rain.

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Comments (25)

paladin712
Posted on May 3, 2013 at 6:25am
This is awesome. A famous cookie was started by a mother of a child who had allergies.

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SlushPuppyKing
Posted on March 14, 2013 at 7:21pm
Good for her!

Now girl you enjoy this while you can and put that money away cause the Government will come along and 30-60% of your profit will disappear somehow thanks to them!

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hades3
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 4:17pm
Just wait until the Department of Consumer Affairs gets wind of this. Also there is the FDA, the CDC
the IRS, the Department of Labor and on and on. Hey, don’t forget OSHA.

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- battles
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 6:59pm
  This is actually quite true. Obamanation and the demoncrats HATE success, entrepreneurship, and capitalism to the point that they may just viciously come after her. Hope she has her business licenses and irs tax numbers / pre-guessed income tax payments in order and correct. The IRS alone could ravage this woman’s company with one soulless meeting.
  
  Report this comment
- dewardo
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:28pm
  Hey and don’t forget , she didn’t build that business.
  
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- Gorp
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 2:32am
  OK. I may be showing my stupidity here but what is “HE washer safe”? My wife is a semi-invalid so I do the clothes. I just grab handfuls and throw them in the washer along with the soap and softener and turn the machine on. Does “HE washer safe” mean that guys like me can’t screw up a load no matter what I do?
  
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- PatriotMom57
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 11:32am
  GORP….’HE’ stands for High Efficiency, meaning a front loading washing machine.
  
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- Gorp
  Posted on March 16, 2013 at 12:46am
  OK. Thanks.
  
  Report this comment
truthseekerusa
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 2:50pm
What a wonderful example of American exceptionalism that we are so proud of! I hope this article will bring the awesome woman more customers!

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TSUNAMI_22
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 12:51pm
QUICK !!!!!!, tax, and regulate the crap out of her before she gets away !!!!!

Whew, that was a close one……..

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- CatB
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 2:09pm
  Being in Michigan .. lucky the unions didn’t put her out of business almost before she started .. now it is a right to work state .. you should hear them whine.
  
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NoMoMrNiceGuy
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 12:47pm
God Bless – The system can work if left to grow on it’s own. Get the Govt the he** out of our way and we can do great things !

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Stoic one
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 11:13am
Good for her.. went to the website. How about natural unscented?

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- JLWPP
  Posted on March 14, 2013 at 12:55am
  I purchased the original collection for my family who has allergies, it has a nice smell from the package but I have not found it to leave any residue in the washer, dryer or the clothes. The cost seemed to be high until I tried it. The 1 Tablespoon I use for a large load does the job. My clothes are clean and dry even on the line soft. Congraletions on your LLC. Looks to me like you had very good advice in getting things started. This is the best thing I have found for my family’s detergent problems. Thank you.
  
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woodyee
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 11:09am
Congratulations, and thank goodness for TheBlaze’s MarketPlace!!!

I’ve no idea what the business climate is for Michigan, but California is a yeast-infected pit for business, so please, invest some of those funds seeding in business-friendly States, and be prepared to move to thrive.

Good luck and best wishes!

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Quiata
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:14am
Congratulations, Lynsi! Great job making a wonderful opportunity out of a series of hardships. Don’t let the naysayers (of ANY stripe…) deter you. Wishing you much success.

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BehindTheMouth
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:06am
Obama will somehow ***** it up

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- pacard33
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 11:35am
  Yeah, she didn’t build that! :)
  
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marthasusan40
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:55am
I am so happy for her and I will pray for her family and her husband. I started a small business this past year because I was so encouraged by what Glenn Beck tells us. My business is called Wear a Message. I manufacture two designs of sterling silver necklaces with a message inscribed on them. My first design was FAITH HOPE CHARITY , we recently released our second design, HONOR COURAGE LOVE…I have tried for months to contact the Marketplace for consideration and have never actually gotten a real response. Our website is http://www.wearamessage.com….sterling silver and made in America ! I believe we are the perfect fit for the Marketplace. Do you?

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- marthasusan40
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:12am
  http://www.wearamessage.com
  
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- SaturdaysWarrior76
  Posted on March 13, 2013 at 10:51am
  Beautiful necklaces! Great gift idea for a teen! I saved your site to my favorites. God bless and much luck with your endeavors! (I think one of these necklaces could be something to hand down from generation to generation.)
  
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PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:34am
How to be successful. Find a need….and fill it. Because of a need in her family she did not give up searching. Search and you will find. There are some old cliches that are worth their weight in gold if understood and applied with a genuine will to good. Opportunity knocks.

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huey6367
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:17am
Wait til Obamacare kicks in. I am happy for your ‘accident’ but obiecare will definitely hurt.

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bimzer
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 9:16am
A word to those who may not know, cottage work will be challenged by your local labor department..
Look up Bert’s Bees and understand why they had to move from New England to North Carolina.

The best I remember, the children of employees that were in homes doing Bert’s work, like sorting doilies were challenged with labor law violations… Etc..

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Chromo200
Posted on March 13, 2013 at 8:57am
Once The Administration finds out about this, they will mess it up with all the EPA/Dept Ag/ Dept Commerce, rules.

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