Mother Surpasses All Expectations
It was another typical day for Becky Anderson. Dishwashers and dryers were running, kids were screaming, and tractors were clanking over the fields.
Becky was a busy mother of nine children, and her husband was one of the largest farmers in the state of Utah. Her house was noisy to say the least. They were working around the clock harvesting, picking, and running the packing shed. It got to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore. They decided to sell part of their farm and down size.
When they sold their farm, Becky had a lot of time on her hands. She was so used to doing the books for the farm, juggling her kids’ schedules and running everywhere to keep their ship afloat. When they sold the farm, she was bored.
Tractors aren’t for Girls
One day, she came home and saw her twelve-year-old daughter on a tractor.
“I about hit the roof,” she said. “It was okay to have the boys on tractors, but not girls! I didn’t think so. I told my husband I was not putting our girls on tractors.”
Becky’s husband explained, “Well, these girls need to learn the value of the dollar and hard work.”
Becky thought about it, and decided she was going to find another way to teach her daughters the value of hard work. She marched over to the University Mall in Orem and told the leasing director she wanted to open a store. He asked her what type of store, and she told him she wanted to open a bath shop. The man laughed at her. She looked at him and told him she was serious.
The Beginning of For Every Body
In 1995, there weren’t any bath shops in Utah County. Becky had seen one in California, and wanted to open a shop in Utah.
When Becky told her husband, he exclaimed, “I am not signing anything with you. When you go down, you’re not taking me with you!”
Becky decided to sign the lease and go for it. In the meantime, she was trying to decide what she should sell in her store.
“If I hadn’t been this crazy, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Becky said. “I really went out on a limb. I think raising nine kids gives you a little bit of courage you wouldn’t have, because you’re in there fighting with teachers, coaches and the whole bit.”
Becky flew to Denver to find some bath products at one of the merchandise marts there. She bought anything she could find to sell in her store.
She had a background in chemistry because she wanted to attend medical school. Instead, she dropped out and got married young. Her chemistry background helped her produce lotions and body washes in her home. Her daughters helped her. Every day they made new product and sold them at the mall. They sold out every day.
The rest of the story is history. For Every Body went national in 1997 and international in 2006 selling soy based candles, air fresheners, lotions, body washes and other fragranced products. Becky hasn’t lost her motivation and it has been almost 12 years since she launched in November 1995. She has gone over several bumps and rocks along the path, but she surpassed all expectations of what her friends and family thought the company would be.
“It’s okay to dream big, but without action it’s not going to happen,” Becky said. “Productivity is the deliberate, strategic investment of your time, your talents, your intelligence, your energy, your resources, your opportunities in a manner calculated to move you measurably closer to meaningful goals.”
Recognitions
Becky received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2006 and was also listed with the “30 Women to Watch” in Utah Business Magazine in 2006. She has been asked to speak at women’s groups and universities in Utah.
Today, For Every Body is one of the fastest growing candle and air freshener manufacturers in the United States. It owns and operates one manufacturing plant in the U. S. and an extensive Asian supply chain. It has been named on the MountainWest Capital Network’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies list for the past five years. The company sells products across the U. S. and internationally. It also runs retail stores in Utah. For Every Body’s products include candles, air fresheners, home décor and bath and body products. Products are produced for 88 retail chains and 6,457 Independent chains including Kohl’s, Jo Ann Fabrics and Crafts, Home Depot, Ross, TJ Maxx, Lowe’s, and Zellers.
Community Involvement
For Every Body is actively involved in the community. They donate over 1,600 breast cancer awareness candles to local hospitals each October to raise awareness of breast cancer locally. They also donate to local high school sports teams and give away gift baskets to local businesses. In 2005 and 2007 For Every Body also contributed to the Pray 4 Tori campaign to raise money for 15-year-old Tori Schmanski who suffered from a traumatic brain injury from a tragic car accident in June 2005. Candles were made especially for Tori to help raise funds to pay for her medical bills.
To learn more about For Every Body, visit
http://www.foreverybody.com/
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