Three teenage brothers from Washington, despite their young age, became entrepreneurs and created a successful candle company. But over time, they shed light on the big problem of the American homeless community.
How the Jill Brothers set up a handmade soap company
Three brothers - thirteen-year-old Colin, eleven-year-old Ryan, and eight-year-old Austin - founded a company with the French name Frères Branchiaux. The reason was that their parents literally forced them to go and earn their own money if they wanted new toys. Yes, the original goal of creating a brothers business was to find money for new toys - a worthy goal for teenage boys, isn't it?
Patrick and Selena Jill - the parents of the boys, as well as the successful business owners themselves - told the guys that they have two options: either start their own business, or get a job.
It was thanks to the parents that the main idea about creating a business was born, but also thanks to my mother the idea of a startup appeared.
“My brothers and I asked mom:“ What interests you most when shopping? ”At first she answered about bath fragrances, but their creation takes a longer process, so we decided to stay on candles, which is much easier,” said Colin in an interview with GMA.
As a result, the boys ran their own handmade candle shop in Indian Head, Maryland, for nearly two years.
Candle making process
The 11-year-old Ryan, whom his brother Colin calls the band's “aromatologist,” shared the secret of his creative candle making process.
“I usually take all the scents that I like, and then I just mix them and ask my family members whether they like it or not, and if they like, then we turn it into a candle,” Ryan explains.
The younger brother, Austin, believes that working with his brothers is cool, but the biggest plus is always having funds for things he likes. “I like it when I can buy my own toys,” he says.
About 30 local stores sell candles made by brothers. They are also contracting with new networks, constantly expanding.
“I used to think it was just temporary with them because they just wanted money for toys, for games on the Playstation 4 and so on,” says the boys' mom, Selena Jill. - I immediately told them: "No, my dears, find a job or start a business." "They really surprised me when they really started a business, started selling their product on various baseball and football games, and then switched to vending machines."
Helping the homeless
The business has greatly changed the boys: over the years they have grown, learned a lot, become more united, smarter and even wiser. However, the real guys changed when they discovered the scale of the problem of American homeless people.
Frères Branchiaux donates a percentage of revenue - about $ 500 a month - to help the homeless in the Washington area.
“My brother Ryan has a big heart,” says Colin. “He loves helping homeless people - there are a lot of homeless people in the District of Columbia - so every time we walked in and saw a homeless person, he always asked my mother to give them money.”
“I always helped others,” Ryan added. “We need to help those people who need it.”
According to Selena, the boys' business is constantly growing, and they plan to use it for good purposes.
“We have a large community, and we also plan to create jobs,” she says. “We are currently working with one of the organizations, we plan to hire some of our clients who were previously homeless.”
Patrick explains that it is important to guide your children without destroying their creativity: “It's important to be impartial. But in doing so, you must support what they do to help them focus on what they really love. ”
Business expansion
The company plans to expand. One of the proposed expansion projects, the boys see the so-called candle truck.
“It's almost like a truck full of food, but instead of food, it's a candle,” Colin explains. “We are also looking for means to produce our candles.”
Conclusion
To date, the guys have about 400 candles and 23 different scents in their arsenal.
Their mother said that the family recently launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to organize a candle truck, so you should wait for new interesting news.