General News
22 April, 2022
Small kids big business
KIDS come up with some crazy ideas, but it’s those ideas that have helped one particular family in Mareeba begin small businesses before their owners have even graduated school.
Alyssa Bale and her cousins Bray and Lacey Taylor all now have unique businesses they started from scratch and are already taking bulk orders from the community.
Don’t be fooled by their age, these three intelligent entrepreneurs know their stuff and are creating quality all-natural products – with a little help from the adults.
ELLIE FINK spent the day with the family and here are their stories...
AT the young age of 14, Alyssa Bale has one successful business on the market, selling her all-natural homemade scrubs, soaps and bath bombs.
It all started a few months ago when Alyssa was with her little cousin playing with a make-your-own scrub kit and she fell in love with the idea of creating skin care products.
She soon saw the vision of a business, filled with skin care without harsh chemicals that would leave her customers glistening.
“One day I was just mucking around with my little cousin making scrubs and I thought it was fun and decided I wanted to do it more often so I asked mum if I could start a business and it’s been going from there,” she said.
“I called my business Glisten Scrubs and I started making up actual recipes after that and then I found a really good one – I especially like using sugars and salts as well as coconut oils and vitamin E.
“I think all natural is better for your skin and there’s less stuff in the product that you can get a reaction from.”
Glisten Scrubs went live October last year, with Alyssa and her mum Linda Bale taking to Facebook and the Mareeba Markets to get her products out there.
Almost immediately, friends, family and strangers alike were lining up and placing orders to get a jar of sugar scrubs.
So far, Alyssa has received a huge response particularly for her coconut and lime scrub, with one family buying out her whole stock and boosting her sales. In the last couple of months, Alyssa has developed some products and has created special themed baskets for different events to be gifted to loved ones.
“Depending on the occasion, I do up little bundles, so at the moment I have been selling easter packs and in the past, I’ve had Australia Day and Valentine’s Day ones,” Alyssa said.
“I have been making lip balms and lip scrubs as well and I have a build your own box that is on the market too.”
When asked about her goals for the future, Alyssa was confident that Glisten would expand over the next few years, giving her an escape from high school life along the way.
She explained her plans to create new beauty products and develop new all natural recipes to satisfy her customers whilst juggling the stresses of schoolwork.
Mother Linda said that she was proud to see her taking a break from the stress of school and turning to more creative distractions.
To follow Alyssa’s journey go to her Facebook and Instagram page @GlistenScrubs
WHEN Bray Taylor isn’t tearing up the racetracks in his go-kart, he is out on the farm helping his parents and workers pick and dehydrate limes for his business, Bray’s Dried Limes.
Although only eight years old, Bray is the king of the packing shed and takes his business in limes seriously, always at the markets with a bright and welcoming smile.
The idea to sell dried limed was a family effort, with Bray and his mother Jess trying to find ways to use the “seconds” without them going to waste.
“Our workers pick the limes, and we take the seconds and dry them out and pack them up in bags to sell,” Bray said.
“My mum came up with the idea and I wanted to sell them at the markets with my sister Lacey who was selling her scrunchies and we have had a couple of people buying them.”
Taking to the markets with his sister and cousin is something Bray really enjoys.
His family has expressed their pride in his initiative to get his business running alongside their farming business, Taylor’s Irresistible Orchards.
As for the future of Bray’s enterprise, with the help of mum and dad, he is reaching out to local restaurants and bars that may be interested in using his limes for their products.
“I hope that businesses will buy my limes for doing cocktails,” he said.
“I am also hoping people will buy more of my dried limes so that I can start going bigger and getting better bags.”
Recently, Bray has also taken on dragon fruit which he puts in the dehydrator to turn them into treats that he sells for $1 at the markets.
Bray sells his small packets of limes for $5 and his large packets for $15. He can be found at the Mareeba Markets or on the Taylor’s Irresistible Orchards Facebook page.
SCRUNCHIES of all colours and designs are Lacey Taylor’s game, with the help of her grandmother crocheting the hair pieces to her liking to sell through her business, Lacey’s Lovelies.
Falling in love with not only the recent revival of the scrunchie craze but her grandmother’s talent, the seven-year-old has been in the business since October last year.
“I pick the colours and the designs and my nonna Lorella makes them for me,” she said.
“I like selling them and getting a lot of money from the markets and Facebook.”
Lacey’s nonna Lorella is a well-established crotchet and needle worker, known for her business making and giving teddies to hospitals across the region to help comfort sick patients.
“Teddy Bear Nonna” has helped Lacey learn all the ins and outs of a creative business and has helped create her scrunchies to sell.
Her love for dance and costumes has influenced her sales and designs and Lacey has managed to incorporate her scrunchies into her dance class uniforms.
“All my dancing friends order them and have a scrunchie each,” she said.
“They wear them in their hair while we are all dancing.”
Lacey explained she would really like to see her business get bigger and her scrunchies in the ponytails of many dancers she knows.
Although Lacey uses the markets to sell her scrunchies, her mother Jess has used Facebook to handle online orders.
Her market stall, Lacey’s Lovelies, will be set up at the Mareeba Markets next to Bray’s Dried Limes with many varieties of scrunchies to choose from.
Behind the scenes
Sisters Jess Taylor and Linda Bale not are not only raising a teen and two adventurous kids, they are also working behind the scenes to help three rising entrepreneurs take off in the business world before they even hit adulthood.
They share a mixture of pride, describing the kids as dedicated and intelligent and eager to learn the ins and outs of owning a business.
“We are very proud of them, I have helped Alyssa with research and getting them out to the markets to set up and then leave them to do what they do,” Linda said.
“It’s also good to teach the kids how to budget and how to put the money you’ve earned back into the business.”
Alyssa’s older brother, Cassie Bale, also works behind the scenes with his family, creating the labels for packaging, helping them set up at the markets and supporting them in their future endeavours.
