KICKS OFF SUCCESSFUL SUMMER La La Earrings

Not many summers can compare with the one the Olson sisters, 10-year-old Ahnika and 13-year-old Lillian, have had.

The fourth and seventh grade sisters from Baxter became entrepreneurs.

“Lillian broke a bone in her ankle in June,” says the girls’ mom, Kristina Olson. The girls have limits on their television and Internet time at home and don’t have their own phones, so they found themselves with a lot of free time on their hands. “A friend gave her some clay beads,” says Kristina, “and the girls decided to make bracelets, but we could never get them to stay tied right. When they saw these hoops to make earrings, they thought they would try those, and it took off from there.”

In the past they have had a lemonade stand to make extra spending money during the summer. This year they knew they couldn’t do both and decided to get serious about making earrings.

“They are both at the age where there are a lot of things they want. We provide for those things that they need, but when there are things beyond that, we talk about how we can help them realize those.”

When it was time to choose a name for their new business their mom suggested La La Earrings. The girls liked the name. It combines their first initials, and they thought it would be easy for customers to remember.

Their first week they sold 40 pairs of earrings and celebrated another banner day when they sold them at a friend’s garage sale.

The earrings are lightweight and are made using small colored round pieces and letters. They have created pairs using the colors of local and national sports teams, various color combinations to coordinate with seasonal outfits, assorted short words and holiday colors.

“It has been a lot of fun,” says Ahnika who said she likes to make earrings while her family is talking or watching movies together.

Although most of the girls’ sales have been from word of mouth so far, they have been trying to decide where else they may like to offer their product. “They have an opportunity to go into the place where I get my hair done,” says Kristina, “but they need to go in and make a presentation first.”

La La Earrings has also debuted its own Facebook Page used for displaying assorted designs, for making sales (they take Venmo and cash) and for taking special orders.

Kristina teaches first grade in the Brainerd School District and says her students enjoy seeing which earrings she will wear to school to see if it is a pair her daughters have made. Other teachers have purchased earrings, too. A pencil design is especially popular.

There is a lot to learn as a business start-up. Lillian and Ahnika purchased the initial supplies with a Hobby Lobby gift card Ahnika received as a birthday party gift. The girls said it was a little disappointing after the first few sales when they had to pay Ahnika’s money back and there wasn’t much left for profit.

Their mom and dad, Derek, have some stipulations on the money they make, too. “We have to donate some of the money,” says Lillian. “Put some back into the business, and then we each get some we can spend.”

Besides the hoops and rings to make their product, the girls have purchased a stand to help display their earrings for customers, along with stickers, bags and tissue paper to package their orders.

“We have helped them a little bit of course,” says Kristina. “But not much. The earring business has resulted in some good conversations, such as who is doing the most work. There have been some details to work out,” she laughs.

The girls are enjoying learning which colors go together best for their original designs. And they found out sometimes even when things are in demand, you can’t always get the supplies you need. Right after they started selling their earrings the local stores ran out of hoops to make them. Mom helped them make a trip to St. Cloud and they stocked up.

This fall the girls will have to assemble the earrings in between going to school and figure skating practices.

The three agreed Ahnika enjoys the physical part of assembling the earrings the most, but Lillian is more interested in the business side.

“A lot of good conversations have come out of it. Like what’s important in life. Spreading joy to people and bringing it to them.”

You can place orders for your earrings on the La La Earrings Facebook page or when you run into them at Hobby Lobby.

Sheila Helmberger lives in the Brainerd area and is a frequent contributor to Her Voice.

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