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Austin Kid-Entrepeneurs Make and Sell Their Own Soaps

By Kyla Gardner | June 30, 2015 5:29am

AUSTIN — The Price household smells really good.

But that's no surprise — the Austin residence is headquarters to a homemade soap company.

Run by Jennifer Price and three of her six children, J. Price Kids and Company produces bar soaps, bath bombs, lotions, laundry detergent, air fresheners and more.

"They’ve learned that they have to have each other’s backs," Price said of her kids. "I try to teach them about life. They take business with their curriculum."


Jennifer Price (back right) runs a soap company with her kids Knowledge, 7, (back left), Pilar, 4 (front right) and Len, 11 (front left). [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]

The Price kids are homeschooled, and company owners Len, 11, Knowledge, 7, and Pilar, 4, are learning about running a business by, well, actually running a business.

"I've worked in so many retail stores. You don't know if you're going to have a job today or the next day," Price said. "I don't want them to have to deal with that."

Kyla Gardner says the kids are learning real-life business skills at home:

The company began in October 2013, when Price urged her kids to start thinking about entrepreneurship.

"We were all sitting at the table, and our mom came down and said she's not going to be here forever, so we need something to be independent and self-sufficient," Len said. "We came up with a business ... and then it became a big business."


Eleven-year-old Len holds up the J. Price Kids and Company business license. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]

The products sell for between $10 and $50 (for a gift basket) and have customers as far away as India and Switzerland, and local big-name fans like theater director, writer and producer John L. Ruffin.

The products can be found in six brick-and-mortar stores, and bought online by messaging the kids through their Facebook page.

In the city, the soaps are sold at three Kayra Imports locations, at 1001 E. 53rd St. in Hyde Park, and 1643 E. 87th St. and 706 E. 83rd St. in Chatham. In the suburbs, they can be found at Queens Beauty Supply at 14 Madison St. in Oak Park, The Ladies Room Consignment Boutique at 410 S. Main St. Lombard and A Book Above at 136 W. Vallette St. #6 in Elmhurst.

The kids often get recognized in public, and they speak at schools and other functions about their business.

They mix their own scents, hand-make the soap, design their packaging, and come up with names like "Lavender Fields," "Mia," "Purple Mystery," "Old Sport," and "Brandy and Cigar."


J. Price Kids and Company sells hand-made bath bombs. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]

The business hasn't been without growing pains, Price said. Some of her kids have come and gone from being involved in the company, and meetings can get heated.

"The lady next door is like, 'I heard your kids arguing,'" Price said, laughing. "They’re doing business, that’s all."

Of course, the profits are a welcome treat for the kids, though even then, the income is an opportunity to learn, Price said.

"First we get our needs, then we get our wants," Len said.


Eleven-year-old Len demonstrates a J. Price and Company bath bomb. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]

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