A Conversation with Lisa Price, Founder of Carol's Daughter

You named your company Carol's Daughter, in honor of your mother. How did your relationship with your mother influence the type of mother you wanted to be with your sons?

Lisa Price: My mother was amazing as a parent. I did not know how amazing until I became a parent for the first time. I remember being stressed about being a new parent. No sleeping, nursing, etc. I was not depressed but just in awe everyday of how different my life now was and how amazing it was to suddenly be needed all the time by someone you absolutely adored, that you had just met.

One night while nursing my baby I thought of my mom and that she must have been up at night with me in the same way. It was one of those full circle moments where you just say, "Wow." Then I thought about when my Mom did that with me, she was 20 and I thought about where I was at 20. I wasn't a Mom. I started at almost 34. By that time my Mom had a 14 year old and an 11 year old and at 34 she lost both of her parents within one day of each other. Despite the devastation she never stopped being a mom. Food was on the table, clothes were washed and ironed and my brother and I knew we were secure.

I thought to myself, "How could she function? How did she do that?" That was when I realized how amazing it was to be a mom and how challenging it can be. I talked to my mom about it the next day and she was so matter of fact about it. She said, "You do what you have to do for your children." And that's what I always try to remember.

How did your mother influence the way you run your business?

LP: Mommy taught me to see the positive in every negative situation and use it to grow. Use the difficult times as a time to vent, but then reflect on what could be worse and despite how grim things may seem, you are blessed. This is still a struggle for me as I am a work in progress. The biggest lesson I have to learn in this life is "This too shall pass."

In your book, you mention stepping back from the company and being relieved to have more time to spend with your sons. Prior to that, did you feel guilty about the amount of time needed to get Carol's Daughter up and running?

LP: Perhaps I did not make this clear in the book. It was not really stepping back, it was more allowing others to do what they were capable of doing and letting go some of the control that I had on the minutiae. I needed to be able to do bigger things for Carol's Daughter, like write the book. Did I feel guilty? Yes. Do I feel guilty now? Yes. When I
was the age of my boys, my mom was home after school with milk and cookies. It was that way until I was about 13 and then she started to work until 5:30 and I looked after my brother after school.

I can't be home after school. But I can bring them to the office after school and I can take time off for plays and such, because I'm the boss. Those things help to assuage my guilt. No matter what, I think moms feel guilty. It's part of the job.

Today, how involved are you with the company on a day-to-day basis?

LP: I am very involved. I oversee product development and I am at the warehouse four days a week when I am not traveling. One day is spent in the city at corporate meetings. I don't have to file or ship orders anymore, but I am always busy.

What is the key to your relationship with your husband? How do you two make it work?

LP: My husband, Gordon and I are best friends and lovers and parents. I say best friends first, because that is from where all else comes. It is the basis of our trust and understanding of each other. No matter what he knows I've got his back and I know he's got mine. Gordon and I share the workload in our house with the boys and we each recognize each other's strengths and weaknesses. We don't divide responsibilities based on pre-determined roles. We each do what we're good at and we each respect the other's job at the time and give that person the time and space they need to do that job well. I have been with him for 17 years and married for almost 15 of those and I can't imagine my life with any other man.

What advice would you give other working mothers on making time for all their priorities?

LP: The most important thing is to try not to beat yourself up. Recognize that something will have to be sacrificed and try to balance out the punishment. Meaning, if last week you skipped the nail salon to take your child to the park, then this week, let someone else take him or her or take them with you to the nail salon. It can't always be about you and it can't always be about them. Balance is key.

Later in your book you give mothers advice on saying no and staying sane. How did you learn to be able to say no? Did you feel that guilt of not being able to be everything to everyone?

LP: I am a victim of the "disease to please" and I struggle with this all the time. I am still learning to say "No." In some cases it is easy. Yes, I can bake well from scratch but nine times out of 10 I will buy it to save time. I don't feel guilty about that anymore. But when I tell someone I can't loan them money, or speak at their church, it hurts, and worst of all, sometimes I still say, "Yes," and pay for it later.

What lessons about business and having a strong work ethic are you trying to pass on to your children?

LP: I try to teach them that good things come from hard work. When they complain that I am answering e-mails while on vacation I try to explain that the e-mails on a cell phone for 5 minutes or so a few times a day is a small price to pay for being able to be in the beautiful place we are right now. I ask them, "Wouldn't it be worse if I was doing that at home in the living room while you guys played in the yard versus frolicking in this beautiful ocean?"

What factor would you attribute most to your success? Would you credit your faith, family support, unique business practices, etc?

LP: It is hard for me to think of myself as a success because I constantly feel like a work in progress. I do feel as if I have succeeded at certain things, but each time I do it feels as if the bar has been raised higher and I have very little time to sit back and enjoy it before it's time to climb the next hurdle. What gets me through is faith first, family second and third, patience. Unique business practices come into play somewhat, but not as much as the first three. Without them nothing would be doable.

What is the best advice you've received about motherhood?

LP: When my first son was born, a friend came to visit me in the hospital and she told me a story about holding her son on her hip when he was a baby and walking around a corner in her house and accidentally bumping the baby into the wall. He was not seriously hurt. But she told me that story to let me know that I was going to make mistakes without knowing it. That things will happen because you've never done this before. But kids are pretty resilient and God protects fools [us] and our babies and everything will be alright. The first time Forrest rolled off the bed while I was putting on my shoes that advice resonated with me and I have never forgotten it.

Besides providing the world with lush personal care products, what, ultimately, do you hope Carol's Daughter contributes to the world?

LP: I want women to feel beautiful in their power and realize that they can accomplish anything they set out to do. I want us to recognize that we give birth to this world and that we have to live our lives with our families with love and passion and integrity so that that passes on to future generations. And while we know that we are who from all things
come, we can't do it all alone.

For more on Ms. Price, read her book, Success Never Smelled So Sweet, edited by Hilary Beard. For information on Carol's Daughter and the products, visit the website at www.carolsdaughter.com.

Tara Pringle is a freelance writer and associate editor of MahoganyBaby.com.