Last week I had the privilege of interviewing Lee Rhodes on my radio show, Shop Talk for Entrepreneurs. She is the founder of the multi-million dollar business, Glassybaby, and someone I’d like you to meet.
Lee was fighting her third battle with cancer and raising her three small children when the first glassybaby was created in 1998. She was searching for peace and calm and found it when she dropped a tea light in a handmade, glass candleholder. The color and light helped Lee heal and take that deep breath we all forget to take.
Lee wanted to share what she found with others. So she opened a glassblowing studio and Glassybaby was born.
From the beginning, Lee made sure that giving back is the foundation of Glassybaby. She remembers meeting patients in waiting rooms who could not afford day-to-day costs like bus fare and groceries during chemotherapy.
As of today, Glassybaby has donated more than $1.4 million from sales to charities dedicated to healing and meeting those needs that are not covered by health insurance.
Glassybaby is now an $8 million a year business. 70+ artists create the glass votive holders that are sent all over the world. And the great part? The more glassybabies they sell, the more money they donate to charities.
By 2011, Lee’s efforts as a businesswoman and philanthropist were acknowledged when she was named Entrepreneur of 2011 by Entrepreneur magazine. She is the first woman to receive the honor and was chosen from thousands of applicants nationally.
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