“My family had just moved to Kansas City, and the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to my diabetes,” remembers Philips, now 25 years old and a successful cosmetologist in Dallas.

As a favor to Lauren’s concerned mother, crafter LeAnn Carlson stepped in and made fun, brightly-colored bracelets with an interchangeable ID plate. Young Lauren happily wore the bracelets every day, including to a diabetes education meeting.

“Everyone there wanted to order one,” said Carlson. “We knew we’d stumbled on to something.”

Carlson was right. That “something” was a new market segment that today includes about 400,000 customers who wear medical ID jewelry or accessories designed, manufactured and marketed by Lauren’s Hope or its sister company, Fashion Alert.

Bracelet Buzz

Carlson, the founder and CEO of the Riverside, Mo., companies, was a stay-at-home mom selling handmade jewelry at craft shows when she made those first bracelets for Lauren. Finding nothing on the market like the stylish, interchangeable ID bracelets she created, and in honor of her young inspiration, Carlson founded Lauren’s Hope as a home-based, Internet business. She marketed the bracelets via brochures left at doctor’s offices and medical meetings and used her cell phone for taking orders.

“I had a partner at the time, and we hired a few stay-at-home moms to help assemble the bracelets,” said Carlson. “The word spread quickly, and the demand was amazing.”

It spread even quicker when Carlson, on a whim, offered the bracelets to actress Halle Berry, who had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Berry, who talked publicly about the effects and treatment of diabetes, wore the stylish bracelets on national talk shows, to media events, even during a Vogue magazine photo shoot and, voilà, Lauren’s Hope became a popular media story.

Still in its first year, the young company was featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Family Circle, People, Woman’s World, InStyle magazine and more. The orders rolled in, forcing Carlson to get a toll-free number and hastily design a website for Lauren’s Hope.

“We had amazing press and a very caring customer base from the beginning,” said Carlson. “Our bracelets strike a chord with people because they’re not just another fashion item. They speak to a greater need.”

With business steadily increasing, Carlson and her growing team of designers and assemblers knew they needed more space. So in 2005, the company set up shop on the top floor of the Riverside building where it is still located today.

Around that same time, Carlson made another contact that caused an upsurge in sales.

“I connected with a woman who was an on-air personality at QVC,” said Carlson. “We had several QVC sales segments and at one point were selling $27,000 a minute. It was phenomenal.”

But even with the positive attention her business received then—and now—Carlson has not deviated from one important rule.

“We are a ‘bootstrap’ kind of company and have never borrowed money,” said Carlson. “We purchase equipment and other capital items when we have the cash. For us, it’s a safer, more reasonable way to do business.”

Carlson believes the company’s “no debt” policy has been vital to its success.

Fashion Alert Takes Off

As sales increased, the need emerged for a less expensive bracelet that could be sold in volume.

“At the time, our least expensive custom bracelets were about $40,” said Carlson. “We could see that a bracelet retailing at half that price would serve a different set of customers.”

So in 2006, Carlson founded Fashion Alert to market stylish medical ID jewelry that was marketed wholesale through trade shows and gift markets. Fashion Alert’s bracelets were initially made overseas, but

Carlson soon switched manufacturing back to Riverside.

“Our manufacturing process here is all about accuracy, speed and quality,” said Carlson. “Even if we didn’t make as much, we wanted the less expensive bracelets to represent those same qualities.”

In 2009, Carlson committed to staying and hiring local. The companies took over the lower floor of the facility in Riverside and today occupy the entire building. And Fashion Alert now represents about 20 percent of the companies’ overall business in a market that continues to expand.

These days, Lauren’s Hope and Fashion Alert offer hundreds of products for men and women of all ages with more than 30 conditions that require a medical ID. Though bracelets are still the best-sellers, other medical ID products include embellished dog tags, necklaces, luggage tags, stickers, temporary tattoos, car stickers, ankle bracelets and more. There even have been humorous customer requests designed as funny gifts, including one bracelet with the engraving, “In case of emergency, delete browser history.”
Carlson’s two companies employ 19 full-time workers. Carlson also has part-time employees, and ramps up employment during the summer and holidays with more temporary help.

“Just like brick-and-mortar retail, the holidays are huge for us and we gear up,” said Carlson.

Lauren’s Hope mass-mails one marketing piece each year—a glossy, magazine-style catalog that goes out in late October.

A Fashionable Family

Carlson’s two daughters are integral parts of their mother’s business.

In 2009, Jenna White, an elementary school teacher for four years, was ready for a change. She joined her mother’s company full time, working through various positions in the company to learn the ropes.

“Jenna dug in, identified some weaknesses in our website and implemented some search engine optimization methods into the website,” said Carlson. “She also developed our social media presence and got us more engaged with our customers online.”

The results were amazing. The company, which was growing at about 10 percent annually, experienced 33 percent growth from 2009 to 2010. Carlson attributes that spike to White, who is now the director of e-commerce, marketing and business development.

“No matter what you’re selling, search engine optimization is critical and should be constantly reviewed,” said Carlson. “You can’t set it and forget it.”

Carlson said Jenna’s involvement in the e-commerce side of the business was a turning point for the company.

“Having an employee who not only identifies a problem, but also sources and implements a solution is invaluable,” said Carlson.

Daughter Lauren Grace (who goes by Grace at work to avoid confusion with the company’s namesake) is referred to as Employee No. 1, because she has worked with Carlson since the craft show days. Currently a junior at Rockhurst University, she plans to work full time marketing the company’s products after graduation. Richard Carlson, LeAnn’s husband of 25 years, is not formally involved in the business, but has been an excellent sounding board and great source of advice.

So what’s it like working for Mom?

“My mother has taught me more than any business degree ever could,” said Jenna. “She is a naturally intuitive business person. I can’t imagine ever wanting to work for anyone else.”

The family atmosphere at the company extends beyond, well, the family. Once a month, company employees enjoy a potluck theme lunch and, on nice days, Carlson wheels out two shiny gas grills for grilling hot dogs and burgers.

“I also arrange for in-house massages several times a year and other things like that,” said Carlson. “We have low turnover because we enjoy and treat each other well.”

Fashion for a Cause

Carlson believes passionately in using one’s success to make the world a better place. Lauren’s Hope has donated more than $100,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and is a proud supporter of the

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, Special Olympics, the National Hemophilia Association and many other organizations.

“So many of our customers have had tough lives and experiences, and we want to honor them with our support,” said Carlson.

The company website has a link for lifesaving stories, and Jenna White has a large drawer full of emails and letters of thanks. “We call them our love letters,” said White. “They are very precious to us.”

12 Years Later

When it comes to future plans, Carlson and daughter Jenna see advanced technology as the key to attracting a growing customer base.

“Every day, more conditions are diagnosed that require medical alert identification,” said White. “We’re exploring things like connecting with medical information stored in the cloud. It’s an exciting time to be in this field.”

Today, Lauren Philips—Carlson’s inspiration—is using her cosmetology talents at photo and fashion shoots around the country, and in September worked with upscale designer Rachel Zoe during New York City’s

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. She controls her diabetes with medication and diet, still wears medical ID bracelets Carlson provides and is very proud to be associated with Lauren’s Hope.

“It’s just so cool to think about what Lauren’s Hope has accomplished,” said Philips. “LeAnn has been a huge part of my life.”

As for Carlson, she still thrives on the excitement of managing and growing a successful business. Her motto? Don’t complain, just work harder.

“I love this company, the people I work with, our products and our customers,” said Carlson. “For me, it’s not work. It’s simply my favorite pastime.”