Episode 21: How Entrepreneur Lydia Nelson Went from $8.50/Hr to $2.4M

Lydia Nelson 0:00

Honestly, I just took the leap. I didn't have anything in place. No plan, nothing. I was a CNA. I was broke and I was tired. I was already at 8.50 an hour so I had pending evictions. So at this point, honestly, there was nothing to lose but to just take the leap. The only thing I had to lose was the idea of never started.

Acquania Escarne 0:26

You are listening to the Purpose of Money Podcast, a podcast where we talk about ways to build wealth and create more freedom in your life today. I am your host Acquania Escarne.

Hey guys, welcome back to the Purpose of Money Podcast. Today, I'm so excited to have special guest, Lydia Nelson from C scrubs with love. We are so excited to have you today to talk about your entrepreneurship ventures and your success. Lydia, welcome to the show.

Lydia Nelson 0:57

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Acquania Escarne 1:00

Yeah, so before we dive in, can you tell our guests a little bit more about yourself and your company Cscrubs with love?

Lydia Nelson 1:09

Yes, absolutely. I'm Lydia Nelson, owner and founder of Cscrubs with love wholesale division. And what we do is we place others in business to sell scrubs online and direct. I was a CNA myself many years ago that aspired to do a lot more with my life. So I started out as a retailer of scrubs and then about seven or eight years into that I decided I wanted to do something on a bigger scale and place other people into business to sell scrubs for themselves. So here we are a total of 11 years in business. And we have been doing great. We have hundreds of retailers nationwide and we love what we do.

Acquania Escarne 1:50

Awesome. So you're not only running your own business, but you're inspiring other people to do it too and you're helping those business owners. That is excellent.

Lydia Nelson 2:00

That's right we set their businesses up completely. So with our packages that they purchased, they can get an online store set up, we file their business license, EIN, and all of that good stuff. So we actually put them in business under their own company name.

Acquania Escarne 2:18

Okay, so that's pretty interesting. So can you explain for those who may not be familiar with this concept? How is this different than franchising?

Lydia Nelson 2:27

It's funny you asked about franchising because that is the ultimate goal for Cscrubs. The difference is that we put you in business under your company under your business name, you won't be representing the Cscrubs brand. So once we begin franchising, which should be about maybe five to six years from now, hopefully, you will then be able to purchase a Cscrubs store.

Acquania Escarne 2:52

Got it. That's good. I really like that. So let's go back a little bit. You talked about how for quite some time, you were selling scrubs, and then you chose to pivot. What is it that made you pivot your business to becoming a wholesaler of scrubs?

Lydia Nelson 3:08

I think I fell in love with the idea of entrepreneurship in itself. I feel like as a retailer of many years, I became so familiar with the product, I got to work one on one with my customers. I got to have a lot of fun with the business. But then something dawned on me that I had a story and that I came from an interesting background. And I could use my story to inspire other people that come from the same types of situations. And I realized that I had done something really great and phenomenal and I felt like I needed to share that with the world. So that's what inspired me to place other people in business because I began to have a fire for something bigger than just selling a product. I wanted to change lives and create wealth. So that was my biggest motivation for wholesale. T

Acquania Escarne 4:01

That's awesome. And so let's talk about your story. Where are you originally from? And if you can, explain a little bit more about where you were financially before you started your business and what really drove you to become an entrepreneur.

Lydia Nelson 4:17

Right, right. So many years ago, I was a CNA, I dropped out of high school at the age of 16, to go to Job Corps to get my GED, and my CNA certificate because I grew up very poor. So I was basically put in a situation where you had to get a job, you had to fend for yourself, my mom could no longer take care of me. Basically, she couldn't provide for me anymore at 16. So I had to get out and hustle. And so I didn't want to go get a job at McDonald's because in my mind, I felt like I wouldn't make as much money possibly at McDonald's, I would probably be at the very low end of minimum wage. I felt like as a CNA, it was still low pay, but I could get maybe $1 or two more. Plus I knew that there was a demand for healthcare. And I felt like I would have some type of jobs here. So that's pretty much where that came from. And and in the midst of that me going to Job Corps and the graduating job pool with my CNA certificate, I worked as a CNA and became extremely burnt out. And I think you know, a CNA job is a job that is a stepping stone. It's not something that's meant for you to stay there. I became really burnt out and my financial situation was awful. I was making only $8.50 an hour Actually, my first job as a CNA was $6.75 an hour, $8.50 was my wage when I quit to start Cscrubs. So as you can imagine, I've been evicted several times lost a lot. I went through a lot in my life and I just really hit rock bottom and needed to do something else. So I looked down at my scrubs, back in the day of course, I lived in scrubs. Working as a CNA day and night that's all you wore. And I realized that I could sell scrubs. I'm familiar with the product, I can do this. And it started out as a thought it wasn't like a long term plan like most people plan a business and really, really plan months and years sometimes and think about what they want to do. It was a daily thought that hit me, it was like an epiphany. And there it was. And I immediately fell in love with the idea and I took off with it.

Acquania Escarne 6:23

I love that. I really love that. And so you found that you could make a business out of something you knew really well that you used to use every day. So I want to talk a little bit in a bit more about your jump because some entrepreneurs will wait until they can replace their income before they start a business and then others are like, "No, you just need to take the leap." Which did you do? It sounds like you took the leap. But before you took that leap, what are some of the things that you made sure you had in place so you could be successful?

Lydia Nelson 6:58

Honestly I just took the leap. I didn't have anything in place, no plan nothing. I was a CNA I was broke and I was tired. I was already at $8.50 an hour. So I had pending evictions. So at this point, honestly, there was nothing to lose, but to just take the leap. The only thing I had to lose was the idea of never starting. So I didn't have a plan. I didn't have a mentor. I was young. I was 22 years old. When I started this business, I was extremely young. So I remember contacting my first facility, I didn't even understand what payroll deduction was to be able to go into a facility and allow the girls to sell scrubs and it come out of their paycheck when they asked me what I accept that method of payment. I had to google it real quick just to see if, you know, I had to kind of fake it till I make it you know, I really didn't know a thing and I just I just stepped out there and I think when you get tired and you hit rock bottom the way that I did, you don't have anything to lose anyway, so you just you just leave I quit my job. I was already broke like I said, so I quit my job I left the job behind because I wasn't getting ahead from the job anyway. I did work enough double shifts to be able to save enough to get into business -wasn't a lot -but I was able to save enough to make it happen for myself. And once I once I landed my first sale in a facility, back in the day I started out in the facility. I didn't start out selling online like we have all these great online stores nowadays. I started out old school in the facility direct sales, and I made enough in two hours to cover two-three weeks of pay as a CNA. That was it for me! I was done, you know, and I'm ashamed to say, you know, I didn't put in a two-week notice. I didn't let the supervisor know I was leaving. I just left you know that was it from me, you know, and it was the best move to date that I've ever made. Definitely. So I have no regrets.

Acquania Escarne 8:53

Good. It's important to live a life and no regrets. Oh, that is an amazing story. Lydia, I'm so amazed at how you just had the faith and courage to make the leap. So now I want to talk about the challenges you face when you first started. Because I know it's great when you succeed, but what are some of the things you had to overcome and figure out on your own?

Lydia Nelson 9:14

Let me tell you something. Business is not for the weak, you have to be strong. I have been blessed to make a lot of money. I have been blessed to change lives. I have been blessed to give back. I have been blessed to help people. But I have been through. I have had the door slammed in my face before. I have had a facility not pay me $9,000 from a uniform sale. I've gone through. My husband was incarcerated four years ago and I was left with two kids- two and three years old and be a single mother. So I have had quite a bit of hardships. My mother is severely mentally ill, father is deceased. So I have very little family. So running a business and going through these trials and tribulations has not been easy. But I have remained determined. When my husband wants to jail four years ago, I made a choice to triple my sales, I made a choice to keep pushing. I knew that he was going to do some time, but at the same time, I had two kids looking up to me, and I couldn't, I couldn't make them suffer, I had to keep pushing. And at that time in business, obviously, I wasn't where I am today where God has blessed me to be today. But I'm only where I am today for his incarceration, because of my determination. So being left without him with two kids, especially under the age of five was the hardest thing i think i've ever pulled through. Honestly. My husband and I are very close, we were the best friends and it was just like the rug was snatched up underneath my feet. I became a prison wife overnight. I became a single mother overnight, but I still had this thriving business. And still all in all trying to figure out my place in my mother's life and how I'm going to repair that relationship if any. At that time that relationship was on the rocks, I had to let her go because of her severe mental illness so that I can go off and really focus and pursue Cscrubs and pursue my dreams and my goals. So it has not been easy, but if you are determined, then you cannot fail and you can't buckle anytime something happens. It doesn't go your way. It's okay. It's an old saying, you know, Coca Cola sold just 25 bottles, the very first year. Do not be discouraged because things do not go your way. That's a billionaire company now, so you have to keep pushing. And I just I just have this fire in me and I know that I struggled a lot as a child now for a reason. When I was struggling, I didn't understand and I was saying, you know, is this how my life is supposed to be? I'm not understanding this but now I'm actually it may sound weird, but I'm thankful for my struggle because I wouldn't have the endurance to have got through half of the things that I've made it through. A single mother, being a prison wife, you know, going through the mental illness with my mother had I not gone through. So if you go through anything in business, do not give up, do not let it make you feel like like you just it's not for you. And it's not meant for you know, no. Those trials and tribulations are tests to get you to your destiny. And I'm a living witness of that.

Acquania Escarne 12:33

Oh, man. Yes, that is so inspiring. And I feel like somebody needed to hear that today. And so I really appreciate you sharing because that's such a personal story, right? But it's a part of your journey. So now is the time to ask the million-dollar question. Because you have gotten to $2 million as an entrepreneur in sales and in the worth of your business, right? How did you scale your business so quickly?

Lydia Nelson 13:00

You know, honestly, consistency. Doing what works every single day. People respect consistency, not perfection. You don't have to be perfect to be successful. You don't have to have -let me tell you something. When I started years ago, I didn't even have a website at all. I didn't even have a business card. And I made my first six figures within two years of business with no website yet. I didn't even have one yet. So if you aren't consistent, and of course nowadays website is mandatory to have this was years ago you know, so I scaled from my first year in business I made $12,000 and I was so excited because this was like I said, eleven years ago, it was $1000 a month. You know, I was able to pay my bills. I couldn't go out and live lavish and do much but I was able to pay my bills. And that felt good to me to be able to not come home with a broken back and still be able to pay my bills. By the next year, I went from $12,000 a year, to $125,000 by the next year from the consistency. And then every year after that I have literally doubled sales for the past 11 years. And so my 2 million a year actually, I'm expecting about 2.4 million this year. Praise God. So that's a blessing. My 2.4 million a year over the course of 11 years is a blessing, but it's a really healthy growth rate. If you think about it, you know, it didn't happen overnight, and people saw my passion. They trusted in me. Business is about trust as well. It's not all about a fancy product and fancy packaging. It's about trust, and my customers knew that I took the business very seriously. They knew that they could depend on me. I market it day in and day out. I didn't have a mentor or anything like that. But I utilize Google a lot what I could find and did the work did the work because a lot of entrepreneurs don't realize That it's work that you have to do on your own. You can't just go by somebody's book, you have to be willing to do the work. Roll your sleeves up and do the work. So I did the work that helped me to become better at marketing, which of course, holds the prize to scaling a business as well. And then, also, just giving back, you know, I've changed a lot of lives along with this 2 million, you know, I've given to a lot of people, I've done a lot of things and it's what I'm finding is that God put me in position to be his leader to give back and take care of other people. So every time I listen to him, no lie. My sales would go up like crazy, like, I was at the dealership. The other day, I went to get oil change, nothing out, didn't go to buy a car. And like I said, My husband is incarcerated, so he's getting ready to get out in 10 months. I'm so excited about that. But he needs a car, right? He didn't want me to buy him anything. He didn't want anything. He was like buying a car?? You?? I went and I bought my husband a car. God led me to buy him a car. Cash, right? And so sometimes, God will put these things on my heart and I would do it. I would just go with it. I don't question him. And I really believe that's 50% of my success. I don't think it's all about the marketing. I think it's about being obedient, as well. I think it's like now I feel hot like my ears feel hot. My face feels hot. As I talk about what God has done for me because he is he is the entire reason I believe he placed me in position because he saw the hard work and dedication that I was putting into the business. So in other words, if you put in the work, honestly, there is no magic script to how God will ordain the rest of your steps. If you put in the work and you obey Him that that and that's he don't trust nobody that's lazy. You got to put in the work! You got to put into work, you gotta sow seeds and you got to put into work. And he respects that, I feel. And then also see scrubs has not only blessed myself financially, my GM . You know? It's occurred to another level financially. She's awesome! She deserves it. But it changed her life. So it is just like, I feel like it was an overall domino effect of just me just being obedient, me not taking no for an answer, and me just being consistent and not waiting for a handout or somebody to support me. And actually just put in the work to earn the customers business.

Acquania Escarne 17:49

Amen.

Lydia Nelson 17:52

You just know what I'm just like, I guess you know, it's just it's just something. Because you gotta give Him the glory, you know? You got to give him. You got to give that man glory. You know? You know what? You know he ordained everything that's happening. Because people could easily say I'm going to the other uniform company down the street. Why? Cscrubs? It's not like I'm the only uniform company. So you know, I had to push and grind man day and night. I used to have one baby on one hip and one baby on the other hip. I got jail calls coming in from my husband, I'm trying to help him. Listen! Didn't nothing stop me nothing, didn't nothing stop me. And so that's that's the key to the success.

Acquania Escarne 18:39

That's the magic sauce. Just believe. Have faith. Follow it. Be obedient. Amen to that, okay. I need more people to listen to this message and really take what it means because putting in the work is so important, but it also has to be according to God's will and I think he's You're right. He sees it. He sees when you're working, he sees when you are really trying to fulfill His purpose.

Lydia Nelson 19:09

Mmhmm.

Acquania Escarne 19:10

And you took a leap of faith when you left a job. It wasn't comfortable, wasn't lavish, but it was a job. You may or may not have had benefits, I don't know, but you were not fulfilling your purpose.

Lydia Nelson 19:25

Right.

Acquania Escarne 19:25

And as soon as you did, he led you to success and then it was still a steady growth. So I feel like that's also important too. God doesn't just bless us, but he prepares us for the blessings. So he was like, I'm not gonna take you from zero to millions in your first year. That's that's not how this is gonna work, right? I'm gonna help you understand consistency. And I'll give you 12. You'll get that feeling of I can pay my bills. I'm able to support my children, but I'm not living lavishly, right?

Lydia Nelson 20:00

Right.

Acquania Escarne 20:00

And then as I'm shorting your business, he helps you mature in your profits too. You know? Because then he felt like you were prepared. I've prepared her. She's consistent. She's proven. She has the concepts. And then even when you chose to pivot, you know that that was another leap, right? And having that foresight to say, okay, we need to transition this a bit. We need to empower other women, right? That's also a part of your purpose. You have put yourself in a position to bring other women up, including your general manager and other businesses that have come to exist. And you're so right, like, it could be someone else, but he chose you. I love that. I love all of that. And I think you need to just keep doing what you're doing. This is amazing. And I think you kind of mentioned this earlier, but my next question is, you know, what is your vision for Cscrubs? And you mentioned franchising, potentially, but what else do you want to see for the company in the next five years?

Lydia Nelson 21:01

Man, so much so much. Franchising definitely. I would say franchising is probably going to take place within five to 10 years. But more than just things that can benefit the company sales-wise, I want to give back more. I do a lot in private, I don't necessarily exploit the organizations that I donate to, or the people that I help because I feel like that's just tasteful. You know? When you do something to help someone, you shouldn't broadcast it everywhere. You know? But I want to create a few organizations that are publicly known about so that people can come to us for help and not feel ashamed. They can know that the help is there. I need to be giving back more. I need to be donating a percentage of that $2.4 million every year. So more than just random people that I take care care of and help because I take care of everyone around. But I need to be giving back to the community more. And one thing that I've been thinking about, talking to my husband about it the other day, was starting a shelter. You know?

I grew up in a shelter, me and my mom, we lived in a shelter for quite some time before we got section eight housing when I was a child. And so I remember the importance of being placed back then. It wasn't a lot of placement. It wasn't a lot of room. So a lot of people have slept on the street because there was no placing and houses. And so I really want to look into the houses and, and making sure that people have a home. Men and women, not just women, but men and women. They have a home, that's something that I really want to work on. It's a project that I really want to work on because, again, God has a plan for Cscrubs and making me rich. You know, it's about taking care of a lot of other people. So I got work to do, and I definitely want to look into that in the next few years, definitely.

Acquania Escarne 23:02

So I have a question and I hope it's not too intrusive when you say you're helping those people around you and you're bringing them up. What does that look like? Is that hiring people around you? Or is that supporting them financially so they don't have to provide for themselves? What does that mean?

Lydia Nelson 23:19

Well, I don't help anybody that doesn't help themselves. That's rule number one with me. The only person that I help that doesn't help themselves is my mom. Because she's mentally ill, she's sick, she's disabled, she can't help herself. So that person I excuse. But everyone else around me is that I have helped, are employees. Like my general manager is amazing. Amazing. Like she's helped herself. I put her in position, but she has earned her way to where she is. So I'm blessed to say that everyone around me deserves everything that they have got. My husband has been my biggest support system. He was there before Cscrubs when I didn't have anything, you know? So me and him we go way back. To me not even having enough gas to go to work in the first place. And he had to take me to work. So of course, you know, I've been there for him some blessings because he deserves it. But I'm, I'm blessed to say I don't have anybody around me that isn't for me or isn't deserving of me. So that's a plus. Because I know it isn't always that way.

Acquania Escarne 24:30

I know that is amazing. And you are blessed for that because there are plenty of people that can say they supported the people around them and that is what made them broke.

Lydia Nelson 24:39

Yeah.

Acquania Escarne 24:39

You have to be careful about that. And I like that you are giving people opportunities and then allowing them to thrive or not. right? I'm sure you probably in the past had to make decisions to remove people from your life.

Lydia Nelson 24:54

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes, definitely have had to do that to stay healthy. Definitely. And to run a healthy business definitely.

Acquania Escarne 25:01

Exactly. So I have to ask this question. The name of the podcast is the Purpose of Money. So I like to ask all my guests. What is your purpose for money?

Lydia Nelson 25:11

My purpose of money is what I can do for other people. I feel like wealth for me is gonna come. Regardless. I feel like every day I wake up, if I can say I help someone or I changed your life, then that is my purpose. That is my my my why, for wanting to be so successful and so wealthy in the first place. Of course, I love the comfort that money provides. I don't have to worry anymore, especially being evicted multiple times and going through financial struggle. I have two kids, I could take care of them. But I truly get the most fulfillment out of changing other people's lives. Because I'm a strong believer that if you are blessed to be wealthy in any way, shape or form, you have a job to automatically go do something for somebody else. Hopefully, you will just choose the right person to do it. Oh, but that's really my purpose is to do to do God's work to do God's work. You can't go wrong like that.

Acquania Escarne 26:17

Absolutely. Amen to that. This has been an amazing interview. I am so thankful for you taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us and my listeners. So before we depart, please tell my listeners how can they find you on social media? And where should they follow you?

Lydia Nelson 26:37

Sure! Cscrubs with love LLC on Instagram, Cscrubs with love on Facebook, and you can also visit our website www.Cscrubs with love-wholesale division.com to get started with a package and get your business setup. I love to have you as a retailer and welcome you to the Cscrubs family.

Acquania Escarne 26:58

Thank you so much, Lydia. I can't wait to see the responses from this podcast guys. If you love what you've heard, please leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you may be listening. I also want you to make sure that you tag the Purpose of Money and Cscrubs with love on Instagram when you're listening to it. We want to know what you're thinking. We want to know that you are sharing this content and wealth with other people. Because this was a powerful episode that I think more than just you need to hear. So I look forward to chatting with you guys in another two weeks when the next episode is released. But I thank you for listening. Lydia, I thank you for being on the show.

Lydia Nelson 27:43

Thank you. Take care!

Acquania Escarne 27:46

Thank you for listening to the Purpose of Money podcast. For more resources and information, check out my website, thepurposeofmoney.com and while you're there, please sign up for our newsletter so you have the latest information on new episodes and blog posts. Until next time, keep creating freedom in your life today.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai