Lisa Bronner
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps
3G
Vista, CA
Can you supply a short history of the business?
My grandfather founded Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps roughly in 1948 in Los Angeles, selling nutritional products and his Peppermint Liquid Castile soap. He made the soap in his kitchen in a tenement apartment in L.A. His primary goal was to spread his message of unity across ethnic/religious/cultural divisions—a philosophy he called the Moral ABC–. He would speak on the message and give out soap as a thank you. Eventually he noticed people took the soap and didn’t stay to engage with the ideas, so he printed his message on the bottle. His only advertising was word of mouth. In the 1960’s, the countercultural movement discovered him and the message that he’d already been saying for two decades about realizing our commonalities instead of our differences. My grandfather’s strong emphasis on ingredients close to nature rather than processed petrochemicals also resonated with the environmental movement of the time.
When the business grew, he set up his bottling operation in Escondido, CA, but the soap was still made at a facility he contracted with in L.A., overseen by my dad. My dad, uncle, and mom took over leadership of the company in the early 90s when my
grandfather was in decline from Parkinson’s Disease. Upon my dad’s death in 1998, my brother David took over leadership, eventually joined by my brother Mike and my husband Michael, who still run the company to this day.
How old were you when you started working for the family business? What was your first job in the family business?
“Working” is a loose term in a family business. I started attending tradeshows when I was old enough to be helpful, probably around age 10. The natural products industry was in its infancy and was pretty casual, so trade shows were small affairs with lots of earnest vendors. My grandfather and his quirky label fit right in. I would help hand out soap. I don’t think I got paid for that, though. In late high school I started working in the office during the summers so that the office staff could take their vacations. I would get trained for a week and then get left in charge of all the ordering or all the bookkeeping. Pretty crazy for a teenager. I only know of one major mistake I made—I didn’t realize that one order was listed in eaches (individual bars) instead of cases, so I thought when they were ordering “110,” I entered that as 110 cases of soap instead of 110 bars. Oops! After a few summer stints during college, I didn’t work for the company again until my early 30s.
Who or what inspired you to go into the business? Were you expected to go into the business?
I reentered the company in my 30s just to help out. Business was booming and my brothers and husband had their hands full, each of them wearing many hats. My brother Mike was handling all the customer service among other things, and asked me if I would help out responding to all the emails that were coming in—about 40 a day. I think because our label says so much to customers, they feel inspired to respond in kind. They would write about all sorts of things—the soap and how to use it, the ingredients and where they came from, the label, the family, the causes we support extensively.
I was not expected to go into the business. It was a choice we each had.
How big a factor was the family business in your day-to-day interaction with your family members? Were there holidays, weddings or other occasions that were affected because of the family business?
Growing up, the business was not a factor at all in our day-to-day because it was my grandfather’s thing. My dad had his own career as a chemist and inventor. He helped out his dad by overseeing the soapmaking, but it wasn’t the bulk of his work. My grandfather wasn’t much of one for celebrating holidays, so we spent holidays with my mom’s side of the family (which also has a third generation family business in Montrose, CA—where I had more of my early work experience!).
What would you have done if you didn’t go into the business?
I probably would be more involved in civic and philanthropic activities. At one point I had to make a choice whether I was going to devote more time to my work (which had grown from answering emails to writing a blog and establishing social channels) or whether I was going to accept higher leadership positions in volunteer organizations. I chose the work because I felt I was uniquely situated for it—I had a voice & perspective no one else had—where the volunteer group had a larger pool to draw from.
Can you remember the Moment you decided to enter the family business?
My agreement to answer the emails came from a phone call with my brother Mike, in 2007/08. The decision to take the path into further work instead of volunteering was a number of years later, perhaps around 2013. It was when I had the offer to step into higher leadership in a women’s organization now called The MomCo, and I felt it was a deciding point in my life.
What other family members are involved with the business (working or ownership)
The company is now co-owned by my brothers David and Mike Bronner. David is also CEO (Cosmic Engagement Officer) and Mike is President. My mom Trudy Bronner is Chief Financial Officer, my husband Michael Milam is Chief Operating Officer. I have a cousin in the IT department and my niece works with our charitable Foundation.
What is your long-term goal for the business?
My personal goal is to continue being useful. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I want to help people take their next step forward into healthier, more vibrant lives. For the company, the short answer is that we want more people to discover how great it is to use very simple, pure, high quality products, and how important it is to support ethical supply chains by where they place their purchasing power. We also want to use our influence and resources to make the world a better place, which we do through causes such as promoting (and utilizing) regenerative organic agriculture, advocacy for ingredient transparency and drug policy reform, and demonstrating how to run a business profitably while still having incredible employee benefits.
What’s the most important moment in the company’s history?
There were several moments where the company could have sunk. In 1973 and again in 1988, my grandfather got in deep water with the IRS. He saw his organization as primarily philanthropic, trying to unite the world. The IRS saw it as a manufacturing business. Different tax obligations for each. He ended up owing a bunch of back taxes and in 1988 had to declare bankruptcy. My parents helped navigate the business through that crisis. Another really touchy time was when my grandfather died in 1997. He had made little provision for the succession of the company and it was taxed at the full 50% estate tax level, which was about $2 million on a $4million company. Then my dad died a year later before that was resolved. It took very careful navigating on the part of my mom and brother David to weather that storm.
What’s your favorite event for employees?
The Holiday Party is tons of fun. It used to be around my parents’ table and my dad would cook for all 10 employees. Then it was lunch at a restaurant. Then it grew to renting out a whole restaurant for dinner, families included. Santa would come and give gifts, a mariachi band would play. Now we’re so big that we’re back to a lunch, on site, with employees only (375+ of them), but Santa still comes and there’s great music and excellent food.
Are there any “rites of passages” for family members that join the firm?
Nope. There’s general onboarding, which has some great traditions for anyone who joins the company. There’s the telling of the family history, the tour of the buildings, and time in our Magic Foam Experience, which is a dousing with soap foam in a super fun dance party.
Are there any family business occurrences that played a part of childhood?
Every July we would attend a trade show in Las Vegas. It was so hot, I could hardly breathe! It was quite a relief when the company started attending ExpoWest in Anaheim in March.
Are there any non-family members in the business (old-timers) that you were close to when you were growing up?
Yes, there are employees that have known me since I was a small child. Some have retired, some still work there. There are employees’ children I knew when we were kids and now we work together. Two employees in particular undertook to teach me how to drive a stick shift. Salvador had a gorgeous turquoise Corvette, and Gail borrowed it to give me a lesson one Saturday morning. She was successful! I later owned a stick shift Mazda MX-6—great car that I never would have been able to drive but for her.
Was there an event that triggered the change from “the kid” to a valued member of the management team?
Because I had a 15 year gap in my working for the company, it happened naturally over that time.
What was your closest moment to leaving the business?
Hasn’t happened yet! But when I stop being able to be useful will be an indicator my work is finished.
Who gave you the best piece of advice regarding the family business?
Well, my mom once said, “Never go into business with family.” As I said, she was part of a multigenerational family business herself before joining in her husband’s family business venture, so this was advice that none of us heeded, though I know it was well-meant. One principle we try to hold fast to is to keep business out of family gatherings. Having kids around makes that easier as they are hugely distracting.
What is one memory from the family business that you cherish the most?
When my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in June of 1997, 3 months after his dad had died, we had a family gathering, among other things, to decide the future of the company. The plan had been that my dad would run it. He was only 58, after all. Plenty of years left, so we had thought. This gathering was attended by my parents, my Uncle Ralph and his wife Gisela, their three young adult sons, my brothers (ages 22 and 24) and myself (age 20), plus some spouses. The question was, “Is the company worth keeping going, and if so, who is interested in coming to run this company?” As I said, the company was still under the burden of that estate tax at the time. It was not going to be a walk in the park. I remember the moment where each of the six cousins was asked in turn, going around the room, for their answer. Five of us declined with very solid reasons—one was in the navy, two were living in Japan, I was still in college…– but David said, yes, he’d come. He had been living with his wife and infant daughter in Boston, but would move cross-country. If David hadn’t said yes in that moment, we might not have the company today.
What do you know now that you wished you knew when coming into the family business?
Hmm. It’s not that I haven’t learned anything, because I’ve learned a ton, but it all seemed to happen in the right sequence. There was nothing I regret not knowing previously. I learned it when I needed to.
SHORT ANSWER
Biggest non-family idol or inspiration? My foundational motivation for what I do in my work comes from the Bible—the concept that to whom much is given, much is expected. I have been given much.
What keeps you up at night? Concern for my kids! They’re young adults, which might be the most vulnerable transition time in all of their upbringing.
What are you streaming? So, I’m not really up on terminology. If “streaming” means “watching,” I am watching Norther Exposure.
What’s on your turntable or Spotify playlist? Johnny Cash, John Denver. Uncle Ralph (Bronner) was an amazing and unassuming folk guitarist. It sunk deep in me. Also pianist George Winston.
Godfather I or Godfather II? I couldn’t get past the horse head.
Favorite Sports team? The Padres, but I don’t follow sports well. The Dodgers, having grown up in L.A., listening to Vin Sculley on the radio. We didn’t have a TV.
Favorite College? Duke
Favorite venue to listen to music? I love live music in restaurants—part of my L.A. upbringing. But for pure music, seeing U2 at the Sphere was pretty unbeatable.
Quintessential SoCal activity or experience? Going from snow to sand in one day.
Desert, Beach or Mountains? Mountains
What do you like most about SoCal? The diversity. The food.
What don’t you like about SoCal? The taxes.
Favorite restaurant? Dominics in Escondido
Best junk food? Chocolate covered espresso beans
Favorite Causes? Support for the unhoused community; ingredient safety for personal care products/cosmetics; education
Allen Esrock is the Founder of NxtGen Nexus, a platform for the next generation of family business owners which is based on his experience of growing up in a family business. Prior to that he started Jitter Fingers, the first safe, social networking website for tween girls and their bffs with Jitter Finger clubs in 12+ countries and 250+ cities in the US.
