The Oprah Effect

It has been the beginning of a pretty spectacular ride at Laga.

Malaak Compton-Rock gave us the opportunity of a lifetime by recommending that our Laga bags be featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show as an example of what her book, "If It Takes A Village, Build One," was written about.



As I wrote in my previous entry, Malaak (which means "angel" in Aramaic) has lived a life of service, learned from and taught to her by her mother, Gayle Fleming (read an exerpt here from her book where she mentions her mom).



And thanks to her, service has been Malaak's passion in life and she has now expressed it in her new book. And Laga fit well into the show aired on Oprah Tuesday, April 13th which featured Mary J. Blige and Malaak herself, both of whom shared their stories and how they are making a difference in the lives of others.



Malaak introduced our amazing Laga handbags on that show, using them as a product on which people can simply exercise their consumer power to help others, in our case, those affected by the 2004 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia.



Since the show aired, orders have been coming in and they haven't stopped yet. Although our portion of the show represented a mere 10 seconds of the entire program, Malaak was able to give a concise and eloquent rundown of what Laga handbags is all about.

And since airing on Oprah, we have had opportunity for more coverage through other media, including a Salem, Oregon-based radio station KXL/KEX interview with reporter Gina Parosa, and yet another article in the Business section of the Orange County Register, written by Jan Norman. Jan will be doing another feature story on Laga which will be out soon. And the OC Register has been so kind in featuring Laga in other articles in the past.

Although I am out on the road for a couple of shows, the rest of our team is hard at work at home, fielding calls and filling orders. We have been blessed.

We started Laga four years ago with 12 women in our small factory in Aceh and blessed to be able to take that number to 300. And we are excited about the prospects of being able to provide long-term sustainable income for many, many more. With the help of the Oprah airing, we are confident we will make big strides in accomplishing that in 2010!

If It Takes A Village, Build One

We've been trying to prepare ourselves for great things coming up.

What were our chances of having our Laga handbags on The Oprah Winfrey Show? I mean, she is pretty much the most influential woman in our lifetime, this is her final season on television, why on earth would they choose US of all the people in the world to be amongst those featured?

Crazy as it may seem, the taping of her show is happening TODAY and Oprah herself will be introduced to our story and our Laga bags TODAY!

SURREAL!

I shared the connection with Malaak C. Rock in my last blog. Feel free to read it again. Well, the story just gets more amazing...

So, after two years of trying to connect with her, she decides to follow me on Twitter (you are welcome to as well, of course!). And on Thursday I happened to read her tweet: ..."book signing at Vromans Bookstore in Pasadena this Saturday."

O M G

This was our chance to finally connect with her. We started thinking of ways we could make it special. So we invited everyone we knew in the So Cal area to join us at this event. We asked our dear friends and staunch supporters at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants to provide some goodies for the event(thank you so much, Rene!!!!). We offered to purchase Malaak's book for everyone who attended. And, even though it was pretty last minute, we had a really great turn out ~ at least half the crowd consisted of our faithful Laga family!



I just have to say, the signing event for Malaak Compton-Rock's new book, "If It Takes A Village, Build One" was one of unforgettable inspiration for me. Malaak was everything and more of what I knew she would be. Incredible. Her heart and passion for living a life of service touched me so deeply and inspired me to no end.

She shared her life's story, how her mother had always been a social activist and how she too now is living that life and teaching her children as well. It brought tears to my eyes (ok, more than just a few I must admit, especially when she called me out on it!) when she talked about her program (one of many) called Journey for Change geared toward at-risk youth (empowering youth through global service), giving them an opportunity to travel with her to an area in South Africa to see first-hand and personally talk to other children who are enslaved there (yes, modern-day slavery exists!). She has dedicated her life to teaching these inner city kids that they, even in their hardships and impoverish environment, can make a difference in other people's lives. That they are important and can have a wonderful future and life of service.

O M G

In her book she tells those stories and then goes on to tell the world how, in your small or large way, can also live a life of service. Helping Others. In her book "If It Takes A Village, Build One" she explains 100+ ways you can do that.

I can't even begin to express what an impact I think this book will have on your life. PLEASE GO OUT TODAY AND GET A COPY!



This Tuesday, April 13th, Malaak will be on Oprah to talk about her book, and she will be the one to share our Laga story as an example of how we are making our small difference in the world.

Thank you everyone who came out in support of Laga! Without your love and dedication, it would be impossible for us to exist, let alone thrive!






Thank you, Malaak, for making such a wonderful impact on the world. For dedicating yourself to a life of service. To teaching your children and ALL of us that "service is the rent we pay for living."

Laga Handbags on Oprah

So, 2010 started out pretty uneventful, really. As opposed to 2009 when we we hit the ground running on January 2nd participating in 6 trade shows setting the tone for the entire year, this year we decided to concentrate our efforts on marketing our website. We also did a LOT of networking!


One of our networking ventures involved Malaak Compton-Rock, who recently wrote the book entitled, "If It Takes a Village, Build One."



We have been communicating with Malaak via email over the last two years, trying to hook up. She is an amazing woman, the founder of AngelRock Project, and who is accomplishing amazing things and we were hoping to perhaps work on our Laga project together.

Well, although she showed tremendous interest in our story and expressed an affection for somehow finding a way we could collaborate, the timing was always off. Either she was away in Africa on a mission or we were away on business.

But then last week we received a surprise call from Harpo Productions telling us that Malaak Compton-Rock had recommended our Laga bags for a segment they're doing on "Companies That Give Back."


WOW!

It was a fairly short conversation, requesting us to send samples as soon as possible as they were scheduling taping for which was to be 10 days later. We scrambled to put together the best selection of our bags and sent them on their way. I followed up with an email three days later to be sure they received our bags but I heard nothing back.

"Ok, they probably aren't interested..." I thought.

Not wanting to give up and trying to maintain a positive outlook, I waited a couple of days and decided to give them a call. It was late in the day, 5pm in Chicago, so I was expecting just to leave a voice message. But I found a cheerful voice on the line.

"I'm so sorry I didn't return your email... I can't believe I didn't tell you: YOU MADE THE CUT!"

What? We got cut?

"Everyone here absolutely LOVES your bags! We're taping the segment on Sunday the 11th and your Laga bags are going to be on The Oprah Show on Tuesday, the 13th!"

OMG... OMG... O M G!!!!

So apparently, Malaak will introduce our story and our bags to Oprah and her audience on the 13th...

WOW!

I'm still a little dizzy and we have so much to do to get ready for what we hope will be the opening of "the flood gates of heaven!" I need to focus... I need to get prepared... and I need to leave the rest to God...

"Thank you sooooooooo much Malaak!"
And thank you to all of you who have been praying for us, for your support and encouragement!

Well, gotta run and take care of the details.... but don't forget to watch The Oprah Show this coming Tuesday, April 13th at whatever time she comes on in your area! If you're not home during the day, DVR it!

Hershey, PA

I have to say, and I think I can speak for Roy as well, our trip through Lancaster, PA and the surrounding areas was filled with surprises for us... one of the most inspiring and life-changing business trips we've had yet.

OK, I think I know what you might be thinking right about now, "What, you're thinking about joining the Amish now?" Well, not quite THAT life-changing. But the "heart" of a life-style separated for service is what we were most drawn to.

Although there were many things we enjoyed, there was one particular place that really inspired us.

When one hears the word "Hershey" one immediately thinks of... of course: CHOCOLATE! As a mtter of fact, when you drive into the town of Hershey ("the sweetest place on earth"), it even smells like chocolate!

Now, I know there's nothing spiritual about chocolate but indulge me for a moment. What Hershey really and truly represents is much more profound and certainly much more than we had expected to find.

** Milton Hershey, with only a fourth grade education, started the very first nationally marketed product of its kind
** He built a town around his business to benefit his workers
** He gave Penn State University the funds to start their medical school and teaching hospital
** He invested his time, money and talents to ensure that the town of Hershey would prosper long after his death
** He left his entire fortune to help educate poor orphaned children and today the Milton Hershey School houses and educates, free of charge, children who come from families with limited income and/or are not receiving adequate care from their natural parents

Milton Hershey built a business.
He built a town.
He built a legacy.
And he did it all smack in the middle of the Great Depression.

If that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!

Believing in something is one thing. Living what you believe is quite another. And then giving back to others in order to stay true to your beliefs... well... that's what we found to be so life-changing.

That is the kind of life I aspire to live, the kind of life I aspire to give.

If you are interested in reading more about Milton S. Hershey and the legacy he left behind, I invite you to click here.