Danny Richards
(Eventually) Running Family Business Seems Absolutely Natural
There are a lot of parents who take their kids to work with them and, in most cases, after explaining Dad’s workspace or what Mom does, the child is expected to occupy themselves playing games on their iPad or doing homework. That was not the case with 26-year-old Danny Richards. He reflected, “My (business) journey began when I was around 4 years old and my father brought me to work. From then on I was sold on what I wanted to do, which is to one day take over the family business. If you were to look on my desk, I have a photo of myself at the age of five talking on the phone. Being in business with my father is my goal.”
Their business, Absolutely Natural, develops, manufactures and distributes high quality spa, personal care and suncare products. They have been servicing luxury resort hotels and spas for more than 20 years and pride themselves in not only delivering the highest quality products, but also that they are environmentally safe.
My Father, My Mentor
For Danny, his father Charley Richards has, in his words, “been an inspiration not only in my personal life, but with my entrepreneurial spirit as well. He has shown me that if you work hard enough for something and plan accordingly you can make your dream a reality. He taught me how to be a professional, how to sell, how to cope with failure and turn it into success and the challenges that you have to overcome running a small business. Not only is he an amazing father, he taught me what a true businessman is like.”
However, like the Karate Kid, whose mentor Mr. Miyagi had him painting fences and waxing cars instead of demonstrating karate moves, Richards concedes, “He did not make this easy for me and just give me a position.”
“I started labeling the very first bottles in an open warehouse and then he moved me to filling the bottles on the production line. After a few years, I took over as production manager, overseeing all manufacturing and production. Once I graduated from the University of Central Florida, he then moved me into sales. Early on in my career I couldn’t understand why I had to start in some of the positions I did, but now that I step back and evaluate, I have an understanding of why this was done. My father wanted me to learn this company from the ground up, and I feel that I have accomplished this.”
From Ideas to Reality
Today, for Richards, the most interesting and exciting part of his job is moving through the phases of bringing an idea into reality. “My job is turning a conversation about our products and what we can do for other companies into purchase orders, where we design, customize and create a product from an idea.” Then he added, “I strive to not only make myself successful in life, but I try and help others do the same.”
This motivation of taking an idea and working through the steps to bring it about is something that Richards focuses on for Absolutely Natural as well. “My number one goal in this company is to take over the family business, as well as making sure Absolutely Natural keeps growing and becomes the most dominate high-end skincare and suncare products on the market,” he shared, which is not surprising since his favorite quote is by Donald Trump: “I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.”
No Place Like Home
When extolling the virtues of living on the Space Coast, Richards gushed, “Where do I start… the beach, the people, everything about the Space Coast environment intrigues me. Being able to go to work and work with people I grew up with is amazing – not to mention driving home and seeing the beach is another perk!”
Reflecting on others his age, he added, “The thing is we live in a fairly small county; there is only so much opportunity for people who choose to stay on the Space Coast. I think young professionals see more opportunities in larger markets. I do believe if we created stronger opportunities, they would either stay in the area or like to move here. One thing that I have learned being a young professional is that we as a group strive to learn, are willing to follow, and eventually aspire to be leaders ourselves.”
