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Founder and CEO, Different Roads to Learning
Featured Lady Julie Azuma and her husband adopted a beautiful four month-old girl, Miranda Cho Hee, from Seoul, Korea right after the 1988 Olympics. Over the next several years their daughter missed development milestones and her learning progressed slowly. It wasn’t until Miranda was six years old that her parents finally received the diagnosis: autism. Julie struggled to find the right tools to support Miranda’s development, so she created makeshift materials that were never quite right. Julie, who previously worked in the fashion industry, saw an opportunity to start a business to help other families while working at home, close to Miranda. Determined, she searched stores and catalogs for suitable materials, purchased samples and tracked down distributors worldwide. In 1995, with an online store offering 30 applied behavior analysis (ABA) products, Julie launched Different Roads to Learning. Today, Julie’s company offers over 450 items carefully selected to support the autism community.
Julie grew up within a small community of Japanese American families relocated to Chicago’s South Side from World War II Internment Camps. Julie acknowledges that there was nothing in her background that indicated she’d commit to starting a business. Actually, Julie wanted to work in a large corporate setting. She says that she barely knew what the word entrepreneur meant and didn’t have the confidence to start anything on her own.
However, that all changed with the revelation that Miranda was autistic. When Julie conceived the idea for Different Roads to Learning, she didn’t know she had a winning idea because no one approved of the company or was willing to support her business plan. She even asked three people to partner with her because she wanted “a hand to hold,” but everyone turned her down.
The mompreneur persevered.
Julie financed her business with small amounts of cash and a credit card. She bought some inventory, got supplies and found a talented website person who didn’t charge an arm and a leg. Julie says, “That was a real coup to find someone in 1995 who had actually designed a website. People were just learning the technology at that time.” The total expenditures for her first year were around $40,000.
When she started her Manhattan-based business, Julie thought she might be able to make $30,000 a year. In 2009, Different Roads to Learning’s revenue will be around $2.25 million. Julie has been featured by MSNBC, WE Magazine and Altra Magazine, and appeared on Inc. Magazine’s 2005 list of the 26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs (along with Richard Branson and Michael Dell).
On the Different Roads to Learning site, Julie offers everything from basic flashcards, books and timers to advanced social skills tools that will support parents at every step of their child’s program. Products are available online and via a catalog. Julie and her team provide personal attention and lightning-fast service to every one of their customers. Julie also started DRL Books, the publishing arm of Different Roads to Learning.
The success of her company is very validating, but what has meant the most to Julie is when a parent says that their child is speaking or developing and they attribute it to Different Roads to Learning.
Moving forward, Julie is seeking to branch out with the Different Roads to Learning catalog. She is considering whether to focus completely on a young learners’ model, thereby selling more products for early intervention, or concentrate on young adults or adults diagnosed with autism. According to Julie this is a growing population that needs age-appropriate materials and support but without educational funding, the market for these products is small.
Julie has been honored by the Eden II Agency and the Elija Foundation in New York. Both of these honors have meant a lot to Julie because “it is an acknowledgement of our autism community. This wide and varied community dealing with autism means so much to me.”
What we learned from Julie: “Understand how a profit margin works. I find that many women do not price well to include dealers and are taking away from the margins that they could be earning. Most women also undersell themselves and/or their product. They should research the market and work out their numbers.”
Where the Customers Are
“Marketing has been my biggest challenge so far. It’s just tough some times to figure out where the market is. There were LISTSERVS a while back, now it’s Facebook. We put out a postal catalog that helps our business enormously but we do get a lot of business online. Reaching out to new customers in new ways is a challenge that we face every day. Technology is constantly changing.”
It’s a Wonderful Life
“Being an entrepreneur is beyond my wildest dreams or goals. I had no idea that I could create a company and find an audience, a customer base, and they approve of us. It takes a little courage but if you have an idea and a true passion, it’s worth the effort to create your own entity in your own style. It’s an act of bravery that is within you.”
Group Decision
“We have a small group of people working in an open room. When we hire, I ask others to sit in on the first interview to make sure that there will be a good fit. We also take about three to four months to decide if a new employee is working out. If we feel it’s not working out sooner than that time period, it’s easier to let them go before you love them too much.”
This Featured Lady was profiled by Megan L. Reese, WORDrobe™ Stylist for Her Write Image in West Grove, PA.
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