Gabrielle Melchionda does not have great memories of the year she turned 13. Her father had died a year earlier and she still struggled to get through each day. I didn't have any future plans or goals or anything. I just wanted to stop fighting with my brother, pass math and make everything OK again.

Fourteen years later, Gabrielle (or Gab as her friends call her) does still disagree occasionally with her brother -- but mostly they get along great. She did pass math. And she's sure her father would be proud to see the contributions she's making through her company, Mad Gab's® Inc. Mad Gab's® not only creates all-natural, deliciously scented Lip Lubes® and soothing Elephant Lube® body salve, but also embodies the type of business which gives back more than it takes from the world.

Here's how she tells it:

I founded Mad Gab's® while studying anthropology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. I was in search of a lip balm that wasn't greasy, waxy or overly scented when I came across a recipe for an all-natural lip balm. I took the recipe home and made my first batch of Lip Lube® in my mother's kitchen using beeswax that I had bought from my neighbor's apiary (bee farm)!

Much to my surprise, my concoction was a hit! The folks in my department convinced me to try to sell it to our campus cooperative. By the time I graduated in 1992, Lip Lube® was being sold in 10 local stores. Now we sell to hundreds of stores and individual customers across the country!

We're still a small company though, and all of our products are made by hand. We employ developmentally and physically challenged adults to label and shrink wrap the Lubes. We produce and package our products with minimal waste . . . recycling everything we can! We use only natural ingredients -- no additives or synthetics -- and we use recyclable containers. We work as much as possible with other green companies who share our sense of responsibility to the environment.

In addition to making a great product with minimal impact on our environment, Mad Gab's® actively promotes two broader missions:

To inspire people (especially young women) to believe that they can do anything with good ideas and hard work.

To participate in revolutionizing capitalism with honesty, integrity, and sound business practices.

GZ: What gave you the guts to start a business when you were 20?

Gab: It started as a hobby which was a great way to test it out. I always worked at something else to make enough money to live on. The decision to make it into my career was the scary thing. About two and a half years ago I was looking for something to focus on and there it was: doing well, something I had created which gave me a voice in my own future. I was lucky to have people around me who supported me. I took a deep breath, believed in myself and dove in.

Well some people consider my success on QVC a big accomplishment...or getting mentioned in Seventeen Magazine. But...

GZ: What was the best job preparation you had for running your own business?

Gab: I've always been someone who juggled a busy schedule full of unrelated activities. I wasn't a brain or anything like that. I was fairly average but had too much energy to sit in class all day. By junior year of high school, I worked three days a week and took university classes along with finishing up high school.

My job that year was at a local pizza shop where I had to answer the phone (so scary at first!), take orders, hand over slices and soda, and do anything else that needed to be done. We would get so busy at times I thought I wouldn't make it through the shift. Little did I know that I was learning to cope with a hectic work life as the boss of my own company!

From that job, I went on in the food service profession to become an expert waitress. My mother encouraged me, believing that waitressing is a trade you can travel with your entire life -- and for once, she and agreed on something! Overall, waitressing was great training for taking Lip Lube' on the road. It taught me to be aware of the needs, wants, and anticipate the questions of perfect strangers -- and how to keep your cool while on the spot.

GZ: What's the hardest thing you've had to do?

Gab: Borrowing money to invest in the company was a huge step. Then there was no turning back. I have to keep going to pay the money back. And now I have employees who depend on me for their living -- it's a great feeling to cut a paycheck for someone, but also a big responsibility.

GZ: What are you most proud of?

Gab: Well some people consider my success on QVC a big accomplishment...or getting mentioned in Seventeen Magazine. But really, at the end of the day, it's not how much Lip Lube' I sell but how I make a positive impact on people around me that really counts. Employing people from the local developmentally challenged workshops is probably what I am most proud of. Because they are proud of the work they're doing at Mad Gab's' -- and there's nothing better than that.

I also really hope to be a role model for young women. I love hearing from girls about my products and what they care about. I think it's really important for everyone to have someone who believes in them and cares about them. When my Dad died, family and friends rallied around us. My Aunt, particularly, helped me through some really rough spots. Sadly, I now have a chance to return that favor because she just passed away leaving my two nieces, both in their teens. If I can help them believe that they control their own destiny and can affect people in a positive way through their lives, I will be happy.

GZ: OK, how about your most embarrassing moment on the job?

Gab: That would have to be a sales call I made quite a few years ago at a surf shop in California. I was going to the beach after the meeting so I was wearing just a yellow sun dress so I could easily throw on my bathing suit in the car. Not that Lip Lubes' aren't fascinating, but all the surf shop guys seemed really interested in my presentation. Well, after I walked out to my car, I realized that they were mostly interested in the big gap in the front of my dress where I'd left a bunch of buttons undone!

GZ: What does it take to succeed in starting your own company?

Gab: Persistence. Ability to be resourceful, to live without. To deal with the unknown on a daily basis. To take chances. To ask for help and know what help is best for you. The great thing about business is that regardless of what type of person you are, there is always a business that would be good for you. It boils down to deciding what makes you tick and learning about it. Then figure out what is not being done and fill that gap yourself! My advice: find something you love, love, love to do . . . and go do it!

Gab welcomes email at MadGabs@aol.com -- but please don't expect immediate response since she's very busy!

Links to other sites of interest

Mad Gab's' Inc.
Read more about Gab and her company