Ava Anderson -- once you hear her message, you cannot unhear it

On Tuesday Ashley and I met an up and coming rock star -- Ava Anderson. 

When Ava was 14 and thinking about wearing make-up she watched a documentary aimed at teens and was shocked by the amount of chemicals involved. She was mortified! She looked into buying cosmetics at a health store, after all, that must be better, right? Wrong. She started researching what was going into items she was putting on her skin, and just how toxic they are. 

The more she looked into words such as "natural," "organic," "safe" and "pure," she realized how they are not regulated. By "knowing the backside" she saw many poisonous chemicals are hidden in the ingredients. She tossed out most of her mother and grandmother's products and not being able to replace them with items that were "Ava Approved," 

Ava Anderson Non-Toxic was born in 2009 when she was 15 years old. Yes, a high school student has launched a successful business. She is now a senior in college and her business continues to grow. On Tuesday night she spoke to a packed room in King of Prussia, PA.

Full disclosure: while I agree with her message and am in awe of what she has accomplished, I have not actually used any of her products. I need to sit down with Christine, my consultant, and try some of the products. For now I've decided to start with bug spray (is there anything out there more toxic than bug spray that we are supposed to use for our health?) and sunscreen (another horribly toxic program).

Still it is a message once you hear it, you cannot unhear it.

From her six piece line of AvaSKIN products, she has expanded to shampoo, toothpaste, baby care, pet care, cleaning supplies, and the aforementioned bug spray and sunscreen, and she is launching a line of products aimed at men.

I left the Ava Anderson meeting wondering if I should be a consultant. Certainly some people have the drive and can turn it into a 6-figure career. That is not my goal. With only 11,000 consultants (about 5 in Lawrenceville) it is still a ground-floor company. That and I could get their products at a discount rate and earn some much-needed money to help support my vacation fund.

If I do decide to become a consultant, will anyone buy from me? 
The reason behind going on Tuesday was to show Ashley that with a lot of passion and hard work someone her age could make a difference in the world. That is not just reserved for octogenarian rock stars like the one we met a couple of years ago.