Rally of a Lifetime

In late 1995, Betty Levenbach got the news most people dread. The lump she had discovered was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the cancer was at an advanced stage. How could she undergo a grueling course of chemotherapy and still keep her educational-toy catalog afloat? The answer came when 54 fellow entrepreneurs pitched in to keep her company going for most of last year. Levenbach, whose cancer is now in remission, tells other business people never to underestimate the value of networking.

My husband and I emigrated from South Africa 11 years ago and when we settled in Los Angeles we did not know anyone. We had owned a roofing and construction company in Cape Town, so I had a business background.

I saw a niche in the market about five years ago and developed a company that would sell educational toys that were fun. I also found that most women in the States were juggling so many jobs, with career and family, that they did not have time to shop.

So I started my catalog and added a free birthday reminder service. I started joining networking groups, clubs for women entrepreneurs far and wide, local chambers of commerce and service organizations. You name it and I was involved. Sometimes I went to three networking meetings a day, from Pasadena to Santa Monica to Simi Valley.

My company was starting to work very nicely--then I got cancer.

I told everybody that I was networking with what was happening to me. When my customers called to make orders, I told them too. I decided that whatever happened I wanted to keep working.

My business is my passion; I can’t separate myself from it. One of my dreams was not to let the business go. I had invested so much money in it, I knew that if I took a break from the business, I could never build it back up again.

Just like when anybody gets sick, people called and offered to help. But most of them did not know what to do. That’s where all my networking really paid off. My entrepreneur friends from all over the place got involved, forming a group they called Share the Care. [The group hopes to help other members in the future if the need arises.] Some of them signed up to deliver products to my customers so orders would not go unfilled. They returned telephone calls when I could not do it. One person did my bank and post office run every day. Others helped me get to UCLA for treatment when I needed to go, brought me fresh fruit and cooked meals for us.

My customers were absolutely wonderful too. They decided to have Christmas in June, so they bought all their Christmas presents in June from my catalog. Another group of customers did a fund-raiser with my catalog and I was able to sell a tremendous amount of product. It really helped keep my business going.

I feel very grateful and very privileged that I survived and my business survived this crisis. I think what really impressed me was that small-business owners should involve themselves in the business community from the very beginning and support others. You can’t work in isolation, you can’t live in isolation. If you wait until there’s a crisis, there won’t be anyone there to support you.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

AT A GLANCE

Owner: Betty Levenbach

Nature of business: Educational-toy catalog

Location: Westlake Village

Founded: 1991

Employees: 1 full-time, 2 part-time

Annual sales: $80,000