Brother makes business a family affair

It's hard to see your younger sibling cashing in on an idea and not want to incorporate it into your own life. So when Lucas Ax saw the success that his sister's business, Soapy Moose Bath Company, was having, he decided that at age 10, it was about time for him to get into business for himself.

"I saw she was making quite a bit [of money]," said Lucas, when asked why he decided to start his business, Big Bear Incense Company. "When my mom asked me if I wanted to make incense, I said OK."

Lucas had shown an interest in starting his own company for a while, but his mom, Kathy Ax, said she had to find a craft that would fit into a boy's lifestyle. "I thought, what would a boy want to do?'" Ax said. "Boys have a shorter attention span … Now he is becoming so independent."

Lucas started the company a month ago, and dips punks into different fragrance oils to make different types of incense. While he uses some of the same scents that his sister uses to make her bath products, he has also included some that are more for men, like dragon's blood and sandalwood. Each group of 100 punks must be dipped in the scent for 24 hours, and then hung to dry for another 48. While Lucas says he hasn't spent that much time on his business -- "I had a lot of homework," he said -- he has made around 1,600 incense sticks and 1,600 incense cones. While his mom gave him the money to buy his first supplies for his business, he will have to use the money he makes selling his goods at the different craft shows to keep the supplies coming in.

"I'll be the one making the money to get my own stuff," said the new business owner. Lucas made $75 at the Holiday Craft Fair at the Alaska State Fair grounds in Palmer last weekend. Currently Lucas dips the incense in the corner of the living room where his sister, Lauren, first started making her bath salts. She is now working out of her mother's old studio since they remodeled their home. But father Ron Ax is building a new shop and has plans to build his son his own incense studio upstairs.

"I want to even sleep out there," Lucas said.

A fourth-grader at Pioneer Peak Elementary, Lucas says he really enjoys making the different incense, and plans on expanding his business.

"I can do the stuff I want to do with the scents," he said. "I can make different ones by mixing them."

When asked where he saw the business headed, his answer explained why he has decided to get into business for himself . "A millionaire, that's what I want to be," he said. "I can see it getting into a bigger thing."