Lorenzo Griffin Co-Owner along with his wife Wanda of LaRan Professional Hair Care System is based in San Bernardino, California. They both have been residents of Riverside, California since 1982.
Lorenzo & Wanda were born and raised in Durham, NC & Warsaw, NC. They met while Wanda was in graduate school at the University of North Carolina, and Lorenzo was working in the pharmacy as a Pharmacist Technician, specializing in intravenous solutions. Lorenzo’s first job after arriving in Southern California was in the pharmacy at the veteran hospital in Loma Linda. Wanda, a MSW social worker, started at Children’s Home Society in Riverside. After working in the pharmacy for 4 years at the VA hospital, Lorenzo was approached by Wanda’s hair stylist, “Juggy,” back in Chapel Hill, NC to become a distributor of Dudley Products based in Greensboro, NC… 60 miles from his home town of Durham. The decision to join Dudley’s changed the course of his life! A hair stylist introduced him to an opportunity of a life time. He says, “This is why I’m totally committed to serving them for the rest of my days. He worked at Dudley’s from 1986 to 2006… starting as a local sales representative and becoming area sales manager of the western states. 
Lorenzo Griffin standing in front of the "LaRan" factory in San Bernardino, California
After being on the mighty Dudley team for 20 years, He learned things that many wouldn’t learn at some of the finest business schools in America. He also met some amazing people around the country, one of which is a leading cosmetic chemist. Because Dudley was going in a different direction, he and Wanda knew this was the time to start their own company, “LaRan Professional Hair Care System”.
LaRan Products is a salon exclusive line sold to professional stylists only, for the purpose of providing high quality products at a competitive price. Their company services customers nationwide. They get to circulate their dollars back into their community, by allowing the salons and barbershops to be retail outlets. Funding is always challenging when starting a business. We practice saving 10% of our income. Lorenzo’s mentor, Dr. Joe L Dudley taught that if you can’t save money, the seed of success is not in you! We did a pretty decent job saving money but we still fell short of funds. Lorenzo talked it over with a friend and he told him that he had the money already. Lorenzo asked him, “Where is it?” He replied… it’s in your house. The couple literally mortgaged their home to raise the necessary funds to start the business in 2007. They strongly believe in giving back to the community we derive our income from. This is why they founded “Cosmetologists& Barbers Against Sickle Cell Anemia.” Some of the finest hair stylists in Pasadena performed in the 70s & 80s lip sinc talent show at Pasadena City College, with the help of Dr. Jacqueline Jacobs, a client of Katy Townsend. Over a ten year period they were able to raise hundreds of thousands, with Mr. Luke Walker leading the way. They are grateful to the many helpers and supporters, too numerous to name here, and say a sincere “Thank you”! They added, “LaRan’s Breast Cancer Awareness Hair Extravaganza is another cause that very close to our heart. As you know, early detection is the key. This was an annual event that we’ve done since Pasadena’s own “Cheryl Littleton” was diagnosed in 2000. This event allowed us to provide free mammograms to individuals in need.” December, 2019 was a tremendous time for Wanda & Lorenzo. They moved into their world headquarters in San Bernardino, California, after renting warehouse space for 12 years. They had no idea the challenges they would face, starting with the very bank they had been with for 30 years with a spotless financial record. They were faced with every delay tactic the bank could think of. After talking it over with a friend, Mr. Joe Hopkins ["the connector"] He directed Lorenzo to a banker at that same bank that redlined them. Lorenzo talked to this gentleman on a Thursday afternoon. My loan was approved in less than 18 hours! Their amazing team at LaRan Products are very excited about the future. Lorenzo cites, “Black America has the very best athletes, medical professionals, preachers, attorneys, entertainers, educators, and so on, but we fall short in the area of entrepreneurship. Becoming job makers, rather than job takers, LaRan is taking on the challenge of creating more entrepreneurs through our independent master distributor program”. For information contact: 951.686.4376, and ask for Cameron. |
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