Julie Azuma Different Roads to Learning

for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children

Julie Azuma, founder of online retailer Different Roads to Learning, talks quietly with her two employees in DRL's Manhattan office. As befits a company that has tripled its revenue in the past five years, the atmosphere is purposeful. That is, until a delivery arrives and Mookie goes wild. But you can't blame Azuma's wheaten terrier for resenting the intrusion. Azuma's business is in her home -- and as much a product of her heart as her smarts.

Back in 1994, Azuma learned that her daughter Miranda was severely autistic, following several heartbreaking years in which specialists failed to explain her obvious developmental delays. Already six when diagnosed, Miranda wasn't talking. Azuma and her husband turned to applied behavior analysis (ABA), a now prominent but then little-known method for teaching language and social skills to autistic kids. Through ABA, Miranda learned to communicate basic needs.

Azuma was sold on ABA, but it was nearly impossible to find appropriate flash cards and other educational tools. Azuma, who had previously worked in the fashion industry, saw an opportunity to start a business to help other families while working at home, close to Miranda and a younger daughter, Sophie. She scoured stores and catalogs for suitable materials, purchasing samples and tracking down distributors all over the world. Soon, she had created an online store stocking 30 ABA products. "I thought I'd make $30,000 a year," Azuma recalls.

Ten years later, DRL offers 250 items to a customer base of 22,000. Sales by DRL and a newer publishing arm, DRL Books, totaled $1.7 million last year. Azuma's formula is simple: personal attention to her customers, many of whom are parents who seek her advice and support as they face the challenges of raising autistic children. She also addresses the practical end, with services like lightning-fast delivery. Proponents of ABA believe that it is most effective when children are very young, so "parents of autistic kids want it immediately," she says. Mary Howley, a New Jersey mom whose daughter Kathy is autistic, raves about DRL's service. "There were many times when my package appeared at my door less than 24 hours after ordering," she says. "When I found out that the owner was a mom facing the same issues I was facing, I thought, 'No wonder.'"

For a long time, Azuma and her staff handled fulfillment themselves. "We loved touching everything," she says. Last year, the business added so many new products, however, that Azuma reluctantly had to farm out that function. So far she has been happy with the arrangement.

With energy to spare, Azuma is poised for a new venture, which began when a doctor friend suggested extending her business to Alzheimer's. "I told him to go away," Azuma laughs. But the idea stuck, and this year she'll launch a line of "age-appropriate" memory aids. She unveils some samples: large-piece puzzles of screen legends such as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. She also serves as the chair of the group Asian Women in Business, which she helped found.

In 2002, Miranda moved from the apartment to a nearby ABA-based group home. Though she has yet to reach many of the milestones her parents hoped for at first, she continues to make progress. With Miranda always in her thoughts, Azuma says she finds her work "cathartic," especially when customers' young children experience breakthroughs. "It's not just selling them something," she says. "It's sharing their problems and their triumphs."

Wendy Fried

1. Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Omnimedia
   because she took one for the team
2. Richard Branson, Virgin Group
   because he's game for anything. In fact, everything.
3. Michael Dell, Dell Computer
   for being brilliantly straightforward
4. Jim Sinegal, Costco
   because who knew a big-box chain could have a generous soul?
5. Diane von Furstenberg, Diane von Furstenberg Studio
   for staging an elegant comeback
6. Julie Azuma, Different Roads to Learning
   for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children
7. Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing
   for setting limits
8. Ray Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies and other companies
   because he is Edison's rightful heir
9. Craig Newmark, Craigslist
   for putting the free in free markets
10. Jack Mitchell, Mitchells/Richards
    because his family business makes an art of customer service
11. Frank Robinson, Robinson Helicopter
    for whipping an entire industry into shape
12. Mark Melton, Melton Franchise Systems
    for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream
13. Michelle Cardinal & Tim O'Leary, Cmedia and Respond2
    for rewriting the rules for husband-and-wife teams
14. Mike Lazaridis, Research in Motion
    because someone had to stand up for all those frustrated engineers
15. Trip Hawkins, Electronics Arts and Digital Chocolate
    for still scrapping
16. Warren Brown, Cake Love and Love Cafe
    because only in America will someone quit a secure job as a lawyer to start a bakery
17. Muriel Siebert, Muriel Siebert & Co.
    for being a notable first with a worthy second act
18. Chuck Porter, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky
    for verging on reckless
19. Katrina Markoff, Vosges Haut
    for setting a completely unreasonable goal for her business
20. Barry Steinberg & Craig Sumerel, Direct Tire and Auto Service
    for showing the power of the peer group
21. Victoria Parham, Virtual Support Services
    for serving as a mentor to military spouses
22. Tom LaTour, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants
    for staying at fleabag hotels so that we don't have to
23. Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, Mitchell Gold
    for creating a true comfort zone
24. Izzy & Coco Tihanyi, Surf Diva
    for kicking sand in the face of conventional wisdom
25. Tony Lee, Ring Masters
    for saving 16 jobs, including his own
26. Rueben Martinez, Libreria Martinez Books and Art Galleries
    for simultaneously building a business and nurturing Latino culture

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