World Domination
/How one local business owner went from small town girl to international distributor
By Lisa Thompson
One of Chalissa’s favorite things is scratching a new location off the map when they pick up a new sales region.
Chalissa Russell met her husband Garreth on a cruise in August of 2007. The two were on family vacations and their families sat at the same dinner table together one night. Chalissa and Garreth hit it off, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward a decade and a half, and the Russells are now happily married, living in Red Lick with two boys, Garren and Stryder, ages 8 and 7.
Chalissa grew up in Central Texas, the oldest of eight siblings. She graduated high school in 2005 and held two jobs by the time she was fifteen.
“I believe my main reason for being so successful is my work ethic,” Chalissa said. “I’ve worked a minimum of 2 jobs from the age of 15 up until last year, so for 20 years. When Garreth was in pharmacy school, he couldn’t work. I worked 4 jobs for those 4 years.”
Chalissa’s work ethic is evident in many ways in her life—both as a full-time mom and a business owner.
In 2017, around the Christmas holidays, Chalissa started making bath bombs for gifting. By February of the next year, at the request of many, and to meet demands for supply, she created a brand-new business: Fizz Bizz. What started as a creative way to treat her bunco group during the holidays turned into a national, and now even international brand based locally in Texarkana, Texas.
“Most of our businesses is wholesale,” Chalissa said. “We are carried at various stores within Texarkana, and we are in all 50 states, as well as many international locations from the Caribbean to Europe. Our most recent location to pick up is Australia.”
Chalissa has lofty goals for her business, but not the kind that most would expect.
“My main goal is to maintain a healthy work environment and make Fizz Bizz the best company to work for,” she said. “Originally, when I started Fizz Bizz, my goal was to take my boys to Disney. Since then, we’ve taken them, our extended family, and even employees.”
Travel plays a big part in the Russells’ lives.
The boys love to pitch in and keep things fun in the Fizz Bizz shop! At the time of the writing of this article Chalissa was able to scratch off an area in Australia!
“Our whole vibe is travel,” Chalissa said. “We want to see and do as much as we can. Enjoy life to the fullest. We feel that the boys are only this little today, and tomorrow they will be bigger. We love to hike, snorkel, and adventure. Universal Studios in Orlando is our happy place, and we also love the beach and love to cruise.”
Chalissa and Garreth travel in any spare time they have.
“Even if it’s just a weekend trip to Knoxville or Dallas, we get away when we can,” she said.
But Chalissa also spends her free time dreaming up new ideas for her business.
“My biggest hobby would be trying to come up with new ideas for Fizz Bizz,” she said. “This company has sparked my creativity in a way that I didn’t know was possible, and the idea of coming up with the next big thing is what drives me the most.”
Fizz Bizz pushes the envelope on bath bombs, incorporating shapes, bright colors and creatively themed bath bombs into their product line along with sugar scrubs, bath soaks, shower oil, and linen spritzes. Their social media presence and website are fun, trendy and inviting. It is easy to see why Chalissa has been successful, and why the business has taken off, growing from a DIY project to an international company sold in 13 countries around the world.
“It was a lot harder in the beginning,” Chalissa said about balancing work and family. “Now that the boys are both in school, it’s become a lot easier to balance. I have a fabulous team at Fizz Bizz. The core to a good company is no doubt built on a foundation of employees that help support it to grow. We wouldn’t be here today without them.”
Ti’erra Lee, manager of Fizz Bizz’s Shower Department, gets orders filled to ship out.
Chalissa gives a lot of credit to others, but the company and its success was undoubtedly built on her work ethic.
“I believe the experience from all those jobs I worked when I was younger is what helped me the most creating and running Fizz Bizz,” she said. “I give everything 1000%. I have an off or a full throttle mode—there is no in between.”
Chalissa and her family are also very involved in their community when they aren’t keeping up with demanding work/school schedules and traveling.
“Family is what brought me to Texarkana,” she said. “We love Red Lick Elementary and the community that surrounds it. We’re very involved with the boys’ school and the community. It’s just on a different level.”
Chalissa’s sons are often an inspiration to her in her business. “Garren loves Roblox, soccer, and spending time with his family,” Chalissa said. “Stryder is into dinosaurs, drawing, singing anything, and playing in his room. We have music going in our household 24/7.”
A creative at heart, Chalissa’s passion for life, family, friends and Fizz Bizz is evident in everything she does. While no one can see the future, if Chalissa Russell is around, you can be sure that her business will be growing; what once was a hobby for her has now become an international endeavor.