There's no shortage of them in the entertainment
industry--Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are perhaps the most
famous--or in politics, from the Bush daughters to two 55-year-old
brothers in Poland (this past fall, one ran for president of the
country, and the other for prime minister). But twin entrepreneurs
are also working double duty in the business world.
One of the most successful pairs of identical-twin entrepreneurs
is Lisa and Debbie Ganz, 38, who have taken the concept of seeing
double and turned it into a mini-empire. They own New York
City-based Twins Talent, a talent agency that books only twin,
triplet and quadruplet performers, and have placed their clients in
films like Big Fish and TV series such as Fear Factor,
Guiding Light and Sex and the City. They also have a
twin calendar, a photo gift book called The Book of Twins, and the Twins
Restaurant, which opened in 1994 but is currently closed with plans
to relocate to Times Square. The eatery is famed for staffing only
identical twins (meaning if one sibling quits, the other is
automatically fired). As for when the restaurant will reopen,
Debbie isn't entirely certain: "With all these various
projects, we haven't been able to concentrate on opening the
restaurant. Unfortunately, my mother had two of us, not four of
us."
Perhaps Debbie should rethink that. Chad Baker has found
it's confusing enough with just him and his twin brother, Andy.
In Nashville, Tennessee, the 26-year-olds own Baker Twin
Enterprises, which manufactures and sells the DrinkTower--a unique
pitcher they market to bars and restaurants. They also have a
customized sign business. Between Drink-Tower and sign sales, the
brothers estimate they brought in nearly $1 million in 2005. They
also dabble in real estate. "Some people must think we're
the biggest jerks," says Chad. "Andy will talk to
somebody for 30 minutes. [Later on], that person will make eye
contact with me, expecting recognition and, of course, there
isn't any."
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While navigating the corporate waters with your twin can be
confusing, it does have its advantages. "We do a lot of trade
shows, so we ham it up," admits Chad, who explains they attend
the shows dressed alike.
"It does help at trade shows," agrees Jim Abel, who
was born two minutes before his identical brother, Jeff, 37 years
ago, and who also makes the most of his birthright. "It's
a neat marketing twist. We'll wear the same clothes. It's
an attention-getter."
The Abel twins are co-owners of their second business, Ketch-It
Co., a Spokane, Washington, firm that brought in $450,000 in 2004
and manufactures Ketch-It, a specialty ball that sells in stores
like Sportmart, The Sports Authority and Wal-Mart. Jim notes that
they have rarely been misidentified in the business world--though
once, when they lived in a small town, a rumor started that Jim was
having an affair when then-single Jeff was seen out on the town
with a date.
Working with his twin has only had upsides, according to Jim,
who explains, "In today's world, you can't always
trust people in business dealings. Working with your twin brother
is nice because you both have the best interests of the company at
heart, and you can always count on each other to get the job done
and produce quality work. We've got a great connection, and we
balance each other out really well as far as our roles within the
company."