Author Archive for busalacchiae19

The Social Shells

In 2015 Nadine, from Switzerland, was working a 9 to 5 desk job feeling completely miserable. At the same time, she was just finishing her undergrad—but to Nadine this felt pointless. What exactly was she studying and working towards? To work longer and harder hours at a different desk job that she would not enjoy? This is why Nadine made a change.

A week after completing her undergrad, Nadine decided to take off and travel for a few months where she eventually landed in Bali. Her family urged her to come back to Switzerland to continue living “real life” and get a steady job. In Bali, she saw others working completely from their computers and creating their own working schedules, so Nadine starting searching for ways she could do the same!

With her determination, Nadine started building her own social media management business. She took online classes, read countless books, reached out to many people to network, and learned how to create a successful brand. As she started gaining clients, her business grew—she began making more money than she had at her 9 to 5 job! Nadine was able to work around her own schedule and continue to travel, all while doing something she was truly passionate about!

Now, Nadine still works as a social media manager, but she also teaches other women how to do the same through her mentorship program, The Social Shells. Because Nadine had to start her business from scratch without any sort of mentor, she created the Social Shells in order to help others who are in the same position that she once was a few years ago.

“I believe in community over competition and want to help as many women as possible to live their dream life! Instead of making the same mistakes as I did, you can take the shortcut and learn the direct path to freedom!”

Nadine continues to grow her business all while living her absolute dream life!

Asia Newson – Super Business Girl

When Asia Newson was just 5 years old, she watched her dad go door to door selling candles in the Detroit area. She decided she wanted to learn to make and sell candles for herself. From a very young age, Asia had an impressive understanding of different business concepts including developing her own sales pitch.

“Hi, I’m Asia Newson, and I’m known as Detroit’s youngest entrepreneur.” This simple pitch caught the attention of many.

Now, eight years later, Asia makes and sells her own candles, and she has expanded her business into one that trains other young entrepreneurs about the basics to owning and running a business. It is called Super Business Girl. On her online store, Asia also sells t-shirts, mugs, jewelry, and bags. The proceeds from both the online store and her training program go to help buy clothes and food for children in need.

Although Asia is a teenager now, she has easily adapted her sales pitch to focus on her training program. Super Business Girl targets middle school and high school students while encouraging entrepreneurial thinking to those who may not have thought about running their own business before.

Asia runs her workshop business under Bamboo Detroit, which is a business incubator for start-ups. One of the owners, Dave Anderson, met Asia while she was selling candles and took her under his wing. He gave her tips to improve her packaging and helped her with business techniques. Asia learned a lot about saving and investing money for her business.

In 2015, Asia made an appearance on Ellen where she talked all about her ambitions and goals as a young entrepreneur and woman in America. This ambition has given her lots of recognition and ultimately has played a huge role in her entrepreneurial success.

Super Business Girl and Other Treps Vow to Save Detroit

Lily Born – Kangaroo Cups

Kangaroo Cups started when a young girl, Lily Born, recognized an inconvenience in a family member’s life and sought to find a solution. When Lily was just eight years old, she noticed her grandfather often spilled his drink due to his condition, Parkinson’s disease. Lily used moldable plastic to make her grandfather a new cup that was both comfortable to hold and did not tip as easily.

A year later, Lily noticed her dad trying to save his laptop from spilled coffee so she created a ceramic version of the original plastic cup. Lily’s dad recognized it was a great invention and asked her if she wanted to bring it into production. After refining the models and finding a manufacturer, Lily and her dad prepared for production of the ceramic cups! Since the start of production, a durable plastic version of the cups has been created as well.

Lily clearly displays a drive for problem-solving. At just eight years old she saw and recognized a problem happening to two different family members and created a cup to help solve the problem. Not only does has a keen eye for scoping out problems, but Lily has the drive and the motivation to want to solve them!

Really young entrepreneurs inspire me because if someone who is eight can identify problems and have the determination to solve them, then so can I! It is really interesting to see what different ideas young kids can come up with!

No coaster needed!  The legs keep the body elevated off of the table.

Seanna Mullins – Healing Hearts

In 2018, Seanna Mullins, age 13 at the time, started a business as part of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) program. To be apart of this program, young individuals are sought out and recruited, and they are put through a rigorous course over a span of multiple weeks to develop their ideas and practice speaking in front of investors. 16 students presented business ideas to the panel; however, Mullin’s idea won.

As a seventh-grader Mullins has been through a lot. The previous September her dad passed away after a tragic traffic accident. “I didn’t have a gift to help me,” she noted; Mullins felt extremely alone during this time in her life. Therefore, she came up with Healing Hearts.

Healing Hearts is a business that produces special dolls for young people going through a similar hardship to Mullins’. The dolls are made to be personalized and customized with a background story about a challenge that he or she faced. Each doll can be made from fabric from a loved one’s item.

“The doll has gone through a difficult time, like they lost a loved one or had a disease, have broken an arm or leg. It can teach someone how they’ve gone through that and gotten through that,” said Mullins.

After pitching her whole idea Mullins got $1000 from a local investor as well as a four-year scholarship to Campbellsville University. She hopes to continue her business in the future and pitch more ideas as she gets older.

Omari McQueen – Dipalicious

At the young age of eight, Omari McQueen started his own dip and cooking business that stemmed from his original passion for cooking.

When he was seven, Omari’s mother became ill with migraines, so his father, who worked long evening hours, decided to teach him how to cook to help with meals. Even before his mother’s illness, Omari already had a passion for cooking and was excited to learn more. His passion grew stronger as he began creating his own versions of meals for his family to enjoy.

Continuing to pursue his passions, Omari discovered veganism after coming across a YouTube video about vegan pizza and was extremely intrigued. He was determined to learn more about vegan foods and decided to become vegan himself to teach other children about what they could eat as well. With this, Omari began his own YouTube channel where he filmed himself making his very own vegan pizza. He felt that the pizza was too dry, so he invented his own vegan dip to go along with it!

The first dip, the Caribbean Kick, allowed Omari to start his business at eight years old, Dipalicious. Now he sells a wide selection of vegan dips, snacks, juice packs, and seasoning. Omari is also saving up to turn an old bus into a small restaurant and create pre-prepared vegan meals for children.

Omari McQueen is a great example of a young entrepreneur. He started with his passion for cooking, found a problem with dry vegan pizza, and mashed the two together to create Dipalicious. Starting a business at eight years old is truly inspiring and really makes me think, “Wow, if Omari can do it so can I!”

Along with his business success, Omari is youngest award-winning vegan chef in the UK. He has won the TruLittle Award, the Compassionate Kids Award, and the Proud and Gifted Award for being a both a vegan chef and youth empowerment speaker encouraging other children to become entrepreneurs.

Ellington Timepiece – Teri Elizabeth Wellington

In 2017, 24-year-old Teri Elizabeth Ellington founded her very own watch collection, Ellington Timepiece, as a platform to raise awareness for mental health and support those who suffer from it. Using her last paycheck from a job she lost two months prior to Christmas, Teri launched her first watch design, The Grey Sheba, named after her own therapy dog, Sheba. Sheba became Teri’s therapy dog while she was deeply struggling through mental illness herself. Through Ellington Timepiece, Teri has found strength and purpose while also creating a brand that is passionate about raising awareness for mental health.

“If I can do it, other young people can too,” Teri preaches. Teri struggled with depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia in her past, which created her passion for spreading awareness to other people about these mental illnesses.

Ellington Timepiece is more than just a watch line. The watches serve a greater purpose than a mere accessory on someone’s wrist; The designs are meant to be a voice for those who do not have one. Each watch has a story and meaning behind it.

Through her successes, Teri even created a recent social media movement, #yourstoryetp. People who wear Ellington Timepiece designs share their own stories of mental health creating both a community of watch-lovers and a community for people to share their own journeys as well.

Teri is a truly inspiring entrepreneur for her ability to create both a successful business and a way to spread awareness for mental illness—something that many people struggle with on the daily.

To explore the designs from Teri, check out this link to her company’s website.