One of the most stressful parts about living near a big city is driving and parking your car. Many people avoid the city because the stress parking provides. In 2013 Curtis Lee and Craig Martin set out to create the ultimate valet experience. They began a company called Luxe. They began in San Francisco parking cars of people in a secure lot. When the owner needed his car back Curtis or Craig would return the car to the rightful owner. Over time this new company began to expand as more people wanted to get rid of the hazard of parking. The company now is in LA, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to parking your car they will fill the car up with gas and change your oil for an extra charge. The company has insurance worth over five million dollars which promises that no matter what your car will be protected. The company now runs completely through an app that allows you to send your location and they will park your car. I am impressed with the way these two men where able to see a stressful problem and figure our how to relieve others stress through their company. I hope Luxe makes it to Cincinnati so I can try it out. Check out the website: http://luxe.com/

Anyone can be a successful entrepreneur, this became a reality for one college student. Dave Simnick wanted to start a business that sold soap. Simnick googled how to make soap and found a recipe. He made his first batch in a college kitchen. He began selling his soap to his college peers and after a while looked for ways to turn this business into a social entrepreneurship opportunity. Simnick partnered with his friend Dan Doll and they worked to create a business plan that could sell soap, and use part of the profit to provide soap, vitamins, and water to people in a third world country. After two years Whole Foods signed a contract to sell the soap “SoapBox Soaps” in stores across the country. SoapBox Soaps has a full line of soaps and they continue to provide soap, vitamins, and water to people in north western Africa. On their website they have this quote,”Over 3,000 children’s lives could be saved everyday with something as simple as a bar of soap and clean water! In fact, more than 40% of water related diseases could be prevented just by washing hands with soap and water at key moments.” A college student who googled how to make soap has created a business that is saving lives everyday. These all natural soaps are sold in numerous stores today. Visit their website to learn more about the company and the work they are doing. https://www.soapboxsoaps.com/

Every man has to deal with some form of facial hair, some more than others. Today, most companies overcharge for simple products like shaving cream and razors. Gillette has made a fortune off of replacement razor blades. Over the last couple of years a few companies have tried to change the way men purchase shaving materials. Most people have heard about Dollar Shave Club, however, this company has fallen behind the leader, Harry’s. Harry’s was co-founded by Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield, two millennials at the time. They set out to find the cheapest and yet best value shave one could find. In 2012 Harry’s began selling blades for $2 dollars which is $2-3 less than the leading blades. These young entrepreneurs wanted to make shaving cheap and yet still provide a great shave. The company claims to be valued at $750,000. Who knew that such a simple design could produce such revenue. All it took was two students, one from Harvard and the other from John Hopkins, to see that men need a quality shave for less. This simple business model has proven extremely successful and looks to be very profitable in the future. I recommend their website if you are interested in cheap shaving materials. www.harrys.com

As a kid I would dream of being a millionaire. While this was a cool dream I never caught a vision of what that could look like. This dream, however, became a reality for one kid by the age of 15. Cameron Johnson began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 9 when he started making invitation cards for his parents holiday parties. The people who received these cards told others about his great talent and he began making invitations for numerous people. The revenue he made from this business he used to buy whole sale Ty stuffed animals from china. Johnson then sold these stuffed animals for much more and by the age of 12 he saved $50,000 which he used to start a website. This website, surfingprizes.com, sold ad space on the top of websites. Johnson partnered with a company and at the age of 15 Johnson was making as much as $400,000 a month. At Johnson’s graduation he had accumulated over a million dollars. Johnson partnered with Oprah for her show “The Big Give” and today, Johnson stars on the BBC show Beat The Boss, and speaks about how to be a successful entrepreneur. I recommend his website if you want to learn more Johnson and his future plans. http://www.cameronjohnson.com/