Kids4Connunity started with a young boy named Kenan Pala. At the age of 10 Pala was walking the beach with his father and saw a beached seal. The people on the beach flocked to help the seal, but Pala had a different thought on his way home. They passed a homeless man that was clearly sick, yet no-one was helping him.

Why would they help this beached seal, but not the people in their community?

And thus, Kids4Community was born. Pala main goal was to get the youth of his community involved in their neighborhoods and town. In 2016 he planned an event to beat the Guiness World Record for the largest mural, created with cereal boxes. He and his fellow students put together a food drive and with the donated boxes created this mural. It was a massive success. The other students were passionate with the event–hoping to beat the world record–and they donated pounds of food to local food banks. On top of this event, they help homeless people, raise money for shelters, help with meals at these shelters, and they have a blog to raise awareness. They even created a 5k run that raised over $10,000 for a local organization.

The business is now very successful, but when he founded it at 10 not many listened to him. People though he was crazy or a silly child, only with time did people see his vision and want in on the goal. Toward the end of the interview Pala talked about his proudest moment. He was volunteering at a school, where 30% of students are homeless, and the principle was so excited and thankful for the help. Pala talked about the joy and excitement from the principle and how it stood out to him, even years later. His next goal is to beat the half marathon record time.

Interview with Kenan Pala, Creator of Kids4Community (kidpreneurs.org)

Cory Nieves is a young entrepreneur who started his cookie-making business when he was only six years old. When Cory was six years old, he and his mother moved from the Bronx to New Jersey. At this time, they didn’t have a car, Cory saw this and wanted to fix this and provide for his mother. To do this, Cory started selling hot chocolate at a restaurant that belonged to a family friend. Cory actually made money from the hot chocolate sales–I mean, who wouldn’t buy hot chocolate from a six-year-old?

He decided to try venturing into the cookie-making business. Cory with his mom launched Mr. Cory’s Cookies, where they sold homemade cookies from their home and pop-ups stands in his town. Mr. Cory’s Cookies became successful very quickly, so Cory and his mom started baking in a commercial kitchen instead of their home to meet demand and meet health-code expectations easier.

Mr. Cory’s Cookies have only continued to increase in popularity. Cory expanded the company’s operations to online sales, which opened the cookie company to a global market. Mr. Cory’s Cookies also expanded its menu to include special flavored cookies.

Because of their success, Cory and his mom have been able and willing to give back to the community around them. They support organizations that help young people and single mothers and put on workshops for young pregnant mothers and people who suffer due to drug abuse. Cory clearly believes it is very important to help others and make the community around you better, and he believes that the power of positive thinking has allowed him to be so successful. Its inspiring to see how much good Cory and his mom have done for their community through their work.

Now at 20, he is in college and plans to continue his business.

At 17 Years Old, Cory Nieves Runs Successful Cookie Business ‘Mr. Cory’s Cookies’ – (blackenterprise.com)

Caroline & Isabel Bercaw

Together these sisters founded Da Bomb Bath. In 2012, the sisters were ages 11 and 12 and obsessed with bath bombs. Most girls at this age are obsessed with bath bombs and making their own, so these girls were doing the same thing. They tried different recipes, making fizzy and sweet-smelling bath bombs. They even added small toys to the center of the bomb, allowing a new joy and excitement to a simpler product. The girls tried to sell that at a local art fair and it blew up.

After 3 years their bath bombs were in 30 small local shops and growing rapidly. They took a trip to an international trade show out of Atlanta and through that had their product placed in stores across the country. They estimated that they were making over 20,000 bath bombs a month out of their basement.

But a phone call changed their game completely. When Target calls and wants your product in just under 2,000 stores, you jump at the opportunity. Their Mom stepped up to the plate and became the CEO, while the sisters worked on creating new products. With the uptake in product demand the business moved out of the basement and into a larger, local warehouse. At 15 and 16 the girls took their schools On the Job program and turned school time into work time.

Currently, Da Bomb is still completely self-funded and has generated over $20 million in annual revenue and remains a family business. Now at 17 and 18, the sisters have created a very successful business. Plus, they have some serious deals with large companies like Target, so they are only going to keep growing. 

Da Bomb Bath