Most people recognize Jessica Alba as a popular actress and celebrity, but are unaware of the fact that she is also a very successful entrepreneur. Jessica Alba is the founder of The Honest Company, an ethical wellness brand. The idea for this company began when Jessica was pregnant with her first child. She wanted to make sure her home was safe place for a child and started to only use products that claimed to be nontoxic and healthy. Unfortunately, she found that even a supposedly “baby proof” laundry detergent broke her out in a rash. Jessica began researching for more trustworthy brands, but found that there were very few options. This need for an ethical cleaning product company gave her the idea to create The Honest Company.

The Honest Company offers a wide range of products. There is a cleaning line with items for laundry, bathrooms, and dishes. Yet they also sell products for bath/body, sun protection, skincare, and makeup/beauty. Jessica was passionate about having her brand be truly “baby proof” for mothers, so today there is an entire section of The Honest Company’s website dedicated to diapering and feeding items. The company has recently begun to offer vitamins and supplements that support and encourage people’s overall wellness. It is cool to see that Jessica was able to apply her goal of clean, healthy ingredients to so many different areas. The Honest Company is currently worth millions of dollars, much of which can be attributed to Jessica Alba’s mission to use ethical decisions when building the brand.

Katie Phillips is a hardworking, family oriented mother of three. She graduated from Cedarville college with a double major in business and marketing. For years, Katie was employed by Pottery Barn, and absolutely loved her job. Unfortunately, the closest Pottery Barn was around an hour away from her house. Once she had kids, she realized that she needed to spend less time working and more time at home. Yet Pottery Barn saw how talented Katie was with decorating did not want her to leave. The company offered to keep her part time, so she would just come in occasionally to set up the displays for them.

Katie really enjoyed creating these displays for Pottery Barn, and did so for a long time. However, she eventually made herself quit because the driving time became too much. After this, Katie spent much of her free time volunteering to plan events for family and friends such as birthday parties, baby showers, and weddings. Her attention to detail and creativity earned her countless complements at all of these events. One time, she put her event planning services up for auction at her son’s school. To no one’s surprise, she was bought to plan a kid’s birthday party!

Katie had clearly recognized that decorating came easy to her and was something that she really enjoyed. Although she had fun doing the decorations for events, what Katie truly loved was home décor. She was constantly helping her family members stylize their houses. She also had fun decorating her own home when her family moved from Georgia to Virginia, and later on when they moved back to Georgia. Her sisters and friends were always encouraging her to create a business out of it. Although the idea sounded great, Katie didn’t begin to seriously consider it until a year ago.

Katie finally decided that she would “never know unless she tried” and that there was “no time like the present!” Last week, Katie officially launched her home décor business, Bread & Butter (https://breadbutterspread.com/). She is a co-owner of Bread & Butter along with her sister in law, Stephanie Phillips, and a close friend, Lee Barnes. This company offers custom room décor that meets any individual’s style preference. Katie is well experienced and already has a large group of supporters. It is a guarantee that her startup business, Bread & Butter, is going to be a huge success.

Julia Engel always had a passion for creativity and learning. In 2011, she was a college junior studying Business. Just for fun, she created a Blogger account and called it “Gal Meets Glam.” Julia quickly fell in love with it, and posted very frequently to this fashion blog. She truly enjoyed styling different outfits, having her boyfriend take photos, and writing commentaries to go along with each look.

After graduating college, Julia moved to San Francisco to get a “real job.” Here she worked long hours, but still managed to spend most of her spare time on the blog. However, as Gal Meets Glam’s audience grew, balancing all of this became much more difficult. Initially, she spent all of her “blog time” on creating content. Unfortunately, more popularity meant that Julia had more emails, brand deals, and social media accounts to manage. Julia Engel realized that at some point, she would no longer be able to keep her main job while running the blog well.

Julia knew that she had the rare opportunity to become a full-time blogger. In 2013, she made the scary choice to quit her job to focus on Gal Meets Glam. This decision was extremely rewarding, and Gal Meets Glam grew to be a highly profitable company. Julia also found success through other social media platforms, and was rumored to make over $1.5 million a year from Instagram alone. Over the years she has been recognized countless times as a leading figure in the fashion industry. She has also had the opportunity to work with many popular brands to design shoes, home décor, clothing, and more. Julia Engel’s story is a great example of how creativity, passion, risk, and patience all work together to make an entrepreneurial venture a success.

Seth Berkowitz is the creator of Insomnia Cookies, a bakery chain that offers freshly made cookie delivery. Seth founded this idea in 2003 while he was attending college at the University of Pennsylvania. He would bake cookies and bring them to other students late at night. After recognizing how popular this new concept was, Seth decided to expand his business.

In 2004, he opened his first retail store for Insomnia Cookies.
Today, Insomnia Cookies has over 100 stores across the United States. Most of these are located on college campuses. Seth Berkowitz has done an excellent job marketing his brand to this specific audience. They offer delivery from 10am to 3am, making Insomnia Cookies the perfect treat before class or during a late night study session.

Successful Insomnia Cookies stores are not only found at universities though. As the brand’s popularity grows, there is an increasing demand for everyday home deliveries and special event catering. Seth Berkowitz’s creativity allowed him to put a unique spin on the concept of a traditional bakery, which is what ultimately made Insomnia Cookies such a big hit among many different crowds.

Bella Tippling grew up with parents who loved to travel.  They were always booking different, unique hotels and for their family to stay in.  Bella realized that while these establishments were great, they were primarily focused on appealing to the needs of adults.  She was often disappointed that there was not very much “kid stuff” for her to do while there.  Bella also felt that the room decor was dull, and she did not appreciate sleeping on a futon instead of a bed.  

These problems led Bella to create her own website called “Kidzcationz.”  She developed this with her parent’s assistance when she was only twelve years old.  Essentially, this site is a child version of TripAdvisor.  It lets travel businesses know if they are doing a good job of catering to the needs and preferences of children.  Kids can make an account (with the help of their parents) and review the services of hotels, restaurants, and other attractions.  When parents go to plan a vacation, they can check this website to ensure that the whole family enjoys the experience.  Bella Tippling has received a great amount of positive feedback and media attention for “Kidzcationz.”  Her innovation, creativity, and success at such a young age is an inspiration to all aspiring internet entrepreneurs.  

Haile Thomas founded the HAPPY Organization when she was just 12 years old. Around 2008, Haile’s dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Her mom immediately began avidly researching health and holistic healing with the hopes of finding a way for her husband to avoid taking medication. They were all worried about the many dangerous side effects of Diabetes drugs. Haile began watching nutrition documentaries and cooking vegan based meals with her mom. Fortunately, their efforts paid off and her father’s health greatly increased.

Haile recognized how much healthy eating improved her father’s life, and developed a passion for educating others who were her age on the subject. She believed that if people had a better grasp of how food choices impact overall health when they were young, they would develop smart eating habits and avoid preventable diseases like Type 2 Diabetes as they get older. In 2013, she created the Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth (HAPPY) Organization with the help of her mother. The purpose of this organization is to motivate kids to live healthy lifestyles.  It is especially geared towards children living in poor, underprivileged communities.

The HAPPY Organization puts on informational workshops, cooking lessons, and summer camps for kids ages 6-13. Haile and her mom travel full time to carry out these programs across America, and have recently expanded their services internationally. They also have a website that gives people the opportunity to donate their time, money, or resources to the cause. The website also has a store for apparel and accessories that promote the HAPPY Organization. It is sponsored by multiple well known corporations including Walgreens, Cliff Bar, and Morton. The success of this nonprofit organization has given Halie countless speaking opportunities, the most significant being at the White House which she was formally invited to by the First Lady Michelle Obama. Haile Thomas’s story is inspiring because it displays how no one is too young to make a difference. She found her passion at very young age and took action immediately, ultimately leading to the HAPPY Organization making a great impact on the lives of other kids like her.