I truly think that musicians that make it big are entrepreneurs. I’m going to use Justin Bieber as my example just because he is so well known right now.

Musicians spend hours perfecting their personal craft and identity. Justin became famous at the age of only 12 (he is 19 now). I know that everyone thinks he is that cliche singer who markets to young girls, but there is more to it than that. As your fans group up you have to “reinvent” yourself to stay popular. Once you became famous you have to create a brand. This is where, I think, the entrepreneur comes out in most famous musicians. Justin created a clothing line and a perfume line. This is a second revenue steam apart from his singing career. Creating a signature color, I think, was one of the greatest ideas he ever had. Now every teenage girl, or older, associate the color purple with JB. Justin Timberlake is another great example of a musician that has reinvented himself over the years.

Being a famous musician takes so much effort. You have to believe in yourself and your music. It is no different then believing in your idea or concept to carry it through to a profit or nonprofit business. It takes so much time and passion. I also believe that professional athletes are the same way. You have to create a “brand” in order to survive past “your time.” That is 100% an entrepreneurial venture.

What chemicals are in the ink of your clothes? What kinds of materials are your clothes made from? These are the questions that Kyle Smitley asked herself during the here first year of law school. She took an unpaid internship with a federal agency that works on historic preservation. She took a side job at a high-end clothing boutique doing research. During her research she uncovered that many clothing lines claiming to be “green” or environmentally friendly were outright lying. She saw the hole in the market place where she could make her mark. At 22 Kyle launched Barley & Birch to give parents and moms the ability to have truly organic clothing for their babies. With the knowledge that she gained researching for the clothing boutique she knew exactly what types of fabrics and ink she wanted to use. She hired a designer and started creating her children’s clothing line. She sent out the information for her line and expected to sell out in 48 hours. Well that didn’t happen. She went to plan B which was to contact mom bloggers and get the information out about other clothing lines as well as hers. The ones that were bad and then Barley & Birch. Her business instantly took off. In 2009 she earned $500,000 and this year she is expected to earn $1.5 million.

As a result of her internship experience, Kyle knew exactly the kind of fabrics she wanted to use. Barley & Birch’s clothing is 100% certified organic cotton and dyed with water-based inks so it doesn’t pollute the air and water with chemicals. Because the clothes are produced domestically, the company does not contribute to the massive amount of carbon associated with trans-ocean shipping. Socially, Kyle gives at least 15% of the profits to a variety of organizations working all over the world to improve the lives of others. Barley & Birch’s contributions have funded everything from educating rural farmers on sustainable agriculture to providing shelter to victims of abuse. -ladieswholaunch.com

She still plans to finish law school because she wants to use her brain to help people.

How to Make $2.5 million and lose it in a year.

Buy seven cars, crash two.

Get a girlfriend.

Go to Vegas.

Get into poker.

Become fascinated with travel.

Buy a house, put $80,000 in renovation.

Buy lots of “toys”.

And clothes.

Andrew’s first business was in sixth grade. He and a buddy figured out the mechanical pencils make great rocket launcher. After they started handing out advertisements the school banned the pencil launchers. In 2005 Andrew dropped out of high school and started several websites. He was just barely making it when he started making “bank” off of his site MySpaceSupport.com. He started getting checks of upwards of $100,000 a month. It took Andrew only one year to loose $2.5 million. After he realized his previews mistakes he has set knew goals. Andrew started another site, BeModel.com. BeModel.com markets to models of all kind. It is a take on Facebook but it is only for models and photographers. Andrew learned his lesson and has started a retirement fund and now invests his money in real estate and stocks.

“Make it happen now, not tomorrow. Tomorrow is a loser’s excuse.” – Andrew Fashion

Logan Hammerschmitt, born August 15 in 1993, is Vice President of Global Chart Service, LLC. “Global,” as they refer to it, distributes nautical charts with advertising on the back, free to the public paid for by the advertisers. Global Chart Services started in April of 2013 by Logan (VP) and John Skidmore (P), also referred to as Doc the most interesting man in the world. Global is based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That is where they started. The team’s plan is to expand from Texas to Georgia, then all the way to Connecticut, onward west to the Great Lakes, to California, up the west coast to Washington, the Mississippi River, followed by the Caribbean, and finally Europe. This seems like a daunting task for a team of only two, but “fear not it will happen,” Logan told me in our interview on September 18, 2013. They are planning to sell franchises for each separate area. Logan is driven by the desire to be a successful entrepreneur. He was presented with the opportunity to assist with Global Chart Services, and he jumped on the chance. The idea of Global Chart Services is a great idea because it is a proven business model that they are just expanding past what has been done in the past. Logan is an infinity pool of ideas. This is what makes him so unique as an entrepreneur. He can go through any where from 10 – 50 ideas in just one day. 99% of them might be just ridiculous but there is always that one that has a real possibility at being great.  Logan has several entrepreneurial traits. He is daring and willing to risk it all. He knows when something is possible or just straight up crazy. He understand how to handle money, he has several connections, and he never sleeps. Logan stated, “I have dashing good looks with my Super Man curl and my Ray Bans.” I am inspired by Logan through his never ending confidence in his ideas. He believes that everything is potential possible to a certain degree. I have always considered myself a “practical” entrepreneur and Logan shows me that it is okay to think outside the box.

“Keep Calm and Chive On” and “Kiss (Keep It Simple Stupid)” – Logan Hammerschmitt

written by: Haley Nerlich