The music industry is a great place for young entrepreneurs to start. Andre Romelle Young, professionally known as Dr. Dre, has set a precedent for becoming successful in this competitive industry. Dr. Dre is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur who grew up in Compton, California. Dr. Dre started out as a rapper and quickly grew to fame. His music was unique, flavorful, and creative. Some time passed, and he had taken a few artists under his wing, including superstar and rap/hip-hop legend Eminem. The duo of Dr. Dre and Eminem were able to shake up the whole music industry and draw fans in like never seen before. Eminem was essentially an asset to Dre, and he helped him gain even more fame and profit. Over the years, Dr. Dre has really shown his entrepreneurial skills as well. His most popular product is the Beats by Dre headphones. When these headphones were first released, people went crazy over them. What they did not know was that they were basically getting ripped off. Dr. Dre charged over $100 for the cheapest pair of headphones, but they only costed around $14 to make. Dre continued to promote the headphones to be high-quality, bass-oriented, and overall a great investment. The Beats Pro headphone model sells for around $400, which is absolutely insane. You could buy a set of professional, studio-grade mixing and mastering headphones for around $180. However, Dr. Dre has continued to sell himself through his record label, Aftermath Entertainment, where he is the founder and CEO. Through that label, he has collaborated with and helped artists become stars. Some of those artists are Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, The Game, and 50 Cent. They have helped contribute to Dre’s wealth and continue to expand throughout the industry. Dr. Dre is a creative individual, and he will continue to sell, innovate, and transform many things to come in this inspiring industry.
Archive for Art – Page 4
Billie Eilish is a 16 year old super star. She began her success, at the age of 15, with her debut recording of “Ocean Eyes” on Soundcloud. The single went viral and got over 132 million streams on Spotify in October 2018. Soon after her debut of “Ocean Eyes,” she created an EP called “Don’t Smile at Me” in August 2017. The EP was a success and highlighted her talents for Apple music to see. Apple music named Billie “Up Next” artist of the month in September 2017. 
Her first collaboration was with the popular artist Khalid. They created the single “Lovely” which debuted on the soundtrack for the television show “13 Reasons Why.” The two artists have similar styles in music as in no one is quite sure what genre the two fit in. Billie’s songs cover multiple genres, but have a distinct undertone that only Billie can create.
She gained popularity through her extremely unique voice and her crazy sense of style. She also has abstract music videos that can’t help but grab a person’s attention. Billie is known for saying what is on her mind and being very open with her mental health. She incorporates things she struggles with in her lyrics such as depression. Her songs have dark lyrics while having upbeat tones and music. People can easily relate to her because she has kept her humility throughout her busy year. 
Her latest single is called “When the Party’s Over” which describes a tough relationship that she dealt with. This single has been reacted to by many YouTubers. A vocal couch YouTuber, Tristan Paredes, reacted to her music video and got nearly 1 million views. The music video itself got almost 34 million views.
Billie Eilish may be only 16, but her popularity and career has taken off over the past year.
Noa Mintz began her entrepreneurship journey in 2008. She began a summer art program where she offered classes for a small fee. After two years she kept growing in her journey and expanded her businesses. She started a party planning business and she even wrote an employee handbook for guidance. As she got older she said that she was not impressed with her work from her earlier years but she gave herself some leniency becasue she was under the age of 10. Now, a 16 year old, she has runs a full-service childcare agency in New York CIty. Her agency is called Nannies by Noa. The business matches a nanny and the family that is need of a caregiver. When she began highschool she did not have enough time in her life to balance her school and jobs so she hired a full-time CEO. This CEO had 25 years of experience and along with that, she hired two additional associates. She is proud of the fact that she is creating jobs and that she gets to employ people. She says that “It is rewarding and empowering.” She has been very successful and has found hundreds of nannies for families in New York.
It doesn’t take long scrolling through social media to feel like you’re missing out on the life that someone else is enjoying. So many girls are left feeling broken and inadequate from a society that thrives off of likes, shar
es, and comments. Jordan Lee Dooley, 24, is on a mission to change the culture of social media as she helps “everyday girls live intentional lives.” Her hobby turned blog turned business, SoulScripts, has become an online ministry for young women seeking their purpose.
SoulScripts originated in the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at Indiana University, while Dooley was a student in 2015. Her Etsy shop included personally hand-lettered mugs and journals with scripture and Biblical quotes. Eventually, she expanded her business into a blog where she tackled the personal topics behind the scripture, keeping the name SoulScripts as the title of it. It didn’t take long before she quickly discovered that this was the purpose God had for her life and pursued her true passion of writing and speaking full time.
She now travels all over the country speaking at churches and events, while also writing for her blog and Instagram. Dooley is telling her own story one post at a time as she encourages other women to seek Christ first while also giving advice on finance, relationships, self care, faith and more. She tells of her own times of heartbreak and brokenness and how God saw her through to the other side.
With an Instagram following of over 200,000 followers, she turned a college hobby into a full blown business. Dooley has since expanded Soul Scripts into a podcast named
SHE, and her book, Purpose, about “breaking through insecurities, expectations, and the pressure to prove” comes out in 2019. She also leads a twelve week Bible Study Boot Camp called Soul Session that includes access to a Facebook group with her and other Soul Session members, 12 Bible study videos, and 12 downloadable worksheets for $97.
Jordan’s mantra of “Your brokenness is welcome here” has become a movement that is being worn by girls all over the country. She is promoting authenticity and encouraging women to pursue their purpose. Her passion turned purpose has led other girls to lead intentional lives of pursuing Christ and knowing their identity is determined by their faith in Christ.
https://jordanleedooley.com/
instagram.com/jordanleedooley
instagram.com/SHEpodcast
instagram.com/soulscripts
In her final year of pursuing a Fashion Promotion degree, Gabi Cox completed an assignment for class in which she created and sold personalized stationery. Her designs were so well-liked that her customers encouraged her to continue making them. After graduation, Gabi decided to take a risk and pursue this talent and passion that she had, and in November 2014, she founded Chroma Stationery.
Originally, Gabi financed the company from a campaign on Kickstarter, and within three short months, her business was already generating a large profit. Chroma Stationery operates entirely online in both B2B and B2C, with a customer base spreading across 28 different countries. It’s a stationery company that places a strong focus on the individuality of people, with their color combinations and personalized products to match you. Their products range from pens and pencils to diaries and notebooks, each with different styles and design.
Gabi and her company have certainly established themselves as a competitive, yet creative stationery company. They have worked with companies such as American Airlines, Estee Lauder, and they have been featured in numerous magazines. Throughout my research, one of the things that I found most compelling was the way that Gabi used social media to market her company. She utilized numerous online social media platforms to showcase her designs and spread the word about Chroma Stationery. In addition, she was able to catch the attention of online influencers such as Lily Pebbles and YouTuber Zoella, who promoted Gabi’s products and allowed her to gain a significant amount of new business. Gabi’s company continues to grow and find success, and I look forward to seeing where this company goes!
Eterneva
“Makes memorial diamonds out of the cremated remains of loved ones.”
This startup was born from personal loss. The founder, Adelle Archer, lost her mentor to a battle with pancreatic cancer. She discovered the lack of options of ways to commemorate loved ones. The business Archer was working for at the time was researching diamond development that, combined with a trend in cremation over burials led her to wonder if the carbon from the ashes of loved ones could be used to create diamonds. She found a few other companies were successfully doing so and began working on her own way of sentimentally including passed loved ones in life. Eterneva sends a small portion of ashes to Amsterdam where the eight month process begins. Unlike competitors, Enterneva includes the buyers in the process by sending text updates throughout the eight months. They build close relationships with their customers throughout this time and appreciate the person being memorialized. Customers can also pick from a variety of colors- traditional clear, red, pink, yellow, blue,green, and black. Many families pick colors that were special to their loved ones.
Will this be an accepted way to move foreword in grief?
Admittedly, this does sound a bit strange at first. However, Archer explains, diamonds allow people to pass the memory of loved ones down generations where ashes in urns do not. At first I thought who would ever turn someone they loved into a piece of jewelry? The more I read about this idea, the more it began to make sense to me. Life is beautiful, why would we not want to commemorate it in a way that reflects the beautiful people we get to share it with? This is a deeply connective idea, I believe there is truth in saying the diamonds can be an excellent way to grieve losing a loved one and still feel connected to them.
What is the cost of Eterneva?
Diamonds made naturally are pricey to begin with, how does Eterneva compare? Eternrava asks $7,000 for .5 carat diamonds. It is in fact more expensive than natural diamonds, however these diamonds have a much more emotional factor to them.
Jack White, famous for being the lead singer of the White Stripes, still impacts the world with his music and brilliant mind. Despite the early 2000’s band breaking up, Jack White continues to crank out his own solo albums, one of which he released this year and climbed to the top of the US 200 Billboard.With deep, often strange lyrics, and screeching, distorted guitar melodies, Jack White tops his performances off with color coordinated clothes, instruments, and lights. Along with producing his own albums, he opened up Third Man Records in 2009, a combination of a record store, studio, and concert venue. After opening up another branch of Third Man in Detroit in 2015, White felt inspired to extend it into a large vinyl-pressing factory in 2017 called Third Man Pressing, making it the only place where records can be made-to-order. Ben Blackwell, co-founder of Third Man Pressing and nephew of Jack White, says that “For Detroit to continue moving forward, you need to have different ideas. [Manufacturing] is a field that’s driven by creativity. That’s something this city has always been flush with.”
Jack White, while often considered an acquired taste, is one of the most creative and innovative musicians of this decade. Not only does he have a creative mind, but also a business-like one. Throughout White’s career, he has faced many struggles and criticisms, but he still held his head up high and worked his way to fame. “There are many people out there who will tell you that you can’t,” White says,”What you’ve got to do is turn around and say, ‘Watch me.'” Jack White’s passion is to turn music back into the raw, emotion-filled expression that it used to be, and no one can get in-between an inspired man and his dream. White not only revolutionized the rock n’ roll industry, but he also demonstrated the flexibility of the title of ‘entrepreneur’. Jack White is a living example of where creativity, hard work, and talent can take a person.
http://blairfls.wixsite.com/illustrations/about
When we were little – 4 or 5 years old – my cousin Blair and I liked sitting on the rocky coast of Maine with paper and crayons, drawing what we imagined to be grand scenes of the mighty ocean; to anyone else, those pictures looked like a bunch of scribbles. As the years past, my pictures were still just scribbles – I have roughly the same degree of artistic talent as an elephant holding a paint brush in its trunk; Blair was a different story: it quickly became apparent that she had real talent as an illustrator. She loved to draw and she was good at it. Over the years she also picked up talent with paint and sculpture.
Jump forward to when we were a pair of 18-year-olds trying to make one of the biggest choices of our lives: COLLEGE. I was bound for the liberal arts, Blair for the fines arts; we both got our first choice: for me, Grove City College, for Blair, the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. We were all so proud of her: despite the fact that no one in the recorded history of our family had ever done anything as impractical as going to art school, we were blown away by her talent and thrilled that she had been accepted to what is arguably one of the greatest art schools in the world.
So, we both packed our bags and shipped off for school. But while I immediately felt that I had made the right choice, Blair was plagued by doubts: not doubts about her choice to be an artist, but with questions about whether she was ready for this. She decided she wasn’t. After two weeks on campus she realized that she had a lot of personal growing to do and that RISD was not the place to do it – not yet, anyway. Of course, it was all a bit more complicated than that, but for the sake of brevity I won’t go into more detail.
Thus, Blair found herself taking a spontaneous gap year. In all honesty, she had always wanted to take a year off before college, but now that she was doing so, she didn’t have a plan. But these things always seem to work out in the end: she was offered the chance to go to Scotland to work for six months – something else she had always wanted to do. The only problem: travel is expensive!!!
But, undaunted as ever, Blair came up with a solution: she was an artist, and she was going to support herself as such! She had already created a large and impressive portfolio of original pieces, so she launched a website to sell prints of her work to support her trip abroad. She also started working for commission. 
Anyway, skipping ahead a little bit: Blair made it to Scotland where she had the incredible opportunity to work for YoungLife Ministries. In her work, she saw the incredible darkness that comes with a life without Jesus Christ: she saw kids who desperately needed Christ, and new that she was called to share Him with them. But it was very well to do so for six months in a youth camp, but what about back in America? She was going to be an artist, not a minister.
Well, like I said, Blair knew that she had a lot of growing to do: and grow she did. While she was in Scotland she had the chance to explore what it meant to use one’s talents for God; she learned that our gifts are not our own, but are to be used in service to the Lord. What did that mean for a 19-year-old who wanted to draw, but who also wanted to do more than illustrate children’s Bibles?
Eventually she found the answer: she decided not to go back to RISD but instead to enroll in the University of Delaware which had a program in Visual Communication – there, she would not only get a degree in fine art, but also in communications and visual media, learning the skills she would need to communicate truth through her art. She recognized that art isn’t just about creating beauty: it’s about creating the kind of beauty that points the viewer to the author of all things beautiful.
Today, Blair is a Junior at University of Delaware, still working to complete her degree. She is also still selling work through her website to help support her studies. Her story as an entrepreneur is still in it’s early chapters: much of it is still unwritten. Thus far, she has had enough success to allow her to fund the studies that we are confident will one day allow her to share the message that we are all called to spread. We don’t know what she will draw, who she will draw for, or what she will say through her art. But we know that she as chosen a profession that is, above all, about communication, and that she has the greatest story of all to communicate. Through her website and commissioned work she has already been able to start reaching people – now all that’s left is to watch her grow!
I like Blair’s story because it serves an in important reminder of the fact that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to mean something huge: sometimes its something as small as selling art to fund travel. Its also important to remember that as Christians we have a higher calling in whatever we do: to serve the Lord. Blair became an entrepreneur because she was a broke almost-college-student who needed to get to Scotland. Once there, she discovered that her true calling really was art, not business. Now, she’s learning what she wants to say with her art and how she wants to say it. Will she one day go into business for herself as an artist/entrepreneur? Who can say: I personally think that art is a form of entrepreneurship…. The important thing is that we serve the Lord in all we do – be it painting scenes of the cross or painting scenes of nature; running a “Christian Business” or running a “Secular business” that operates on Christian principles. I believe that finding ways to serve the Lord in all that we do is the highest calling of any entrepreneur and that turning our work into a way of serving God is in itself an entrepreneurial act.
Blair also reminds us that we don’t necessarily have to “paint the cross” to serve the Lord. I look at the things she creates and see the Master’s hand: whether she is painting the portrait of a child of God or something silly that just popped into her head, I see the kind of true beauty that is precious not because of who created it or what they created, but because it came from the hand of a woman who loves God and who knows who her talent is from and what it is for.
What makes Ollie Dee Design special is not so much what they do (it’s a pretty run-of-the mill custom design company that largely works with other small businesses) but the story they tell: Ollie Dee Smith is the grandfather of a dear friend of mine: Leigh Anne. Growing up, Leigh Anne watched her grandfather struggle as an entrepreneur but also saw the triumph of hard work and success. What did she learn form all this? She learned that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well.
And that’s how she markets herself: as a young designer who is passionate about what she does and about helping others grow their businesses. And since that is the work she has chosen for herself, she is dedicated to doing it well! She takes her “old school work ethic” and adds to it “modern branding and design”. Leigh Anne promises her customers open communication, honest criticism, and level-headed guidance as they work together to provide high quality product to a market infatuated by all things fast, cheap, or easy.
We’ve all heard it before: “they just don’t make things the way they used to;” “we weren’t afraid of hard work back in my day;” “if young people would only take a little pride in their work, things would be better”… We’ve all heard this type of thing a thousand times; most of us role our eyes and assume that our grandparents are just nostalgic for their youth. But not Leigh Anne! She had the wisdom and humility to recognize that her Grandfather’s success as an entrepreneur wasn’t a coincidence. She saw that he had valuable insight to offer, so she built her business around the values he taught her. After all: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Jewelry for the Purrr-fect Touch
When Alyssa was a little girl, she always looked forward to the special times when her grandmother would visit, bringing with her a bag stuffed full of art and craft supplies. Alyssa was creative by nature, so it never mattered much to her what was in the bag – it was all about the joy and excitement of creating something new, something beautiful, something that hadn’t been there before.
It was during one of these afternoons with her Grandmother that Alyssa first discovered her love for jewelry making. On that particular afternoon, the craft bag was full of beads, string and jewelry wire, and as the two sat making Christmas presents for her mother, a new passion was born.
From that day forward, Alyssa wanted to do more than just make beautiful new things. She wanted to make things that made other people feel beautiful. Alyssa had always found joy helping other people feel as beautiful as they always were in her eyes, and with her grandmother’s beads in her hands, she realized that she now had the tools to do just that: make things that could help women see just how beautiful they really were. And she was right – ever since clasping that first bracelet of plastic beads around her mother’s wrist, Alyssa has been designing the type of jewelry that makes the wearer feel beautiful and which reminds everyone that it is the bird that makes the feathers.
Today, Alyssa is fresh out of Cornell University with degrees in Business and Sociology and is working to launch her jewelry company, Ally Cat Designs . What began as the passion project of a little girl in love with all things beautiful has grown into a business which has inspired and empowered women all across the globe. Alyssa spends as much time traveling as she possibly can, drawing inspiration from women around the world. Along the way, she supports local artisans by collecting materials to incorporate into her jewelry, all of which is utterly unique and designed around the women who inspire her.
Alyssa prides herself on not being limited to one style or aesthetic; instead, she has something for everyone: from classic to edgy, minimalistic to romantic, each piece is handmade and one-of-a-kind, made to reflect the individual beauty of every customer. Her designs also reflect her commitment to sustainability and accessibility. Fast fashion this is not! Each of her piece features timeless style and is made to last. But rather than using rare metals which are expensive and easily broken, Alyssa carefully selects materials which are more widely available and which stand the test of time. Great thought is put into each and every element of the design process so that each piece tells a story.
Alyssa likes to keep things personal; for her, it’s all about relationships. She is dedicated to her clients and designs with them in mind. Her favorite method of sales is house shows: by bringing clients together in an intimate environment, she gets to meet and be inspired by the women she serves. She mingles among her clients, getting to know them and helping them find that perfect piece. And if you come back to a second show, she is likely to pull you aside to show you something special she designed with you especially in mind!
As her business has grown, she has also adapted her model to meet the needs of a wider audience and has launched a website to make her work more widely available. But even with her expanding platform, Alyssa has sacrificed neither style nor substance. She still makes each piece by hand and each is one of a kind!
Down the road, Alyssa hopes to use her business as a platform from which to support other artists and to promote ethically sourced fashion. She is also passionate about social and economic development in impoverished nations. Having traveled extensively in both South Asia and Africa, Alyssa is committed to building supportive relationships with artists across the globe and using her work to empower and give back to women both at home and abroad.
It has been my great privilege to watch my dear friend Alyssa build and expand her business over the years, and I am so excited to share her story with you. Her’s is truly a project driven by a selfless passion to serve the women of the world, and the more her business grows, the more lives she touches. She doesn’t create jewelry for women to hide their insecurities behind; instead, she creates pieces that tell a story and celebrate the unique beauty of every woman.