Archive for Bullying

Adriana Carrig & “Little Words Project”

Adriana Carrig (now 32 years old) started her own business at the age of 22. She creates fun, colorful bracelets with inspirational words and phrases on them, such as “you got this, “keep going, “and “believe.”  Carrig was inspired to start her business because she witnessed a lot of bullying and negative talk between women in college.

Carrig wanted to find a way for women to empower one another instead of putting each other down. So, she started making motivational bracelets for herself and her sorority sisters. Carrig shares on the “Little Words Project” website that the bracelets helped them “get through tough times together.”

Carrig’s new way of “spreading kindness” was very popular amongst her sorority sisters, and she decided that she wanted to spread this loving “sisterhood” feeling to all girls. Thus, the “Little Words Project” was born.

Carrig’s vision behind the “Little Words Project” is for females to buy a bracelet with a word or phrase that is important to them, wear the bracelet for as long as they “need it,” and then pass the bracelet on to another girl who needs it someday. Each bracelet has a unique ID tag on it, so girls can actually “connect” their bracelet to the company’s website and share how the message on the bracelet is meaningful to them. Then, after they have passed the bracelet on, they can “track” it on the website to see who else has been inspired by their bracelet.

Carrig’s advice to young entrepreneurs is to be yourself, be perseverant, and focus on constantly learning new things about entrepreneurship. Carrig is an excellent example of a young entrepreneur who 1) found a problem she was passionate about, and 2) came up with a unique solution that people are willing to invest in. Aspiring entrepreneurs can certainly learn a lot from Carrig’s story.

The Pastry Chef

People have many ways to relieve their stress. A young girl named Gabrielle Williams found that her stress reliever was baking. Her stress was a result from bullying at a new school she started attending when she bowed her head in prayer before her meal. As she found that the baking would remove the bullying stress, she continued baking and trying new recipes from her grandmother. Her mother took her to women’s empowerment event where she encountered a young entrepreneur lady with the exact same name. The young lady’s last words were to “Dream Big” which gave Gabrielle the nudge to become a businesswoman.

Gabrielle went back to the kitchen and created a homemade frosting from scratch that was a hit, Chocolate Expresso Buttercream Frosting. After the frosting, she decided that she wanted to create her own business and in 2013 at the age of nine, Glorious Pastries by Gabrielle was born. The secret recipes are based on her grandmother’s and great grandmother’s recipes and some of the recipes she created on her own. The ingredients are all fresh and business emphasizes on the homemade goodness of the pastries. The pastry business was steady for several years, selling to friends and spread by word of mouth. Then in 2016, Glorious Pastries by Gabrielle was featured on the local news which expanded to ABC Good Morning America, Woman’s World Magazine, Washington Post, and many more. As her business’ fame grew, Gabrielle has had the opportunity to be a co-author to the book, The Science Behind It: Formulating Success at any Age and speak at several conventions about bullying and young entrepreneurs.

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There are many challenges that Gabrielle must encounter. Responding to negative feedback and skepticism about a business run by a young girl can bring about the difficulty in running a business. There are times when business is slow and there was a time where no orders were placed for several months. Gabrielle felt discourage enough that she debated on closing the business. But shortly later, she received a large order. Throughout the challenges for the young businesswoman, Gabrielle enjoys baking and takes pride in her business.

Glorious Pastries by Gabrielle website: Glorious Pastries by Gabrielle – Home

Young Entrepreneurs – Brandon Boynton – The BullyBØX

Brandon Boynton

One of the biggest issues that have faced students for decades is the problem of bullying. Bullying is an issue that schools have worked hard to combat in many different ways, some have found adequate solutions while other schools still struggle to figure out just how to put a stop to bullying. Sometimes the bullies can’t be stopped because those who are bullied aren’t willing to come out and say who the bully is. Brandon Boynton, a successful young entrepreneur has created a new way to help combat bullying in schools. The BullyBox is an online platform that can anonymously get students in contact with school administrators to report bullying. Being bullied in school himself Brandon wanted to help students escape the pain he felt from bullying.

For some entrepreneurs, their drive is inspired by personal trauma experienced, this is what pushed Brandon to create such a successful product. One of the great things about The BullyBox is that it is anonymous, it is hard for many students to go to the school administrators to point out who it is that is bullying them this platform helps bullied students feel safe in standing up for themselves. The platform also encourages others to stand up for those being bullied, Brandon wanted the application to be used not only for those being bullied but those who saw what was happening and could help put a stop to bullying behavior.

Brandon Boynton hit spot on, one of the most important parts of developing a product and business, looking for pain and developing a solution. Bullying was a pain he knew existed not only because of how much it is talked about in school but because he had experienced it himself. It took a clear and present pain and developed a product to help alleviate it. The BullyBox is now being used in many different schools across the US.