Archive for Business::Entrepreneurs – Page 7

The man behind Navio Group and the new form of Managing

Carlos Castelan added a new approach to the management process when he started The Navio Group. Castelan was the previous founder of organizations and consulting firms such as Conlego, and Noma Consulting partners. His experience in the field gave him a first hand view at the different problems that many companies have with internal hierarchical management. When he saw these problems he quickly took action and found a solution to this. He opened The Navio Group consulting firm to help companies address the internal management issues that they were having. This is a true example of entrepreneurship in a way that is not normally seen out right as entrepreneurship as most innovations will be seen as products. Castelan created a service to help many companies, in a relatively open market. While many consulting firms have employees who are doing their role as their first job and don’t have much experience in the problems that these companies are facing.

I think Castelan’s work is a true inspiration, he saw a problem and took action to solve that problem not only for himself but for many companies. His vision was to create a company that helped clients navigate change and chart a new course from what was seen as traditional. He wants clients to explore the unknown and expand their companies in new ways that no one has really expanded to or tried before. I really like Castelan’s story and how inspiring his innovation was to this market. He is a firm believer in jumping right in when trying to bring new ideas to life which is a true explanation of being innovative and an entrepreneur. He believes that being good at only one thing (something that was seen as important in the old days) is becoming increasingly less important and instead being diversified is becoming more and more important.

 

Overall, I think Castelan’s idea of consulting companies to navigate in new ideas and areas will continue to be extremely successful. Read more here

Italian Graphic Design Entrepreneur

Do you ever wonder how you can make your social media look appealing? 

    Antia D’Alisera is not merely a successful YouTuber. Born in Rome Italy, and now a freshman at Kings College in London, she was raised by her father who is a movie producer and her mother who is an interior designer in Rome. Her older sister recently graduated from Parsons School of Design for fashion. Anita is surrounded by excellent taste and a beautiful eye for aesthetics. While on vacation, Anita and her family frequently travel to their house on an island off of Greece called Patmos. From growing up surrounded by her parents and sister’s excellent taste in style, art, and design, Anita has found a passion and deep interest for graphic designs, film, beauty and exquisite aesthetics. She is gifted with ideaphoria and can easily put her ideas into practice, since she currently has her own YouTube channel and her own graphic design business.   

    Anita D’Alisera, known as AniDali on Youtube (and for all her social media platforms), is currently a content creator for more than 6 years reaching 26.4 thousand subscribers. She is a young entrepreneur since she gets paid by YouTube, and also started her own graphic design business in 2020. The purpose of her business is to help Youtubers create aesthetic intro, outro, and banner templates for their Youtube channel. She customizes people’s needs based on what their YouTube channel is about and her prices are very affordable. There is a demand for having YouTube channels be pleasing, since the more the effort in regards to how one’s presentation looks the more people will subscribe to it. This is understandable and what a person says in their videos matters as well. 

   On the Fiverr website, an online marketplace for freelancers, Anita mentions that in addition to helping YouTubers create graphic designs, she customizes beautiful templates for clients’ social media as well. Anita has an entrepreneurial mindset because she realizes that not everyone is a YouTuber so she has branched out to help people make their other social media platforms look attractive and beautiful. Anita’s talent for design at her young age promises a lifetime of inspiration to create beauty and make it known.

Here is additional information on Anita D’Alisera: 

https://www.fiverr.com/anidali/create-graphics-for-your-social-medias 

https://www.instagram.com/anidali/?hl=it 

https://www.youtube.com/c/AniDali/featured 

Bella Weems: Origami Owl

Bella Weems is a 28-year-old who is the founder of the jewelry company Origami Owl. At just 14 years old, she turned her passion into a business after her parents told her she would have to earn her first car. Her passion for handcrafting jewelry turned into a multi-million-dollar business.See the source image

Origami Owls main product is called the “Living Locket” which is a locket which you can add in your own, personalized charms to. This is unique because each charm can represent the persons hobbies and interests and showcase them when they wear the necklace. Bella also sells bracelets, earrings, and other accessories.

Bella is a busy kid entrepreneur, but she still allots time to give back. She started the “Owlettes Initiative” in which she personally mentors young aspiring entrepreneurs ages 12-17. Bella shares tips with these kids and any advice from her success story. I think this part of her business is truly inspiring because she found a way to help others as well as keep up a successful business.

Bella says the best part of being a kid entrepreneur is, “…being able to encourage kids of all ages to not be afraid to reach for their dreams and never let anyone tell them they’re not good enough or their idea isn’t good enough.” Bella’s business Origami Owl not only lets people express themselves through their jewelry but inspires young entrepreneurs to take the risk to start making something they are passionate about become big.

11 Successful Kid Entrepreneurs Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize

City Bonfires-A Mini Mobile Bonfire

City Bonfires was created and is still produced in Maryland.  It was created by Chris McCasland and Michael Opalski when both of their jobs were impacted because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Because of this, they were both at home a lot more than they were used to and started looking for something to do with all of this time they had recently acquired.  I think that it is really great that they make everything right in Maryland and with American made materials.

City Bonfires sells several different product packages on their website.  They sell just the “portable firepit”, three different smore packs (which include smore ingredients since these are safe to cook over, and scented ones which interestingly you can also still cook over.  I think this is a very interesting concept and something that has been missing on the market.  Yes there have been other little fire makers out there, but none that are made out of food grade wax and plant based materials that makes them perfectly safe to cook things like smores over.

I really like the idea and execution of City Bonfires.  I believe that with innovation cool niche products like this can really make a go of it.  There is nothing quite as perfect and well thought out as this product on the market.  I think it is very fun that this whole company came from the pandemic.

Shop Page – City Bonfires

Floral Farm

Have you ever wanted to create your own flower bouquets? 

      Camden Kidwell is the leading example of a young entrepreneur. He is a recent homeschool high school graduate and instead of going to college this fall he took the entire spring and summer to create his own flower farm and bouquet business. He started Swallowdale Flowers in June of 2021, and named the business after swallows which nest in his family’s barn. Swallowdale Flowers is unlike any florist business due to the fact that the customers can walk around Camden’s garden and create their own bouquets using his flowers. He has provided his customers with the ability for them to customize their own bouquets, which is unlike any other flower farm or floral business since the vast majority offers only premade bouquet arrangements. He does make bouquets though, on a weekly basis which he sells at 6ixNorth, a local artisanal craft store in his hometown. Another unique feature is that he runs his business from home – outside – where customers can be in nature and experience what it is like to be on a farm.

      Additionally, Camden has recently been asked by a local event planning company to collaborate with them on a wedding. An acquaintance asked Camden to make a corsage for his homecoming date at the local high school. Camden continues to grow his business and network through his community. He is an example of why one does not need to earn a degree to become an entrepreneur. Swallowdale Flowers is the definition of a startup business, because he never received any help beyond that from his father. Camden Kidwell’s story shows us that all it takes to become an entrepreneur is a willingness to be disciplined, take risks and have an imagination. He is an inspiration and a role-model. 

Please find Swallowdale Flowers on Social Media:

@swallowdale.flowers

https://m.facebook.com/Swallowdale-Flowers-101528278889912/?refid=13&ref=page_internal&__tn__=%2Cg

Bianchi Candle Co.

There are many things that people enjoy and one common thing is candles. Candles can come in all different scents, wicks, and ingredients. These things make each candle unique, and an all natural soy candle handed poured in Papillion, NE, Italy is definitely unique.

Nic Bianchi received a candle making kit on his twelfth birthday and was hooked from that point on. He Nic Bianchi, Bianchi Candle Company, with a few of his products.kept on creating all natural soy candles and soon afterwards, he introduced his candle business, Bianchi Candle Company. The company did not come as a surprise to his parents because if you rewind to Nic’s younger years, you would be impressed with the young boy. During elementary school, Nic would sell toys to his classmates at recess. Later, he upgraded his little toy business with a catalog and everything was sold with a logo of his creation.  He even went the next step and employed two other children as sales reps to help him with his toy business at school. His eagerness to be an entrepreneur expanded as he entered his candle company. The candle making process is more complex than most people think. Besides having a passion for entrepreneurship, Nic enjoys the math and science subjects which is a bonus in his candle making. Much thought goes into the ratios of ingredients and the sizing of the wick to ensure a longer burn and elements of the jar and label will matter in the process since the heat of the flame could destroy them.

Bianchi Candle Company has launched many candles for different occasions or purposes. TheBianchi Candle Company motivational candle, Yes You Can candle, and the Bianchi Candle Co, purely luxurious candles, are two of the most popular brands of candles that the company sells. All the candles are natural and without any dyes causing them to be purely white, which when his last name is translated from Italian, it means white. Nic’s story is inspiring for me because he followed his passion which brought him into the world of business.

You can visit Bianchi Candle Company website here.

Hope Outfitters

Hope Outfitters is a small business started by Ryan Welch that creates cute, comfortable clothing and accessories, and then donates all of the profits to charity.  They believe that even the smallest things can add up to the biggest difference.  Part of what makes Hope Outfitters an interesting business model is that not only do they donate all of their profits to charity, but they pick a different charity every year.  I think this is a great idea because this way, they can spread around their profits and pick relevant causes each year.  I believe this also makes it more appealing to customers, drives interest and incentivizes repeat customers because if they like the new charity they will want to support it.  Most of the products on the website are made in the United States which is also a nice plus.  Hope Outfitters also provides the guarantee that none of their products have been made in sweatshops or unethical ways, allowing the customer to buy with a clean conscience.  I believe that this company is a great example of how with 25 dollar shirts, one company can make a huge impact all across the world.

Seizing opportunity – Willow Tufano

Willow Tufano

One of the biggest parts of being an entrepreneur is looking for and taking advantage of opportunities. Willow Tufano is a great example of an entrepreneur who took advantage of an opportunity that she saw coming out of a problem. When Willow was 14 years old, a recession hit Florida, causing houses that usually sold for upwards of $100,000 were selling for less than $15,000 at auctions. With the help of a family who had experience in real estate, Willow decided to take a risk and take advantage of the opportunity of low-priced real estate, she bought a house. After doing some work on the house, Willow made the home available to rent for $700 a month. She was then to make back what she spent in just over a year and a half.

Willow capitalized on an amazing opportunity she saw coming out of a bad situation. Willow was able to gain a lot of experience in real estate and make a really good profit because of her willingness to take a risk and seize opportunities. Risk analysis is an essential skill for entrepreneurship, Willow was able to seize the opportunity at hand because of her ability to take into account the possible reward in light of the potential risk. Risk-analysis and seizing opportunities are both skills that I am working on myself, it is a terrible feeling to realize you missed out on an amazing opportunity because I was scared to step out and try doing something outside my comfort zone. Willow is an example of the possible reward for taking risks.

Young Entrepreneurs: Ashley Qualls

Ashley Qualls is a bit of a throwback for me – she built her business in the MySpace days. Though I personally have no experience with the platform (and I suggest most people my age don’t either) I think that her idea is certainly adaptable to the current social media landscape.

Ashley received a lot of positive feedback for her MySpace page designs. People loved her work and creativity. She decided to make these MySpace page designs available for purchase. Apparently people truly did like her designs because they sold well – to the tune of over $70,000 a month in revenue!

There is certainly a lesson to be learned here: when people compliment you on something that you’ve created, it just might be a business idea. Ashley certainly thought so. She figured that if people liked her designs enough to compliment her, they might be willing to pay a few dollars for one of them.

The other great lesson from Ashley’s business is that the digital world offers some amazing business opportunities design-wise. After all, once a template is put together it can be sold an infinite number of times with little work and additional input from its creator. This allowed Ashley more time to focus on designing new templates and ideas instead of having to keep creating the same product again and again.

In fact, Ashley decided to drop out of school to devote more time to her business. This is another great lesson that can be learned from her story – entrepreneurs have to make sacrifices. While Ashley probably would have loved to have finished school she realized that she had a serious business and that if she continued to stay in school it would be at the cost of her business. Sometimes as an entrepreneur, difficult decisions have to be made.

In conclusion, Ashley had a great idea and capitalized on it in a way that was flexible and extremely profitable. However, she had to make some sacrifices in the process.

The Buzz for Bee Downtown

Do you ever think about bees? Small little insects with a huge impact on our world today. With the bee population dwindling every year, beekeepers like Leigh-Kathryn Bonner founded Bee Downtown to save the bees while simultaneously giving companies a new way to think about sustainability.

Companies, like honeybees, are both hives. They both have workers and a queen to serve. With this in mind and the similarities between the two, Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, a fourth-generation beekeeper in her family, wanted to find a way to unite modern day companies with her passion for saving honeybees. Her idea was Bee Downtown, a business that installs beehives on corporate land while at the same time teaching companies about creating high-quality teams for businesses. It was a unique opportunity for Kathryn. Her family had already been beekeepers for a few generations and that same love for the environment and saving honeybees was already instilled into Kathryn.

Their main service is installing and maintaining beehives on corporate campuses. This gives a place for honeybees to live in the spring and summer and drives curiosity and engagement from the employees. With the bees living alongside these companies, Bonner hopes to educate the corporate world about sustainability and caring for the environment. However, Bee Downton also offers year-round programs to satisfy employee curiosity. From Beekeeping Classes, Hive Tours, and even Honey Tastings and an Annual Honey Extraction Festival, they offer a wide variety of education and entertainment for anyone wanting to save the bees. They also partner with some of the biggest companies in America like Burt’s Bees, Delta, and Chick-fil-A. The director of sustainable business at Burt’s Bees even said, “We love what Bee Downtown is doing. We appreciate the partnership and are impressed with the professionalism and customer service of all BDT team members! Every spring, we are so glad to have busy bees again. There’s an entirely different energy in the office when they’re here!”

Overall, Leigh-Kathryn Bonner is one of the true examples of an innovative entrepreneur. She combined a passion for beekeeping and a need for corporate sustainability and combined them to create a company with a wonderful idea at its core. Not only is it educational, but it’s also just plain fun! Maybe we should look into Bee Downtown and get a few beehives on campus as well!