Five years ago my sister was looking for a place to work out where she could bring her toddlers to. Currently living in greater Greensboro, North Carolina. At the time she was unable to find a place nearby to fit her needs. So she decided to take matters into her own hands and created her own workout group. Franchising off of the Fit4Mom program she created Fit4Mom Piedmont. A group that would meet regularly at varying locations to hold workouts. These workouts often implemented the kids in strollers or gave them a place to be dropped off while their moms would work out. My sister absolutely loved this business with all her heart and grew it to impact dozens of moms over the years. Over COVID she kept up the dedication and converted her basement into a home gym and would hold zoom workouts to make up for the lack of physical meetings. However, due to her kids outgrowing it she officially sold it a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully was able to sell it to one of her longtime members who she was sure would take great care of it. My sister and I love talking business together since our minds are quite similar. In that we both are good at seeing holes in the community around us and love finding ways to bring value and impact. She even helped me set up the legal side of my scooter business when I was getting started.
Archive for Women Entrepreneurs – Page 3
When Zandra Cunningham nine, her father wouldn’t let her buy more lip balm because of the harmful skin-damaging chemicals found in it. So Zandra made her own. Almost a year later, in 2010, Zandra launched a brand called Azariah’s Innocence, and at age 10, sold her own lip balm and body shea butter at the local farmer’s market.
As business grew and the brand expanded, Zandra renamed her brand to Zandra Beauty. Her brand still would sell lip balm made with natural ingrediants, but now she would sell more things than lip balm and shea butter, such as make up remover and face washes. As Zandra puts it, the brand motto is “No icky stuff!”
Now at age 21, Zandra has a net worth of $500,000. Her brand has expanded to making over 40 natural skincare products, all of which are not tested on animals. Not only did Zandra win awards such as the Etsy Open Call Golden PO, BE Teenpreneur of the year nominee (2016), and Small Business Administration Youth Entrepreneur of the year (2017), but she has also been featured on talk shows and other channels such as Nickelodeon.
A few words of advice Zandra has given are “be confident” and “networking is key.” The reason why Zandra’s story is inspirational is because of how young she was when she started her business, yet she wasn’t afraid of conquering the world with her skincare products. Zandra’s attitude is part of why she is such a successful entrepreneur. You can’t be afraid to change the world.
Destiny Snow is a very successful young entrepreneur who owns the business called SnowGlam collection. This is an online company that sells beauty products to women. One thing that stood out to me was how she handled the COVID situation regarding her business. Constantly being stuck at home made her realize that she needed to focus on growing her company. She did this by the help of a social media influencer named Ari Fletcher. She tagged her on her Instagram story, and Destiny instantly saw how big of an impact that had on her business. She said her phone started blowing up with orders as soon as Ari posted on her story and that was the spark her business needed. I thought this was a very clever of way of getting exposure. It was pretty much genius as it immediately reached her target marker which are primarily teenage girls who love to shop. Another thing that I found really impressive was the number of sales she had for her online business. It was an astounding amount of over one million dollars over the course of two years. If Destiny keeps working the way she is and utilizing social media, I think she still has more room for growth and expansion. The most inspiring part of this story was how she used COVID to help strive her business to where she is at today. Instead of letting the pandemic hold her business back, she optimized this as an opportunity to really focus on social media as her main way of connecting to her customers.
Through researching young entrepreneurs, I came across Adelle Archers. Archers is the CEO and co-founder of Eterneva. This start up company helps honor the lives of loved ones by turning their cremated ashes into diamonds. On top of being a CEO and co-founder at the age of twenty three, Archers has been featured on Shark Tank, was named the Consumer Startup of the Year in 2019, and was featured on Forbes coveted ’30 Under ’30 list. Archers also earned her MBA in Entrepreneurship from Acton School on Business. She was the valedictorian of her class, graduating at age twenty three. Archers idea for this product came to her when she lost her close friend to cancer. After their passing, she realized that there are not a lot of good options for memorials when you lose a loved one. That typical urns, caskets and funeral homes “fell uninspiring and morose.” She also came to the realization that ashes don’t last long and are often thrown out after a generation or two. Her company allows for loved ones ashes to be passed down from generation to generation and celebrate and remember their lives. The market for this business is very large and growing as 50% of the United States chooses cremation. Eterneva’s goal is to change the way that thinks about grieving and to create more lines of communication in times of loss. Eterneva has provided its customers with a to feel close to their loved ones that they other wise would not have.
Revelations Tee Co. Was founded by Grove City student Eleni Kasianides during her work for a business class. She wanted to find uplifting clothing that was faith-based, but not tacky. So often in the Christian market, there are bright colors and flowers with common verses taken out of context. Revelations Tee Co. strives to be unique, the subtle branding encourages questions. The hope for the line is that wearers will desire to be intentional with their faith, and share when asked in public. The first collection is scheduled to drop on Monday the 21st, entitled “Pleasant Words.”
Above all, Revelations aspires to glorify God in the choices we make. To share our faith and go boldly into the world with love. Revelations stands for more than just the book in the Bible. It also represents the constant eureka moments we have with God and the ability we have to share those moments with others.
The circle logo encompasses several Easter eggs, for those who know to look for them. The circle with an olive “branch” from John 15:5, and the “Book of Life” in Daniel 12:1. Even the three dots represent something bigger; the trinity. Symbolism is packed into every piece and special care is given to ensure theological accuracy.
As Christians, we are called to stand out. To live and act intentionally. Revelations hope to marry style and faith in its debut collection. The initial drop will include six original designs from Bible verses and worship songs. It will feature different styles and sizes to accommodate a variety of styles and preferences.
If you would like to check out a preview of their website, you can find all the details here.
While researching young entrepreneurs, I came across Jessica Atkins and her business Stylebook. Stylebook is an application that helps users manage their wardrobe. Atkins states that this business started as a hobby. Once Apple opened the App Store to individual developers, Atkins and her the boyfriend, now husband decided to create the app, not expecting it to turn into the business it is today. Atkins states that ” if you want to start you own technology business, you don’t have to take the traditional startup route.” This point from Atkins is encouraging to hear as an entrepreneurship student.
https://www.bustle.com/p/19-millennial-women-on-becoming-entrepreneurs-54744
Ekaterina Demenkova recently made it on the Twenty Under Twenty list, where she pitched her health tracking app, PODIL. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, and is the Founder and CEO of PODIL. This type of position comes with great responsibility, but Ekaterina was passionate about her innovative cause and became an established young entrepreneur that helps many people with her creation.
PODIL promotes wellness, and allows its users to meet their health and wellness goals through an AI. The AI assistant gives the user a list of steps specifically curated for them that helps make someone’s health goals attainable. It utilizes a communal platform where people can share their accomplishments with their friends and family, and compete in challenges together.
Ekaterina’s overall goal was to make health information and personal health tips more accessible, and her app does just that. Her mission is to help people develop healthy habits, and grow easily, and PODIL uses technology to her advantage in doing so.
She is a perfect example of an innovative, young entrepreneur, especially considered what she has accomplished at such a young age. She revolutionized a new way to receive accurate, efficient, and reliable health information and advice so that people can make positive and healthy changes in their lives.
Rachel Zietz was a 13-year-old entrepreneur on shark tank, pitching Gladiator Lacrosse. Rachel found a problem with lacrosse equipment, specifically rebounders, which could not withstand rough weather conditions. Rachel developed the “All Ball Pro” which is a rebounder that can be used in any condition, due to better materials being used in manufacturing. The All Ball Pro retails for $899.99, coming with a warranty. Rachel has also expanded into other products, such as lacrosse balls that do not wear down, and stick tape. Gladiator Lacrosse has become revolutionary in the development of sturdy lacrosse equipment, as there is a high demand for long-lasting lacrosse products.
Rachel saw an opportunity for growth in that the sport of lacrosse is growing, and in many of the areas where lacrosse is played, weather conditions are harsh leading to the wear of equipment. Rachel created value in her product by manufacturing innovation.
Twelve Oaks Boutique is a small little boutique in my hometown in Wapakoneta, Ohio. This little shop was started by two women who were originally teachers but were inspired to start their own boutique. They already had an occupation, but they saw a need in my small town for a cute little boutique where women can get cute clothing apparel. Many teachers want cute and practical outfits to wear to school, and because they were teachers, they knew firsthand what women and teachers like to wear. They are unique because they did not have any background knowledge on how to start a business, they researched what they needed to do and took action. What drives them is to bring joy into people’s lives through these clothes and you can tell they care about every customer. Their business is interesting because they are very small, but they also have a website where you can order the clothes online and then either have them delivered to your house or pick up in the store. They demonstrate the drive of entrepreneurship because they are self-driven, and they are always trying new things and trends. They are innovating through buying and reselling clothes and other products for a more expensive price, but it is more convenient because customers are able to purchase online and try items on in the store.
Morgan Swank may be young, but she is experienced as any veteran producer in the business. Morgan Swank is the CEO of “Moonscar Productions”. You may have not heard of her but you’ve heard of what she has worked on. She has worked on projects like “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”, and “Saturday Night Live”. Morgan is also an Emmy-winning television writer and has worked on Broadway Video productions.
Most people see Entrepreneurs as business people, but Morgan breaks that mold. Coming out of college, she joined the entertainment industry working on small projects as an employee. Morgan began to see obvious pay gaps and racial, sexual and religious bias in Hollywood, and decided to begin her own production company that would highlight these issues. Majority of the employees at Moonscar are Women, and LGBTQ+ people. Her films work to highlight racial, gender and sexual biases and highlight the people within these under-represented groups.
Morgan runs a very risky business. What she is doing is extremely different from what any major production company is willing to do. Her plan is not what the status-quo would accept and that means her success is up in the air. She could pick up eyes and gain a lot of traction, or fail horribly and that is one of the issues of the production industry. What gets the money is trends and flashy productions. Going out of the “norm” can be risky but Morgan is willing to risk her success to highlight under-represented groups.
Morgan has created something very special and isn’t trying to go AGAINST major production companies. Instead she is creating something totally new, and has found incredible success through that. She is currently working on 3 music videos, 2 short animations and one feature for Sundance Labs. Through her risk, she found major reward and traction in the industry.