Ryan Hickman is a young entrepreneur who hated it when people would litter, so him and his family started searching around for trash. Determined to make the earth cleaner, he even went around his neighborhood to collect trash and recyclables. He turned his love for cleaning up trash into a business which he titled Ryan’s Recycling Company, and he also designed t-shirts to rally up enough money to donate. Using all of his profits, he donated to a rescue organization called The Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which helped make the earth a cleaner, healthier place for everyone. Whenever anyone buys a shirt from his website, the proceeds go to save a seal. Ryan started all of this at age 3 and made his own business by age 7. He gathered a lot of attention for being so innovative at such a young age, and appeared in famous networks such as Ellen, and Today. His overall goal is to make it so that recyclable containers don’t make their way to the gutters and out-to-sea where they can harm animals and the environment. Despite his young age, he still manages to run his business effectively with the help of his parents. Ryan’s unique and innovative execution of his business not only inspires others to take better care for the environment, but it saves the lives of animals and other living things.
The respect of the environment is overlooked by most older companies that exploit nonrenewable resources and spew trash and garbage all over for their business. Environment-friendly entrepreneurs like Ryan Hickman show that the future of business is working for the environment, not against it. Tying in marketable products like t-shirts to conservation efforts aids the environment but also makes the costumer want to buy the product more, therefore can be very successful.
I really do love this story, this is sweet. He is a particularly young boy with immaculate dreams. Having a story like this can spike lots of inspiration and emotional attraction from the public to help the awareness. I love how he is taking the proceeds and states that he is helping a particular animal even though in the grand scheme of things it helps many animals from the pollution. Does he have other products besides shirts that go toward his proceeds? How does he advertise the business? I think for their age he is starting life out with a purpose and is making it clear to the world that if a kid so small can tackle such a big problem so can an adult.
Though very young, Ryan sets an excellent example for how privatized efforts are superior to government involvement when it comes to the initiative of preserving the environment. The privatization financially rewards efforts and draws in more workers since people can make a living while also making difference. Businesses everywhere could take page out of Ryan’s book if they truly want to make a difference environmentally.
I think there is a misconception that entrepreneurs have to have a genius billion-dollar idea and be really smooth to be successful. This story disproves that notion. We’re talking about a child picking up trash in his neighborhood… Entrepreneurs nowadays can do almost anything and make money, as long as they have the right approach. Cool story.