Amanda Thomas is a young entrepreneur who turned her dreams into a reality. In 2005, at the ripe age of 16, she created her own jewelry line called, “Luv Aj”. Jewelry had always been a passion for Amanda. During her teen years, she would return home from school each day and create new designs. One day, she saw an opportunity to turn her after school hobby into a business. By utilizing digital sites like Shopify and Instagram, Thomas was able to not only sell her creations, but also find creative ways to market them.

The unique aspect of Thomas’ business venture was how she capitalized on social media as a marketing tool even before the idea became popular. She was able to see the advantages of using social media as a vehicle to spread her message before most people were able to see them. This was due to her entrepreneurial mindset. Her open and creative mindset allowed her to identify problems before anyone else could and find solutions to those problems that ultimately benefited consumers. Thomas was able to use sites like Instagram to communicate with famous influencers who would then be able to share her products with their already established fan bases. A few of these celebrities included Beyoncé, Gigi Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski.

Through these well thought out and developed marketing tactics, Thomas was able to expand her jewelry business to boutiques across the nation. She was recently added to Forbes ’30 Under 30’ list at the age of 26.

The most inspiring part about Amanda Thomas’ story is the fact that she was bold enough to act on her idea. She easily could have created her own jewelry line and only have sold it to her friends and family, but she was bolder than that. She not only took the risk of creating a Shopify account, but she also took the risk of reaching out to celebrities. This tactic clearly paid off as her business took off and she created a jewelry empire.