Ashley Qualls is an American entrepreneur from Lincoln Park, Michigan. Originally as a hobby, in 2004 at age 14, she started a website called whateverlife.com, designed to provide free Myspace layouts and HTML tutorials for people in her age demographic, and supported entirely by advertising revenue. The basement of the home is her office. In addition to employing her mother, she employs friends from school. The website receives several times more traffic than circulations for popular teen magazines Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and CosmoGirl! combined.
Ashely has turned down numerous offers to acquire her company including an officer for 1.5 million dollars and her choice of any car. In September 2006 she paid cash for a $250,000 home in a fenced-off subdivision in the community of Southgate. She lives there with her mother Linda LaBreque and younger sister Shelby. On September 5, 2007, she obtained legal emancipation, giving her the same legal status as an adult. Ahley is worth $4 million
2.Catherine Cook
At 15, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave, 17, were flipping through their high school yearbook and came up with the idea to develop a free interactive version online. In 2005, the two convinced their older brother Geoff, a budding Web entrepreneur himself, to invest $250,000 and his time to help them launch MyYearbook.com, a social-networking site, based in Skillman, N.J.
By 2006, MyYearbook had raised $4.1 million from the likes of U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. That same year, Nielsen NetRatings ranked MyYearbook.com one of the top sites for kids between 12 and 17. Also in 2006, MyYearbook.com signed a contract with CliffsNotes to begin providing the study guide aids free for all members. The site's user base is over 90% American, with 75% of its new memberships from the United States and 25% from other countries. U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital are providing the $4.1 million in funding. The site is worth $10 million.
3. Jasmine Lawrence
It began with a bad hair day. The chemicals Jasmine used to relax her curls left her practically bald. She decided to create her own recipe, and tested it out on herself, her friends and family.
At an age when most kids are lucky getting summer jobs stacking shelves, Starting at only 13 years of age, Jasmine Lawrence, President and CEO of EDEN BodyWorks is on the road to successJasmine already has 30 products on the shelves.this young CEO is establishing distribution channels and negotiating prices with suppliers.
She's signed a distribution agreement with Wal-Mart and plans to take her brand worldwide. She projects profits of $1 million.
Jasmine spends little. Plows most of her profits back into the business. Eden Works World Headquarters is still in her basement.
4.Nancy Montano
Age- 22
Nancy Montano always dreamed of having her own business -- and so did her father, Conrad. When she graduated from University of California, Riverside, she partnered with Dad to launch Los Angeles Pumping, a hazardous-waste transporting company.
Since then, she has returned to school and will get a certificate in hazardous materials and waste management from California State University, Northridge, in December, 2005.
The company's biggest success, says Montano, was climbing out of debt this year. The company expects revenues to reach $150,000 this year. Montano's goal: To grow this family business as big as its million-dollar competitors.
Lesson learned:
"Nothing comes easy. Many times you want to give up because you think it's not going to work and there's so much competition. But eventually you see you're starting to get something out of it, and that motivates you."
5. Joanna Alberti
Age-24
www.sophiesphilosophies.com
With only a small-business loan to help her, Joanna Alberti has taken her folder of doodles and quotable quotes and turned it into a successful greeting-card business revolving around a fictional woman named Sophie. "She's a whimsical character who women can relate to," says Alberti, who left her full-time advertising job in October, 2004, to start the business.
She officially launched her company at the 2005 National Stationery Show in New York City, though she admits feeling intimidated by the likes of Hallmark and other greeting-card heavyweights. Alberti says that, on a good day, she can churn out about 500 cards, which retail in area boutiques for $4.50 to $5.25.
Like most young entrepreneurs, Alberti has plans to expand her operations. She hopes to license Sophie's trademark designs for use in a variety of paper products.
Lesson learned:
"If something doesn't feel right, then I just shouldn't do it. I follow my gut.
6.Sumaya Kazi
Age-24
Sumaya Kazi is the co-founder of theCulturalConnect.com, an online media publishing company with a collection of four interlocking Web sites and e-magazines aimed at spotlighting and connecting young minority professionals with each other and to the nonprofit world: The DesiConnect caters to South Asians, then there's The AsiaConnect, The MidEastConnect, and The LatinConnect. Each of the sites' content consists largely of profiles and interviews of young minority professionals who are working corporate and nonprofit jobs. The sites' most popular feature is "The ConnectionPoint," a tool that allows the reader to network with featured professionals. Next up? The AfricanaConnect, which will be launched in January, 2007.
The CulturalConnect's staff are all under 30 and work remotely, meaning there's no office overhead. Though she won't disclose revenues, Kazi says the site, which had more than 560,000 page views in September and spends no money on advertising, is profitable, relying mainly on banner advertising. And The CulturalConnect venture is just a spare-time gig for her. Kazi's also the youngest manager in her marketing department at Sun Microsystems.
7.Alexis Demoko
Age- 25
Looking to get her young son on the links with his grandfather, Demko stumbled upon an untapped market for children's golf apparel. A serial entrepreneur, she cashed in her college fund to launch Lil Bogies, an online store that sells custom-designed knickers, knee-length pants, suspenders, bow ties and hats to boutiques and golf courses. As of 2006 revenue - $100,000.
8. Ashley Reed, 21
ASR Clothing
Detroit
Reed started her business after classmates in high school commented on her custom-designed clothes and asked her to design pieces for them. She says that fashion design has always been her passion.
When her counterparts in the fashion industry learn Reed's age, she says they usually doubt the seriousness of her business. But that changes once they check out her line of streetwear hoodies, jeans, and T-shirts. Reed says she doesn't spend too much time worrying about her age, because she's busy running her business and majoring in retailing at Michigan State during the regular academic year and majoring in fashion merchandising and management at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the summer. Reed expects to complete both degrees in 2008.
Her five-employee business has been featured in newspapers and magazines, and most of its clients are high school or college students from the U.S. but she says recently it has received international orders. For now, she's investing in equipment that allows her to speed up production and is planning to expand when she graduates.
These girls are all so lucky, it goes to show age is just a number.... Go for it girls,ladies,women: it can definitely happen to anybody.Good luck, i hope you find this inspiring. I ll be back with more inspiring stories and guide to becoming a successful female entrepreneur.....see ya.
YOU HAVE THE POWER TO SUCCEED IF YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
No comments:
Post a Comment