Beyond the Lemonade Stand: 7 Kid Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets of Success
Beyond the Lemonade Stand: 7 Kid Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets of Success
When talking about kids running businesses, most people think of lemonade stands, delivering newspapers, mowing neighborhood lawns or babysitting. While those are still very common for many, kids today are taking entrepreneurship to a whole new level by creating products and businesses that are literally changing the world.
Kids today are savvy. Being more connected (thanks to the internet) and having access to more information than any other generation certainly gives them a huge advantage to not only create and develop business ideas, but to reach more of their target audience. But regardless of connection, the final success comes down to a solid business product or idea – and that comes from pure innovation and creativity.
In this article we are going to introduce you to seven amazing kid entrepreneurs who have all taken a solid business product or idea to create a successful business. Despite their ages, these entrepreneurs showcase the smarts and hustle that it takes to succeed in business.
Savannah Maddison, Founder and CEO
Savannah’s Soldiers
In 2011, when Savannah Maddison was just 10 years old, her best friend’s dad was deployed to Afghanistan. At the time, she didn’t understand what deployment was and after learning about it she just couldn’t imagine having a parent go away for that long.
“My friend and I were really, really close and I wanted to do something.” Savannah tells us. So she gathered all the kids in the neighborhood to write letters to the entire battalion – close to 700 soldiers. And that was the start of Savannah’s Soldiers.
Today the organization, which was just given 501(c)3 status continues to write letters to deployed soldiers. To date, they’ve sent nearly 100,000 letters to troops stationed overseas.
The businesses newest challenge is pursuing corporate sponsorships so that they can keep moving forward with their goal: To keep writing tosoldiers until all of them come home. They’ve already developed partnerships with some pretty impressive high-profile organizations and professional sports teams, including the Miami Heat, Miami Marlins, Florida Panthers, World Golf Championships, Professional Bull Riders, Boston Red Sox, the Navy SEALs-led Battlefrog Obstacle Race Series and Walmart.
Savannah’s advice to other kid entrepreneurs:
“When I speak to students, I always let them know that they are not too young to make a difference. Your age shouldn’t matter when you set out to accomplish something.”