Ranting thoughts...

Dot-com bubble burst. Low employment rate. Stock market downturns. Government budget cuts. So what is the solution to this volatile economy? Start your own company!!! More and more people, like myself, are starting their own companies. Myself and two other co-founders started Inkup, The University of Maryland’s FIRST printer ink refilling service. Here are a couple success stories I’ve found:

Hannah Altman, CEO of CoolZips. A 10-year old who overheard her mom talking about making a cool zipper pull, using beads & charms, for her husband’s sweater to make it look a little more fun. So Hannah said, “Let’s turn it into a business!” and CoolZips was born. Since then, CoolZips expanded to other items: Japanese erasers, T-shirts, watches, fun figurines, and much more!

Hart Main, creator & CEO of Man Can. The 13-year old came up with the idea after helping her sister make scented candles for school. He hated the girly smell of it and found a niche in the market, scented candles for men. He donates soups to the Soup Kitchen and Lima, and then uses the empty cans to pour his special scented candles in.

Nia Froome, founder of Mamma Nia’s Vegan Bakery. The 17-year old started her company after winning the business plan competition with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. She provides customers in the New York City area with delicious, organic, and healthy vegan baked goods. Additionally, she is using a company, Squarespace, that was started here at UMD campus to develop and host her website!!!

Although many start-up companies fail within the first five years, it is aspirational to see these young entrepreneurs take a chance and not let anything prevent them from succeeding. One of the many ways to turn the current economic situations around is to start up small businesses and create the jobs we need.

Here are some more of the Top 25 Young Entrepreneurs Success Stories. And also check out Meet the New Young Millionaires for those that have made it.