In the last few years, kids and teens have set out to help inspire change in the world. Many of them have become entrepreneurs and businesswomen at very young ages. With high goals and lots of support, these young women have made a huge change around the world.
1. Mari Copeny
Also known as @littlemissflint on Twitter, this 11-year-old entrepreneur is trying to change the world starting right in her hometown. Since 2017, Copeny has been trying to raise awareness of the Flint Water Crisis. At 8 years old she wrote a letter addressed to President Obama asking him to come with the citizens of Flint, Michigan, to watch their governor testify before Congress about why they did not have clean water. Since then Copeny has been an outspoken activist for her community and advocated for change in Flint. Copeny has also raised money for free movie screenings in town, and free bicycle giveaways for the kids in Flint. She has raised and helped hand out over 700,00 water bottles to community members in Flint as of December 2018.
Cunningham says her passion for entrepreneurship started when she was just 9 years old. When her father refused to continue to buy her favorite lip balm, she was forced to get crafty and make her own. Less than a year later, her business Azariah’s Innocence was started. She began selling her products at local farmer’s markets. She started with just a few simple products: lip balms and body butter. Today she continues to grow her brand and has renamed it Zandra’s. Zandra’s products are natural and “yuck free”, and have gained a lot of traction and support online. Her brand is marketed as a natural bath and body for the educated and empowered girl on the move. In January 2019, she landed a partnership with Target, and her products will now be sold in many Target stores nationwide.
You may have heard of Me & the Bees Lemonade before, but did you know the product was developed by a four-year-old? Ulmer was just four years old when her parents encouraged her to make a product for a local children’s business fair. Her grandmother sent Ulmer a copy of her flaxseed lemonade recipe which she was planning on using in the fair. However, the same week, she was stung by a bee twice and became fascinated with them and when she learned they were in danger, she made it her goal to help their endangered status. She made her flaxseed lemonade and began sweetening it with locally sourced honey. She donates a portion of her profits to organizations who are fighting to save the honeybees. Now her brand is hugely successful and even sold at Whole Foods, and Ulmer is only 14 years old.
4. Alina Morse
At seven years old, Alina asked her father her famous question of “Why can’t we make a lollipop that’s actually good for your teeth?” Morse and her father set out to make vegan, healthy and teeth-friendly candy for kids all across America to enjoy. After over one hundred trials, they finally had their Zollipops, healthy candy children could actually enjoy. They replaced the sugar for healthier alternatives that actually lessened plaque and bacterial build up. Since the product’s launch, Zollipops have been hugely successful. They even developed other healthy candy for children including Zollidrops and Zaffi Taffi. The candy has even done quite a few stints on the top of the Amazon best sellers list. Now Morse’s sweets are sold all across America in stores such as Target, Walmart and Kroger; and she’s not even old enough to drive.
At 12 years old Bella Tipping created the website kidzcationz, a site where kids can rate hotels and restaurants based on how well they actually accommodate youth needs and wants. Tipping was inspired by one bad experience at a hotel and was frustrated she had nowhere to actually vocalize her opinion and thoughts on her experience. When kids open the site, they can actually review restaurants and hotels. They can also see and search for venues and view what the ratings other kids gave it was. The website also allows people to go right to Expedia and actually book and plan vacations. This website has given kids a platform and a voice in their family vacations. Tipping hopes that one day, hotels and venues will treat kids with the same respect as adults and that they will put as much effort into making their experience as enjoyable as they do for adults. Tipping hopes her site will encourage venues to be more kid-friendly.