By Ashley Benkarski
MURFREESBORO, TN — Five young entrepreneurs featured their products and introduced themselves to the community at the Technology Engagement Center Oct. 28.
The Kid CEO Meet and Treat presented the public with an opportunity to get to know these unique and inspiring entrepreneurs, all of whom are girls of color under 14 years old.
Kierra Perkins, 13, has been featured in many news reports since her business started
taking off. She said she started her candle-making business after receiving many positive responses online about the milk and cookie scented candle she made for Father’s Day. “It has given me a boost in my confidence,” she said of her business. “I’m able to speak in front of crowds and give motivational speeches. It helps me a lot in school on math and my English language arts.” She added a fresh-cut Christmas tree scent to her inventory for the upcoming holiday season. She hopes to expand her brand and see it in major stores or own her own store in the future, she said.
Seven-year-old Jhamaya Bradley of Bows with G.O.A.L.S. offers double-snap bows that
stay in place even when you have a younger sibling that likes to pull on hair, she said. For Jhamaya all it took to get started was simply being asked if selling bows was something she’d like to do, to which she replied with an enthusiastic “yes,” she said. She offers her adorable bows in packs of five in varying sizes and colors.
For nine-year-old Erin Buchanan it was her need for soaps and perfumes without irritating chemicals that started her journey into entrepreneurship. She creates body butters with all-natural ingredients like shea butter and sweet almond oil that smell great but don’t irritate your skin, she said, and her body scrubs are made with sugar so skin won’t dry out. “I’ve been doing pretty well in my business,” she said of her entrepreneurial foray thus far. The Kid CEO event was her second.
Jada Scott, 11, is an author and has been writing since she was seven, she said. Her book, Talking Planets, was an endeavor to create a fun and simple way to share her love of
astronomy. The book centers on planets who talk to each other because they can’t go to sleep at night. “I always liked science,” she said of her inspiration. “I started learning in third grade about planets and it really interested me, especially the moon and all the phases.” She said she hoped her book was an inspiration to other authors. “It can be as simple as you want, it can be as complex as you want. If you ever want to write a book, it’s just all about what you want,” she added.
Inspiration for others was also a driving force for nine-year-old Ta’Liyah Franklin, CEO of Liyah’s Lips. “I wanted to inspire other girls to love themselves,” she said. Her products are
cruelty- and dye-free lip gloss and nail polish, mindful alternatives to beauty products found in chain stores. In addition to flavors like bubble gum and pumpkin pie, she’s also rolled out a peppermint gloss in festive candy cane and Christmas bulb containers that make great stocking stuffers.
The young CEOs will also be featured at Rutherford County Black Business Network’s Fall Business Showcase along with other vendors Nov. 30 at Patterson Park’s gymnasium for Small Business Saturday. Kinyah Bean, 10-year-old author and CEO of B Chill Lemonade will also be in attendance from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information on the upcoming RCBBN showcase and to register to attend, visit www.modernoire.com.
