How to Get Rich

Four kids are now worth thousands thanks to the characteristics that helped them immensely on their journeys to success as child entrepreneurs. Moziah Bridges started with nothing but an idea and his grandma for a teacher, and now he’s worth over 1.5 Million dollars! Noa Mintz just wanted a good nanny, and now over 190 people in the tri-state area alone rely on her for access to great childcare! Isabella Taylor simply loved fashion and art, and then she became the youngest designer to sell clothing in Nordstrom! Mikaila Ulmer just needed a love for bees and her grandmother’s lemonade recipe to strike a $60 thousand dollar deal on Shark Tank! These four kids may have different businesses and journeys, but they all exhibit traits that could be the key to thriving as an entrepreneur. These successful child entrepreneurs all used similar traits to achieve their goals.

Many factors led to Moziah Bridges’s success with his company, Mo’s Bows. In 2011, at the age of nine, Moziah Bridges was trying to pick out the perfect bowtie for a party, but nothing seemed to match his style or personality. This sparked an idea: unique bow ties for unique people! His grandmother taught him to sew, and Mo’s Bows was born in Memphis, Tennessee! Moziah’s small business grew into a national brand, being featured on many famous magazines such as O: The Oprah Magazine, Time’s 30 Most Influential Teens, and more! Mo also made appearances on major television shows, including Shark Tank, where he did not score the deal, but did score investor and successful businessman, Daymond John, as a mentor! With the exposure and help, Mo’s Bows spread to stores all over the United States! Today, Moziah is seventeen years old and his bowtie business is worth over $700,000! According to him, he succeeded by achieving step by step goals one at a time and following his “BOWS of Business”: B- Believe in yourself. O- Take the Opportunity to give back. W- Work hard and study hard. S- Support from friends and family goes a long way (Mo's Bows). Similar to Moziah Bridges and Mo’s Bows, Noa Mintz also started her own business with the desire to help others and fix a problem in her community.

Many variables played a big part in Noa Mintz’s success as a child entrepreneur. Noa Mintz was just twelve years old when she founded Nannies by Noa in Manhattan, New York, after she and her mom struggled to find the right nanny for their family. Noa turned her knack for matchmaking and her desire for a fun, perfect nanny into a website, where she “matches” qualified, safe nannies with families. Soon after, Noa could be seen on national television talking about her journey as an entrepreneur with Nannies by Noa. She was on the NBC Today Show, Fox Business’s “Money with Melissa Francis”, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and more! She was also featured in Time Magazine, The New York Post, Forbes, Fortune’s “18 Under 18” List, Crain’s New York Business “20 Under 20” List, and more, even winning the Next Gen Humanitarian Award. Now, Noa Mintz has expanded her services across the tri-state area and now has the help of experienced nanny, caregiver, consultant, and household manger, Joanne Barrow (nanniesbynoa.com). Like Noa Mintz, Isabella Taylor used passion to inspire a business.

Isabella Taylor’s fashion line succeeded thanks to many different elements. Isabella Taylor loved art and designing her whole life, so she turned her passion into a business. She started painting at the age of three, selling her paintings at the age of eight in Dallas, Texas. Not long after, Isabella started a young women’s contemporary clothing line. Isabella’s business grew rapidly, helping her expand and build relationships with other successful brands. She worked with DELL to present a collection at New York Fashion Week, designed interior decor and furniture in a collaboration with Pottery Barn Teen, and, at the age of twelve, became the youngest designer to ever sell in Nordstrom! Isabella was also featured in many magazines, such as the Forbes, Entrepreneur, WWD, Elle, Teen Vogue and Seventeen Magazines. She was also on many national television shows, like Katie Couric, Steve Harvey and news shows on FOX, MSNBC, and CBS. Isabella was also selected as one of Latina Magazine's “30 under 30.” Today, Isabella Taylor is 21 and in college, studying not only art and fashion, but also business, marketing, and branding to further improve her skills as an entrepreneur (Isabella Rose Taylor). Isabella Taylor started a successful business at a young age, just like Mikaila Ulmer.

Mikaila Ulmer’s lemonade was highly successful for numerous reasons. Mikaila Ulmer started Me & The Bees Lemonade after being stung by bees twice in one week when she was four years old in Texas. After being stung, she became fascinated with bees and learned about the troubles they were facing as a species. Mikaila wanted to help, so she used her grandmother’s flaxseed lemonade, adding honey as a special twist, and her business was born! Mikaila appeared on many television shows, such as Shark Tank, where she struck a deal with “shark” Daymond John for $60,000! She was also featured in Time Magazine, Austin Woman Magazine, and more, being selected as one of Time’s 30 Most Influential Teens in 2017. Now, Mikaila Ulmer is 17 and her grandma’s lemonade recipe has made her over 11 Million dollars! Her slogan is, “Buy a bottle, save a bee,” and she has been able to save over 1 Million bees (meandthebees.com)! Mikaila Ulmer and her journey to greatness is a perfect example of how to make it as a child entrepreneur.

Many common traits can be found in these four child entrepreneurs. The eight most important traits for a successful entrepreneur are strong leadership skills, self-motivating, ethical or having good integrity, being okay with some failure, innovative, competitive, having a strong peer network with good relationships, and being able to “know what you don’t know” (archive.mbda.gov). The four children entrepreneurs discussed each displayed some of these qualities. Moziah Bridges is a leader, having started a business on his own with little help and still running it today. He is also self-motivated, striving to set and achieve goals one step at a time, and he has strong relationships and tries to know what he doesn’t, as stated in the W and S of his “BOWS of Business” and in, for example, his mentorship with Daymond John (Mo's Bows). Noa Mintz is ethical, wanting to provide the right nannies for families, has strong relationships, working with Joanne Barrow, and is innovative, coming up with a “dating site” for nannies and families (nanniesbynoa.com). Isabella Taylor is a leader, running her own brand since she was a child, self-motivated, using her passion for art and fashion as drive, and competitive, being so successful at such a young age and the youngest designer in Nordstrom (Isabella Rose Taylor). Finally, Mikaila Ulmer is self-motivated, also using her passion to fuel her, ethical, on a mission to save bees, tries to know what she doesn’t know by researching, and has strong relationships, such as with her shark, Daymond John (meandthebees.com). Simply exhibiting some of these qualities provided these kids with the tools they needed to achieve their goals as business owners.

A few simple traits could lead to success as a child entrepreneur. Moziah Bridges, Noa Mintz, Isabella Taylor, and Mikaila Ulmer each took unique paths to success in the world of entrepreneurship. However, they each displayed similar characteristics, such as strong leadership skills, good integrity, and having strong relationships, that assisted them on their journeys. The common traits used greatly benefitted these young entrepreneurs, and can help guide anyone else with dreams of success!