Kids need a mentor — a parent, grandparent, or teacher — who is aware of their special abilities and strengths and can encourage them to explore them. Because when a kid follows their bliss, they might start bringing home some bucks.
Skyla Tuthill’s mom noticed her 7-year-old daughter’s creative streak emerge while they were making art projects together.
“She is very artistic and loves to experiment with all areas in art,” says Sue Tuthill, proudly.
In November 2013, Skyla, a budding entrepreneur from Ridgewood, Queens, opened her own Etsy shop, Loomtacular Creations (www.etsy.com/shop/Loomtacular), featuring her unique line of trendy, handcrafted jewelry.
In her Etsy profile, Skyla writes: “Welcome to my Rainbow Loom shop! I love to do Rainbow Loom as my hobby. I am saving up for an IPad. My manager is my brother Brodie; he is 5. He is a kind and fair manager. His hobby is playing Wii, and his favorite Wii game is ‘Harry Potter.’ Thank you for visiting my shop and supporting me :).”
Lovely Skyla makes colorful, official Rainbow Loom — winner of the Toy Industry Association’s 2014 Toy of the Year Award — bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces for children, adults, and American Girl Dolls. Even the family pet can wear one of Skyla’s Loomtacular dog collars.
“I use real Rainbow Loom rubber bands and a loom to make all of my creations,” she says.
When she’s not busy growing her business, the PS 113 second-grader says she likes playing basketball, hanging out with her brother, and playing with her dog. She also loves to read and write stories.
Doing most of her work from her bedroom studio, Skyla has been creating a variety of cool pieces for her shop, and she says friends and family love wearing her jewelry: butterfly, starburst, feather or fishtail bracelets, or flower and fishtail rings.
She says her mom inspires her, “because she is an art teacher, and I want to be creative like her.” Sue is also a multimedia artist, and sells custom paintings, posters, and picture frames in her Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/skyandbrodie1.
“But she didn’t teach me how to make my creations,” says Skyla, who learned by watching YouTube videos and reading books on looming.
So, what does mom think about her daughter’s business savvy?
“I’m extremely proud of her! When she first asked me to sell on Etsy, I didn’t think she would be old enough to manage her own shop. I decided to give it a try, since Skyla was constantly making these bracelets, all day long,” she says. “Since we opened her shop, she has managed every aspect, all on her own: she designed, created, communicated with buyers, and even mailed out all of her sales. The only thing I help her with is taking pictures and uploading them for her.”
Sue feels this has been a great experience, because it has taught Skyla responsibility, and how to set and accomplish goals in life. And Skyla’s dad Brian, a New York City firefighter, says he’s extremely proud of his little girl and knows she could accomplish anything she wants, as long as she works hard and tries her best.
Skyla says when she gets older, she would love to become a veterinarian and also design clothes for animals.
So far, Loomtacular Creations has made 18 sales on Etsy, and several elsewhere. Skyla’s new bracelet design, the Double Fish Tail, is featured in her shop, along with her special St. Patrick’s Day line. She also takes custom orders.
But she’s not the only youngster flexing her flair for business and creativity.
Business idea: ‘Flops’
At 8, Madison “Maddie” Robinson had started out with a cool idea, just like Skyla. She turned her love for swimming, fishing, and drawing into imaginative designs for flip flops in 2006, and before long, her popular company, Fish Flops, exploded onto the fashion scene. Recently, Macy’s and Nordstrom started carrying her line, which also features hats, T-shirts, and children’s books.
According to Forbes.com, the future business major from Texas, who is now 15, has been stashing away her profits for her college education. Her dad makes sure things are running smoothly until Madison becomes head honcho.
Success is locket-ed up
Isabella “Bella” Weems, 17, founded Origami Owl when she was just 14. According to a 2013 article on Forbes.com, the savvy Arizona teen had set her sights on a used car for her 16th birthday. After doing a lot of research, she came up with an exciting idea and decided to create and sell pretty lockets with charms. She was motivated by her parents’ suggestion to start her own business, so she could pay for the car.
Based on a direct sales business model, Origami Owl blossomed into a custom jewelry company, which offers independent associates — now totaling more than 50,000 — an opportunity to make extra money by selling items to friends and relatives, and at private, hostess-run house parties or other venues.
According to Forbes.com, Origami Owl generated $24 million in revenue in 2012, and was set to make $250 million in 2013! But Isabella can’t take over and call the shots until she graduates from college.
What makes these ordinary kids special is their moxie and drive. They’re getting real world business experience early on, and learning other important lessons, such as independence and the value of a dollar, that they can do anything they put their minds and hearts into, how to manage money (and that money isn’t everything), and how to communicate and deal effectively with people they meet along the way.
