2008 US Winners

LaJoya Anderson
Creative Memories Miami Gardens, FL
Age: 18
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $200

At first, it was personal. LaJoya Anderson started designing envelopes, calendars and bookmarks to give at birthday parties because she didn’t want her gifts to look like everybody else’s. At the same time, LaJoya was learning the mechanics of running a business at school and as an active member of Future Business Leaders of America. She soon realized that it would not be difficult to combine her interest in owning a business with her passion for creating beautiful paper goods--and Creative Memories was born.

Right now, most of her customers come to Creative Memories through her church community, family, friends or NFTE business expositions. Her customers provide her with personal pictures and she uses different computer software programs to create something beautiful and memorable. She is interested in expanding her business to include more products and eventually opening a store. Although she loves the freedom of creating paper goods, LaJoya is also interested in selling clothes and one day, designing her own line. Being an active member of her community is essential to LaJoya and she would like her contribution to be something beautiful and creative.

Raymond Black
Christian Lawn Care
Baltimore, MD
Age: 19
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $850

Being an active member in his community gives Raymond Black a competitive edge. His customers know him and trust in his character by seeing him at church and around the neighborhood. Raymond loves the concept of Christian Lawn Care because he is not only providing a service for people in his community but he is making his neighborhood a more beautiful place to live. Raymond gladly negotiates his prices for people on low or fixed incomes so that everyone can have access to Christian Lawn Care services like lawn mowing, pruning and leaf removal. This summer he plans on expanding into garden landscaping by first experimenting in his own yard and then offering his services to others.

Lawn care is not Raymond’s only skill. He has also expanded into the homemade chocolate business. After attending a few business plan competitions where he saw several plans for chocolate businesses--and having watched his mom making chocolate when he was younger--he decided this second business was something he could easily promote on the side. He has expanded his business from five different molds to over 100 and uses different colors and types of chocolate to make his treats stand apart from others. Selling mostly at school and church, he enjoys the creative side of making colorful chocolate candies. He employs a few of his friends who are charged with drumming up special orders for chocolates. Raymond pays them 25 per cent of the order total but by buying bulk chocolate, he still makes a decent profit. Coming up with new ideas is not a problem for Raymond and he is eager to build a diversified business portfolio.

Fred Boykin
Images by Fred
Baltimore, MD
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $ 5,518

He has the hands for art and a head for business. Put that together and the result is a robust business called Images by Fred. At school and at an after-school program at the Baltimore School for the Arts, Fred was constantly drawing pictures and portraits of people. Eventually, he started charging because people insisted on paying to show their appreciation for his work. A NFTE class at school helped him direct his efforts and develop Images By Fred, an online business for promoting Fred’s graphic designs for T-shirts, hats and bags. Customers can choose an animated or urban design hand-drawn by Fred—and order a customized t-shirt or bag. The production and delivery is then outsourced to another company. The online presence helps Fred garner feedback from his customers and make even better designs based on their comments.

Graphic design is a career goal for Fred but he would like to also branch out into a clothing and art supply line. Most importantly however he wants to start a youth program for kids in Baltimore. Unsure where he would be without the mentoring and support he has received, he is eager to ensure other young people have similar opportunities to realize their potential.

Shelby Burford
Shelby Burford Design
Manhattan, KS
Age: 19
Nominated by: FyeBye Magazine
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $2,986

Now a freshman at Kansas State University, Shelby’s entrepreneurial instincts kicked in at a young age while setting up lemonade stands in his neighborhood. Even then he demonstrated a love of marketing; his favorite part of these early ventures was learning how to attract the most customers possible. His next big idea was making and selling greeting cards at local stores. As his interest and understanding of computers increased, graphic design seemed to be the logical next step. After purchasing a computer with birthday money and savings, he launched Shelby Burford Design, working only for family members at first. As word of his high quality design spread, his client base began to steadily increase.

Shelby believes his young age had both benefits and draw-backs. It was helpful because it set him apart from his competitors, but on the flip side clients expected to pay less for his work because of his limited experience. As his portfolio has grown, clients have become more comfortable paying market rates.

A particular thrill for Shelby is that his business is one that knows no geographical boundaries, as much of it is online. This has enabled him to work with clients in 19 states and a Fortune 500 corporation. Working with mostly start-ups has been especially fulfilling for Shelby and he plans to continue his focus on small business development and consulting when he leaves college. While he may work in a corporate job right after school to gain some experience he ultimately sees himself running and owning his own business; after all, that’s what he’s always done.

Cassandra Callazo
Les Dames de Chocolat
Miami, FL
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $2,700

Although at first Cassandra’s favorite part of working at Les Dames de Chocolat was making the chocolates, she naturally fell into the role of chief financial officer. She enjoys the task of ensuring that everybody gets paid equal amounts and they have money in their account to cover all costs. She also enjoys the opportunity to work with her father, who once owned his own cafeteria-style restaurant, to find the freshest and most economical wholesaler for chocolate or fruits. For example, after working with a couple of strawberry wholesalers, Cassandra found a farm where they can pick their own berries so their treats are as fresh as possible. They purchased so many strawberries from the farm that they were able to negotiate a lower price.

Cassandra believes that two reasons they are so successful are their attention to quality and freshness and their willingness to cater to their customers’ needs. While they usually use vegan chocolate because it is healthy, tasty and cheap, they are able to accommodate special requests such as using kosher chocolate or the very popular dark chocolate. And their chocolate fountain is a huge hit at parties. Les Dames de Chocolat focuses on finding a way to make something irresistible even more alluring by promising a fun experience, meeting the needs of clients and creating the best product possible.

Rose Dionicio
Charming Décor
Queens, NY
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $174

It was only a matter of time before the right business idea found Rose. She started her entrepreneurial career early by selling candy out of her locker at school. She kept an inventory and strategically priced her items but the janitors complained about all the litter -- and she was forced to cut back on sales. After attending a NFTE camp however, she realized that candy sales were just scratching the surface. A much more scalable idea was to help her mom, a Mary Kay consultant, make her products look more attractive by gift wrapping the products. Using tissue, boxes and bags she purchased at the dollar store, Rose created Charming Décor.

While Rose has now expanded her customer base beyond her mom to other Mary Kay consultants, her biggest thrill is seeing how Charming Décor services can improve the businesses of others. At a recent NFTE expo, several small businesses asked her to gift-wrap their items to make them stand out. Rose was proud to help so many others sell more. She is also excited to help personal clients who are too busy during the holiday season to wrap their own presents and to assist brides in presenting their wedding favors in a beautiful way. Even though she enjoyed selling candy, with Charming Décor, Rose feels business success is sweeter.


Allyson Figuero
An Investment for the Future
Mt. Vernon, NY
Age: 18
Nominated by: Cristo Rey High School
2007 Fiscal Revenues: $10,000

It runs in the family. Allyson’s mother owned a beauty salon and it was natural that she encouraged Allyson to start her own company. Saving money one summer by doing any job she could find, Allyson was able to buy wholesale candy which she sold in her neighborhood. She quickly expanded the business to employ neighborhood kids to sell her candy at malls and purchased a vending machine. Next year she expects her business to have revenues of $15,000.

Though she misses being able to relax with friends worry-free, the budding toffee tycoon appreciates all the opportunities her success has granted her. Growing up surrounded by poverty and now working as an intern at a Fortune 500 company, Allyson has experienced the spectrum and motivates her to succeed. As a semi-finalist for a National Federation of Independent Business young entrepreneur scholarship and a finalist of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, Allyson is proud of herself and knows that all her hard work will pay off in the future when she opens even more successful businesses.

Dalila Flores
Les Dames de Chocolat
Miami, FL
Age: 16
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $2,700

Dalila is in charge of marketing and production for Les Dames de Chocolat, a maker of chocolate treats, and is very happy that she is able to work on the creative side of the company. Her favorite part of the job is working with customers and finding the best way to meet their needs. Every request for an item or a new idea requires research and planning. Hoping one day to obtain her degree in culinary arts and marketing and then open her own restaurant or chocolate shop, Dalila loves learning about unique chocolate combinations and different types of international chocolate.

Having been raised in a business-oriented family where her father is also an entrepreneur, Dalila has learned the importance of refusing to quit in times of difficulty. She is proud that there are many young people in her school who look up to her and her co-CEOs. She believes Les Dames de Chocolat serves as proof that young people can succeed at owning their own business--even if they have to ask their parents for rides to catering jobs!

Tiffany Fuentes
Les Dames de Chocolat
Miami, FL
Age: 18
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $2,700

It’s one thing to be a sole proprietor, it’s quite another to incorporate a partnership. Yet, it was not surprising when sophomore year at her school’s entrepreneur expo, Tiffany collaborated with her friends Cassandra Collazo and Dalila Flores to create a chocolate-dipping business. They chose chocolate as their product after completing market research at their school (top finding: chocolate is popular) but they wanted to develop a healthy product as well that incorporated fruit. Of all the businesses at the expo, what set their business apart was that Tiffany and her team made their own product instead of reselling already produced items. After the expo, they decided to keep their business running. With help from NFTE, they renamed themselves Les Dames de Chocolat, developed a solid business plan and started marketing their services through flyers and other events. Now they are asked to cater about 12 events a year all over the city plus they are involved in charity events and fill orders for individuals.

Tiffany enjoys the independence she has in running her own business but also loves the creativity. Her favorite part of the business is being able to meet the needs of the client either by giving a demonstration of chocolate dipping at a party or decorating chocolate covered cookies to match the theme of the party. Though she is the leader in Les Dames de Chocolat, she thinks the reason their business has been such a success is because the three partners equally share the work and have a great time working together. They hope to continue their success by developing a website where people can order treats and one day very soon, open their own store.

Tenzin Gaphell
Bodega Treats
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $1,000

Growing up in India, Tenzin Gaphell decided early that the quickest path to independence was running your own business--but was not quite sure how to start. When he moved to New York and his new school offered an entrepreneurship class, he seized the opportunity. Realizing that a lot of business ideas he came up with were too large in scope, Tenzin thought it might be best to start small and get a good understanding of business first, so he could eventually run something bigger. Tenzin set up Bodega Treats based on market surveys on the food Millennium High School students were interested in purchasing.

Little did he know how much his fellow students loathed the school’s cafeteria—and how even smart, small business ideas lead to big success! With a good mix of cheesecake, vitamin water, soda and chips, Bodega Treats sets up a small booth outside the school cafeteria three times a week and sells about 100 units a day. Each unit consists of a drink and a food item or two. He gets the inventory from local bakeries as well as wholesalers like BJ’s and Costco. As his school is located in the Financial District of New York, it is easy to make a profit by pricing items below the inflated prices of their location. There is no great need for advertising since Bodega Treats’ location makes it visible to the entire school, but Tenzin is smart enough to invest in marketing: he hands out samples and tries to drum up business by promising to donate 5 per cent of the proceeds to the senior class trip!

Gabrielle Green
Longevi-Teas
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 16
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $800

The amount of money people spend for a Starbucks coffee made Gabrielle think that maybe they would be willing to spend that much for her tea. As an avid tea drinker who loves the experience of brewing a hot cup for herself, Gabrielle believes that people would benefit from taking a moment out of their day to enjoy a cup of tea. Marketing her custom blended Longevi-Teas at yoga centers and stores with a natural focus, Gabrielle’s long-term goal is to have her tea served at high teas in hotels and be available at large food stores. Ordering whole tea leaves from a wholesaler who imports the tea, Gabrielle has a list of 50 different tea blends with additional flavors that people can add in. She chooses not to blend the add-ins herself, leaving them in a separate bag so the customer can choose how much or how little to add.

She has enjoyed the success she has earned with Longevi-Teas, winning three separate awards at a Goldman Sachs Foundation competition, and would like to continue running her own business, perhaps branching out into jewelry or even becoming a doctor. This experience though has taught her a great deal about success and independence, and most importantly it has allowed her to drink more tea. Her favorite: English breakfast with chamomile.

Hezakiah Griggs III.
HG3 Media
Passaic, NJ
Age: 20
Nominated by: Merrill Lynch
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $393,000

For a serial entrepreneur at such a young age, Hezekiah attributes much of his success to happenstance. The reality is he never lets an opportunity pass him by. At nine years old, he was offered $15 by his grandfather for a videotape that he had shot of a church sermon. Realizing that this was a pretty lucrative deal and that he could probably sell the same tape to other people, he started advertising his services. He has never looked back.

Already the owner of five companies and on the board of five others, Hezekiah’s greatest concern is staying relevant. He founded his first company in 1999 and as his interests have evolved, he has opened new businesses and shaped them all to keep him interested and meet the needs of his audience. His largest company is HG3 Media, a consulting company that focuses on demographic research in teen marketing to help companies better attract a teen audience.

While owning and running businesses is clearly a passion for Hezekiah, the most rewarding piece of what he does is the ability to help people and be of service to his community. He is able to do this in a very direct way through his motivational speaking. His goal is to do something good for his community and have a positive influence, “I just want to wake up with a good feeling in my mind and a smile on my face.”

Hui Qiang He
YouShine
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $1,000

Globalization and entrepreneurship came early to Hui. During his senior year in high school, his economics teacher required that all students in the class start a business. Inspired by a relative’s jewelry wholesale business in China, Hui started importing gold jewelry and selling to the girls in his school. Now that he is in college he is able to sell his jewelry to a larger market. Always looking to expand his audience, he sells his items at a local bus stop. He would like to keep his business going as long as possible, so increasing his customer base as well as the quality of his items will be essential. Currently earning a degree in business administration, Hui looks forward to putting theory into practice. The challenge he looks forward to the most: managing a team of people one day.


Jason Holliday
Yellow Leaf
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 17
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $150

Every thing about Jason’s business—a teen magazine--is thoughtful. Consider the name first: Jason chose Yellow Leaf, because leaves constantly morph as the seasons change, much like the likes and dislikes of his teenage target audience. Interested in entertainment and media, Jason wanted to create a product that teens could relate to. As his high school didn’t have a newspaper he felt students would enjoy being able to read articles their peers had written about things that interest them.

Though his primary readership is his own high school, he also distributes his magazine to area stores, providing access for teens from other schools. Jason deliberately distributes Yellow Leaf for free. It’s part of his business model to build circulation to attract advertisers, and it’s part of his philosophy to make the product available to teens that do not have a lot of money.

Jason plans to take his magazine national one day. He encourages his writers (who he recruits at his high school and a local college) to focus on topics they find personally interesting because he feels that if you are writing about something you are interested in, it will be a better article. Providing a positive publication for teens in his neighborhood is what inspires Jason to continue and no matter what happens with Yellow Leaf, he hopes to always be able to tell a positive story through what he does.

James Hubbard
Society Brand/Guilty Conscience
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 18
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $400

“The Definition of Success: Hard Work, Determined, Motivated” It’s not only a saying that James uses on his t-shirt designs, it’s his life motto. Success is an ideal that James strives for but he wants his success to come from making a difference in the world. James created Society Brand/Guilty Conscience as a clothing line for young adults and teenagers who are committed to being an active, positive part of society.

James is still able to use the facilities in his old high school to create t-shirts employing two different methods: heat transfer and silk screening. He does most of the work himself though he collaborates sometimes with other friends on designs. He gets frustrated sometimes when he wants to make 400 or 500 t-shirts but supplies and time constraints limit him to a smaller batch. He looks forward to a time when he owns his own store and there are no limits to what he can create.

Growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, he has seen a lot of good and bad experiences and he wants to inspire people to not take anything for granted. He hopes his success will encourage people around him to strive for their own success—and that his t-shirts reinforce his positive messages.

David Hurst
Lawn Care Extraordinaire
Chicago, IL
Age: 18
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $775

David’s favorite client is a person who saw him on the local TV news speaking about his lawn business and called half a dozen schools trying to find ‘the boy who cuts lawns’. The customer’s need to find a quality lawn service inspired David to succeed. When he first developed a business plan for Lawn Care Extraordinaire, he admits that he did it only for a grade. When he realized what it could do for him and his community, he started to find ways to put his plan into action.

With help from his dad who drove him to his jobs and his brother who works for a lawn care service and provided tools and advice, Lawn Care Extraordinaire quickly grew in scope. Today the company offers not just lawn mowing but anything his customers need including tree removal, deck building, and other landscaping projects. Next, he plans to tap into the unmet need for lawn care service in south-side Chicago and double his client base this summer.

David is committed to serving his community and creating opportunities where there aren’t any. It gives him great satisfaction to employ people in his neighborhood, providing them with income they would not otherwise have. David also enjoys opportunities like hosting a NFTE event which highlighted youth businesses and their impact on Chicago. What is the budding entrepreneur planning next? Taking his company national.


Luke Joachim
Zephyr Productions
Oakland, CA
Age: 17
Nominated by: BUILD
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $107

When budget woes caused Oakland public schools to cut funding for extracurricular activities like music, Luke heard opportunity calling. By merging his love of hip hop culture with his interest in running a business, he could bring music back to public schools. His own DJ experience and work with Youth Movement Records had prepared Luke for the challenge. He and a few friends created Zephyr Productions, which stages rap battles and concerts at the school. Luke works closely with school administrators to organize events where students can perform. BUILD has assisted him in creating a robust business plan and Zephyr Productions was awarded second place in a regional BUILD competition.

Though Luke earns his money through music production, his true passion is educating people about hip hop culture. Since middle school, Luke has been interested in spotlighting hip hop culture’s positive roots. Thus, Zephyr Productions has created an organization at school that aims to educate people about hip hop culture, which includes art, dance, rap, and DJ-ing, and counters the negative and violent influences that have permeated mainstream hip hop today. Growing up in Oakland, Luke understands the importance of being able to express who you are through your lifestyle but he hopes that he can influence people to do so in a positive and constructive way. What would be music to his ears? Leading Zephyr Productions all the way to the Fortune 500 list.

Ay’Anna Moody
Dizzy Ink
Oakland, CA
Age: 16
Nominated by: BUILD
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $800

Ay’Anna had always considered owning her own business and loved creating unique arts and crafts. BUILD helped her put these two interests together and Ay’Anna and her friends began to look for something creative to produce through their business venture. They borrowed books about arts and crafts from the library, and decided to make greeting cards. They make their cards with a mission: to provide a high quality, low cost greeting card for the underserved market in their community. While they make the traditional birthday and Mother’s Day cards, Dizzy Ink also makes cards celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Black History Month and other holidays not covered by mainstream distributors.

Living in an urban, fast-paced environment that can seem violent and unfriendly, Ay’Anna is committed to highlighting the beauty and uniqueness of her community. Though she does not always want to make cards on her free afternoons and it is exhausting thinking of unique designs, she is proud of the products she sells at community events, schools and churches. She also loves involving the community in Dizzy Ink through their “Make a Card Workshops.” These workshops are held at schools or Ay’Anna’s house. Dizzy Ink provides all the materials and people make cards that they can keep themselves or can be sold at Dizzy Ink’s next event. Planning to study social justice or political science when she attends college in a couple of years, Ay’Anna is determined to create something unique and beautiful wherever she goes.

Ademar Perez
Bodega Treats
Harlem, NY
Age: 16
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Revenues: $1,000

Watching his father sell Dominican Republic-style sandwiches at baseball games in the U.S., Ademar was inspired to start a similar business providing delicious food for his classmates. Knowing that the cafeteria options were not good and that the average price of food and snacks in New York’s Financial District were high for high schools students, Bodgea Treats seemed like the perfect business plan for Ademar. The most important part of owning a business Ademar believes is keeping your customers happy. To find out what would make their customers happy, Ademar and his fellow owners administer weekly surveys to their customers about what other items they would like Bodega Treats to sell. The most frequent request: more home-made goods!

Ademar plans to sell Bodega Treats to younger students when he and his co-CEOs graduate Millennium High School. Personally, Ademar is eager to continue his financial education with an internship he has secured at Bloomberg Company this summer. He enjoys the financial side of business and plans on owning his own company in the future. Though he loves the Caputo Bakery cheesecake they sell at Bodega Treats, he is pretty sure his next business will be in the computer field.

Brandis Rencher
BO’s Gift Shop
Atlanta, GA
Age: 15
Nominated by: SWAYBO
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $3,000

It’s hard to imagine, but true: Brandis was just 10 years old when she opened BO’s Gift Shop. Her shop sold only everyday corsages at first. Later, while she was going through a difficult time, Brandis began writing down her prayers and blessings and putting them in a box to keep and read on Christmas Eve. Since this act was so meaningful for her, she thought other people might find it helpful too and she started selling these boxes as well. Now her product selection has grown to include vintage jewelry, keepsake boxes and inspirational tiles. Brandis makes all these items herself, except the jewelry, which she finds at flea markets and yard sales. Many of her items are made to order, incorporating particular pictures or sayings at the customer’s request.

Brandis’ inspiration for starting her own business was her mom, an entrepreneur herself. Though Brandis is passionate about her business, her dream is to eventually become a pediatrician. For now, she embraces the opportunities she has to teach the SWAYBO curriculum to younger students and teach children in her church how to make everyday corsages. Her definition of success: encouraging others to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals.

Eric Richardson
Five/5ths
Columbia, SC
Age: 21
Nominated by: ICIC
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $1,500

Eric started Five/5ths, a hybrid investment and consulting firm, to support his eclectic interests in graphic design, music, event planning, entrepreneurship and inspiring people to reach their full potential. Each project he undertakes is used to further other projects. For example, he employs his DJ skills and interest in music to develop CD compilations with local and national artists—he then hands out these CDs at parties he promotes with information about his company and clothing line inside the CD cover.

His uncle, who owns a construction business, encouraged Eric to start a company that would help Eric realize his full potential. While Eric is passionate about Five/5ths, he looks forward to having his own clothing and shoe line one day. A key theme that inspires Eric is the desire to help others reach their full potential. Growing up in Pontiac, MI, he was surrounded by kids who dropped out of school and were not accomplishing anything. He believes that by just reaching out to these young people and offering them a few words of encouragement, you can change a life. Mentoring young people is therefore integral to all his business ideas and Eric tries to embody his values through each of his businesses.

Evin Robinson
InspiRing
Brooklyn, NY
Age: 18
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $1,925

Evin’s respect and admiration for his mother, who raised him by herself, guided him to develop the business plan for InspiRing, a jewelry-making company honoring the strength and power of women. To emphasize the uniqueness of each customer, Evin creates customized, hand-crafted rings with gold wire and a colored crystal symbolizing beauty, courage and other sources of inspiration. Each ring then comes packaged with its own inspirational quote. Erin learned how to make rings in a jewelry class that he took with his mother. Today he employs two friends. Evin has found that attending business fairs where he sells the rings as his employees make them is a successful strategy. In addition to being able to pay his employees, he also donates a part of his proceeds to Girls, Inc., a national non-profit dedicated to ‘inspiring’ young females to be strong, smart and bold.

To expand his business, Evin plans to “empower” men next by making cuff-links. He will also begin selling his jewelry in boutiques in New York and plans to continue his business when he attends Syracuse University in the fall. Lastly, he plans to diversify beyond jewelry to scarves, bags and caps. All of this InspiRing success is a stepping stone towards his true goal: to open a community center in his hometown of Brooklyn. As a young teen, he had to make a lot of hard decisions on whether to go home early and finish his homework or attend his entrepreneurship classes—versus hanging out with his friends. His community center will offer etiquette and networking classes and as well as mentorship programs to help other young adults make similar right choices.

Harold Sabb
Just a Slice of Heaven
Baltimore, MD
Age: 19
Nominated by: NFTE
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $300

For Harold, the best part about running ‘Just a Slice of Heaven’ is seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces when he delivers their homemade cheesecake. Though he started his business to help out his mom with bills and put some money in his own pocket, he has enjoyed baking so much he plans to expand his business to open up a storefront and eventually go to culinary school to become an executive chef.

Harold has become well known at his church and in his neighborhood for his Oreo, cherry, strawberry and plain cheesecakes—though, cherry is the most popular! He first learned how to bake cheesecakes in a commercial baking class at school. When he decided to turn this skill into a business, he approached the pastor at his church for start-up funding. Ever since, his pastor has supported him by advertising his cheesecakes at church and being one of Harold’s repeat customers. Being able to demonstrate his skills and his ability to provide for himself and his mother has been a great motivator for Harold. After starting his business, a teacher at his school recommended that Harold enroll in a NFTE program. Harold has enjoyed learning the details of running a business but mostly he just enjoys people enjoying his cheesecakes.

Fantashia Stevens
Fizzalae Botantical Blends
Cleveland, OH
Age: 18
Nominated by: ECity (a NFTE program)
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $743

Fantashia’s first business venture was a gift basket company--but she soon realized that the margin was low in simply repacking products somebody else had made. So she began searching for products that she could make herself. After spending hundreds of dollars on skin and body products every year that did not work for her own sensitive skin, Fantashia realized that she was probably not the only one with this problem. Her grandmother taught her how to make bar soap, and Fizzalae Botantical Blends was born.

Fizzalae creates customized skin and bath products for people with allergies or who have sensitive skin. Customers find Fantashia through ECity expos but she also customizes orders for people found through local friend and family networks. Fantashia makes everything by hand and enjoys being able to be creative with bath salts and creating new recipes and combinations.

Though it is difficult sometimes to balance school and running her own business, Fantashia loves being her own boss. After college, Fantashia intends to open her own boutique selling beauty products as well as clothes. She likes being able to make decisions about her own income and donates a portion of her revenue to a charity of her choice like March of Dimes and Toys for Tots.

Juan Taveras
An Investment for the Future
Yonkers, NY
Age: 17
Nominated by: Cristo Rey High School
2007 Fiscal Year Revenues: $5,000

Juan’s business strategy is to be as versatile as possible, as evidenced by his diverse line of businesses including party hosting, a vending machine, candy distribution, and an at-home car wash business. What he is most proud of however, is the candy distribution business he owns with Allyson Figuereo. One of his motivations for starting the business was his concern for the young people in his neighborhood. Juan often saw kids idle after school and worried they would soon fall into destructive behavior. Juan reckons that by giving them the responsibility of selling candy and earning money in a positive way, he is not only investing in his future but theirs as well. Even more than the money he is earning from this operation, Juan is proud of the fact that all his employees are earning a B average. The greatest thrill for Juan in running his own business is that he is changing people’s lives. He wishes somebody had been able to do that for him and he looks forward to owning more businesses and having more employees whom he can assist in their success. Expect Juan’s “investment for the future” to be a diversified conglomerate.