Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2013. Maddie Robinson’s age (14), the price of the sandals (about $20) and the product range (sandals plus children’s clothing) refer to that time.
A new case of a very young entrepreneur whose passion has taken her product into the big clothing chains. This entrepreneur’s business idea started when she was only nine. At that age, Maddie Robinson spent her time drawing brightly coloured sandals in a notebook.
At ten, her designs started being manufactured to be sold in small boutiques in her town, so her “doodles” began to turn into a business, which she called Fish Flops: colourful sandals, some of which light up as you walk. It wasn’t long before she wrote to one of the biggest clothing chains in the United States, Nordstrom, to ask whether they might be interested in her product.
Maddie says she was surprised to get a reply from this big chain, which asked for a meeting with the young entrepreneur and finally decided to sell her designs in each and every one of its stores.
The sandals sell for about 20 dollars and always come with a tag that includes a photo of their creator and the story of how her business began.
Maddie says she originally started selling the sandals as a way to earn some extra money to save up and pay for university in the future.
She would like to study something related to business, although, honestly, having already made her first million at the age of 14, and given that she no longer just makes sandals but her business now includes children’s clothing too… the question is whether, when she gets to university at 18, she’ll go as a student or as a teacher.
The other day I asked someone what might be behind the rise in young entrepreneurs we’ve seen in recent years, and the answer gives you a lot to think about:
“Children and young people have dreams and haven’t yet lost the enthusiasm to make them happen, while adults, as the years go by, lose those hopes. For a child, everything is possible; for an adult, there are many obstacles. In the end, it’s all a question of mindset, and nowadays both children and the many cases of teenage millionaires are teaching us adults a lesson.”
And that may well be true.
Further reading
- Alexandra Abraham, an accidental entrepreneur
- Conclusion: the most profitable businesses are clothing, food and technology
Featured image: Jairo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
