Notes

If given the opportunity to give a TED Talk on a topic of my own choosing, I would discuss the promising opportunities that the internet has created for young entrepreneurs. E-Marketplace stores such as Etsy, Storenvy, and Big Cartel give teenagers the opportunity to get their feet wet in the business field, much earlier than in the past. Most of my TEDTalk presentation would consist of me discussing the personal success that I have had with running my own business.
During the summer of 2013, I started my own fashion business, Katie's Kreative Jewels, with the intention of making enough money to buy my own car. After doing a bit of research into what fashion items were selling at the time, I decided to sell high waisted shorts. At first I felt like my business was a failure. Then I came across the quotation from one of my favorite entrepreneurs Joel Spolksy that said, “Nothing works better than just improving your product.” This advice gave me the motivation that I needed to reevaluate my product, and give my fashion business another try. At first, I did not see a big change in my sales, but after a while I began to see gradual increases in the numbers of orders that I was receiving. After a couple of months my business became so successful, that I would sometimes receive up to 20 orders in a week for my shorts. My parents and family could not believe that I had achieved so much success, just from selling shorts online.
While owning my own business I have had the opportunity to create my own website, and amass a large amount of knowledge in the field of computer science. I have also gained a large amount of knowledge in the fields of marketing, photography, website creation, and photo editing. What is most impressive to me is the fact that I have had the opportunity to sell my products to customers in 15 different countries, and make over 25, 000 dollars in profit, all before the age of 18.
My fashion businesses has allowed me to completely surpass my goal of making enough money to buy a car. As a result of the success that I have had as a entrepreneur, I have been able to travel to take my family on vacation with me to New York, and Los Angeles two of the worlds fashion capitals. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would have the opportunity to visit, places like New York and Los Angeles, that I had dreamed about since I was a child.
In my opinion having the once in a lifetime opportunity, to own a successful business has given me the opportunity to grow culturally, and academically as a person. It is an experience that I would not trade for the world.
I would love to use my Ted Talk, to inspire the next Hugo Boss or Vera Wang to pursue their entrepreneurial goals, with my personal story of entrepreneurial success. My success with running my own online business is proof of the outstanding opportunities that the advent of technology has created for young aspiring entrepreneurs.