7 Business Lessons From Kids Who Are Self-Made Millionaires
Many of us dream of becoming millionaires as children, but very few of us actually become millionaires as children. And let’s be real: the vast majority of kids who are incredibly wealthy got so because their parents were rich (and often famous).
Make Money With AI and Chat GPT: How To Earn $1,000 a Month
See: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch
Still, there are more than several kids out there who became millionaires completely on their own. How did they do it and what financial lessons can we learn from their success? Let’s explore.
Isabella Barrett
Isabella “Bella” Barrett rose to fame on the TLC reality series “Toddlers & Tiaras” as a little kid. By age 6, she was a self-made millionaire, having generated her fortune through her own clothing and jewelry.
“I have a jewelry line that made me a million dollars. I had a clothing line that made me a million dollars,” Barrett, now 16, told Truly.
Barrett could have easily rode her fame on “Toddlers & Tiaras” and collected money just from that; but she went a step above and beyond. She used her fame to cultivate a business and brand that generated far more money. The lesson? Don’t be content with just coasting by; get creative and figure out how to tap your talents to bring in additional income.
Take Our Poll: Who Has Given You the Best Money Advice You Have Ever Received?
Ashley Qualls
In 2004, at just 14 years old, Ashley Qualls created a website called whateverlife.com. The site was designed to give free Myspace (this was when Myspace was still popular) layouts and coding (HTML) tutorials for other kids. The site exploded, to the point where Qualls received cushy offers from buyers. Qualls also generated income by monetizing ads. By the time she was 17, WhateverLife.com was reportedly worth over $8 million.
The lesson from her story is critical for those who are running blogs and other websites that can be monetized, but the lesson can also be tapped by other entrepreneurs: provide a free service that is so valuable to consumers that businesses will pay you to advertise on your platform.
Cameron Johnson
In 1994, when he was just 9 years old, Cameron Johnson launched a greeting card company called Cheers and Tears. In two years, he made thousands off the business and word of his talents spread. But that’s not all.
At age 12, Johnson bought his little sister’s collection of Beanie Babies from her for $100. He earned 10x that amount by selling them on eBay. Recognizing a goldmine, Johnson began buying Beanie Babies himself and selling them for more than what he’d paid. He earned $50,000 that way and used the cash to fund his next business venture, a startup called EZMail.
Over his young years, Johnson continued to launch business ventures and eventually team up with other entrepreneurs to make his millions.
One lesson we can learn from Johnson’s story is to know the worth of your (or your little sister’s) belongings so that you can resell them for however much people are willing to pay for them. His story also highlights the importance of not stopping at one business, but continuing to develop ideas and ventures.
Juliette Brindak
In 2005, when she was 16 years old, Juliette Brindak launched a social networking site called Miss O and Friends. The site was created to be a space for young girls to help build up their self-esteem in an online world that can often be destructive and downright mean. In 2012, the site was valued at $15 million.
The biggest lesson from Brindak’s story is when you see a hole in the market for something that would meet your needs, don’t just complain about it. Instead, fill the gap in a way that will pay off down the road.
Adam Horwitz
Adam Horwitz has emerged as a popular social media personality. It all started when he launched a YouTube page, called Wolves — a travel adjacent blog — in 2015.
In 2011, when he was 19, Horwitz was named to CNN’s list of “8 Kid Entrepreneurs to Watch.” The article highlighted that Horwitz set a goal to become a self-made millionaire by the age of 21. He also launched Wolves Talent, a creative production agency that serves micro-creators to grow and monetize their content.
Possibly the top lesson we can learn from Horwitz’s story is to set a realistic goal to get rich, then pursue your talents and deepen your skills to reach it.
Nick D’Aloisio
D’Aloisio created the news-reading app Summly when he was just a teen, and at 17 he sold to Yahoo! for $30 million. His venture was backed by investors such as billionaire Li Ka-shing and Ashton Kutcher.
The main lesson? Once you have a hot product, generate interest among top investors and sell it for far, far more than you ever could have dreamed.
The Overarching Lesson
Though there are unique lessons we can learn from each of these kids’ stories, there are also general takeaways to be inferred from all of them as a group. For one, as Greg Wilson, CFA, a father to three young children highlights, focus on your financial education as early as possible and keep learning how to be smart with your money. Additionally, kids (and adults) should explore all possible ways of building their income — even if just through side hustles.
“Kids can also start earning money through side hustles and part-time jobs, and then invest a portion of their earnings in stocks or real estate,” said Wilson. “As a kid I was constantly finding ways to make money. In high school I would buy and sell things. I even sold cars for family members who didn’t want to deal with it. In college I would buy DVD players and digital cameras (this was the ’90s) and then sell them on eBay for more. In my early twenties, I bought rental houses despite working a normal job. The snowball of side hustles allowed me to retire at 42.”
More From GOBankingRates
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Business Lessons From Kids Who Are Self-Made Millionaires
