'Small' business, big ideas Local youth embrace entrepreneurial spirit

CJ Dablo
Staff Writer

Whether she’s wading through racks of clothes at the Los Angeles Fashion District or sifting through the buyer inquiries on her phone, 14-year-old Madison Russell is learning the value of a dollar. She’s building a business. In just a few months, she managed to pick up a seller’s permit and a business license with the City of Long Beach, and with some of the money she’s earned from acting jobs in commercials, she invested in L.A. Tienda by maddygracey, her own online company which sells clothing and accessories geared toward young girls.
She has a message to anyone thinking about starting a business, especially if they are young.
“My advice would be— don’t wait till you’re older. Do it now,” Russell said. “Do what you love and!just go for it.”
Keeping a watchful eye over her daughter’s activities online while helping her juggle other parts of her life as a freshman at Los Alamitos High School, mother Debra Russell acknowledges that Madison has a knack for spotting trends. Metallic tattoos were popular items during the hot months when the kids were wearing tank tops, and the teenager entrepreneur quickly ran out of that inventory a few times.
“Right now, she’s learning,” her mother said. “She’s making mistakes. She’s seeing what sells, what doesn’t.”
Russell is one of many enterprising youth throughout the Long Beach area who are ready to be their own boss.
Libby Huff teaches at the Long Beach Polytechnic High School’s Pacific Rim Business Academy. Over the years, she has seen a number of kids who have started their own business. While she actively encourages the youth to take on the daunting task of forming a company, she also emphasizes the need for a thoughtful approach to business.
“I currently have business advisors come in to talk to our freshmen,” Huff said in a phone interview. “And they have to develop a stronger brand image. Just a good idea isn’t enough. You have to have a whole packaged image that goes with a story that goes beyond just ‘I’m a cute kid with a cute product.'”
Huff acknowledged that while youth are very active with social-media accounts, they still need to rely on old-school marketing strategies like networking to develop their brand.
Many of these kids have parents who take an active role in their child’s business, especially when the youth are in school.

Harley and Bailey Johnson manage 2 Girls Bike Shop in Long Beach. The teens have been selling bikes and accessories in collaboration with their father, Anthony Johnson, who also has his own business that focuses on bicycle rentals. They share space at the store located at 3329 E. 4th St. in Long Beach. For several years, Harley Johnson, 15, has been minding the store with her 13-year-old sister Bailey Johnson on many afternoons after school and on weekends. They know their trade. They say they have designed custom bikes and have even taught bike-maintenance classes on the weekend.
Harley Johnson said that while she may continue with the business when she’s older, she also really wants to be a fashion editor for a magazine like Vogue.
Her sister plans to stay in the bicycle industry. Bailey wants to expand the business eventually into a major corporation with franchises around the world.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she said, “and it’s good work experience for the future.”
Anthony Johnson said he already has taught his daughters how to manage money and people. He expects them to work hard, and that lesson is not lost upon his older daughter.
“If we don’t come to work, then obviously we won’t get paid,” Harley said with a laugh. “I learned that the hard way!but we get our fair share.”

Another enterprising teen, 14-year-old Jeremiah Jones, also works closely with his father and has made his company a family affair. At the age of 8, Jones started JYoungin Education to sell clothes to the teen market. Hats, T-shirts, hoodies and letterman jackets are among the items on sale through his online store.
Jones is confident in his business instincts when it comes to understanding the teen market.
“I know what they like,” Jones said. “I know what they like to wear. I know what’s popping now.”
Jones has done more with his networking skills beyond merely promoting his signature clothing line. He has taken up motivational speaking, and last year, he was invited to speak at a TEDxReno event.
His father, Ed Jones, said that he works full time on the company and manages the operation while his son attends school. He said family life has certainly changed since the company began in 2007—the family is closer now. His brother and sister also help with the company. Most notably, Jeremiah highlighted the working partnership with his father. He stressed that while he knows how to market to kids his own age, his dad understands how to market to adults.
Several of the teens emphasized their ability to engage with customers over social media. Jones and Russell have quite a few followers over Instagram. Vast LA, a company founded about a year ago by Jarell McNeal and Stephen Garrett, sells clothing exclusively over that photo-sharing site. Garrett, now 18, has taken over much of the day-to-day operations. He’ll be graduating this year from high school, and he isn’t sure about the future of the company if both he and McNeal, 16, attend different colleges or move away from the area.

One youth decided to channel his entrepreneurial spirit into philanthropic purposes. Jonas Corona had been volunteering at L.A.’s Skid Row since he was 4, and he described how he was deeply affected by his experience in working with homeless individuals. Two years later, when Corona wanted to donate his time at other organizations, he was told he was too young. Rejection didn’t sit well with Corona, but it motivated him to do something about it.
“I just didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Corona said. “If I wanted to help out, I was determined to help, so I never stopped and kept going.”
At the age of 6, Corona and his parents founded Love in the Mirror, a nonprofit organization that provides basic necessities to poor and homeless families. He has focused on collecting socks, learning materials, toiletries, food and toys. Now at the age of 11, Corona continues to collaborate with other charitable groups to collect and distribute supplies. He is regularly recognized for his efforts.
Known officially as the founder and “chief changer” of the organization, Corona isn’t old enough to sit on the nonprofit’s board, but his mother said he often engages with corporations and other groups to raise support. Jonas described himself as a shy boy before he started Love in the Mirror, and with the particular support of his mother and one of his teachers, he learned how to speak publicly.
The nonprofit has grown since those early days. His mother, Renee Corona, estimated that in 2013, the organization raised about $85,000 in revenue in addition to the in-kind donations.
There are likely plenty of other kids and other success stories of entrepreneurship throughout the area. In her experience as a business teacher, Huff has a few favorite stories of how kids identified niche markets. A health initiative at the schools prohibits kids from selling food on campus, but that rule didn’t stop a few creative kids from delving into the black market of junk food. A couple of girls sold decorated cupcakes online. Another sold chocolate-dipped bacon packaged in Ziploc bags. Others hired family members to buy fast food and deliver meals to the campus at the lunch hour for a fee.
“It’s all illegal, and it’s thriving,” Huff said. “That’s supply and demand for you!it’s live and in person.”
More Information
2 Gurls Bike Shop
3329 E. 4th St.
Long Beach, CA 90814
(562) 342-4444
JYoungin Education
jyoungin.com
Instagram: jyoungin4kids
(562) 983-3700
L.A. Tienda by maddygracey
maddygracey.com
Instagram: l.a.tienda
Love in the Mirror
loveinthemirror.org
P.O. Box 7261
Long Beach, CA 90807
Vast LA
Instagram: vast_la