Business Coaching

13-year-old Leanna Archer of Leanna's Inc.

How young is too young to start a company?

ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars was just 21 when he founded ActionCOACH, and a few short years later, he was “financially retired.”

So if someone’s got a great idea and they’ve got the will and means to start a business, who’s to say they can’t? Is there such a thing as being “too young” to start a business?

If you answered yes, tell that to 13-year-old Leanna Archer, CEO and founder of her own hair and body product company, Leanna’s Inc.

When she was just eight years old, Leanna kept receiving compliments on her hair, which was styled with pomade made from her great-grandmother’s recipe. Leanna, obviously savvy, saw the potential for a business – selling her great-grandmother’s pomade. She tested demand by filling empty Gerber baby food jars with her grandmother’s pomade and giving them out to classmates – then received several requests for more from her classmates and their parents.

Leanne’s Inc. has increased its product line (her company now also sells shampoo, conditioner and shea butter body lotion in addition to pomade and hair products), ships 30 to 50 orders on average per day, and made $100,000 in revenue in 2007. She even set up her own foundation to help underprivileged children in Haiti.

Running a successful business since she was eight…most people wouldn’t believe it. But when you have a good idea that fills a demand and a solid business plan, all it takes is great execution and hard work to keep your company successful.