Maya Penn’s small business-success story has appeared in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Huffington Post, Rebook and Atlanta’s Fox 5 News. And she’s only 12 years old.
Maya Penn, the multi-hyphenate entrepreneur, philanthropist, designer, artist, animator, illustrator and writer would seem to be an anomaly when compared with her contemporaries in the seventh grade. But for the Atlanta-based young trep, who started out crafting ribbon headbands for family friends at age 8, her entrepreneurial ambitions are simply a product of her environment.
“I started my business out of curiosity,” says Penn, whose online shop Maya’s Ideas has since expanded into a line of handcrafted accessories and clothing made from eco-friendly materials like recycled fabrics and organic cotton.
Not only did Penn’s mother Deidre teach the younger Penn to sew, her father John, also an entrepreneur, served as an example. And thanks to homeschooling, the Penns were better able to customize their daughter’s education toward problem solving and crafting creative business ideas.
“We’ve always encouraged Maya to make her own decisions at a young age,” Deidre says. “We want to give her a sense of independence.”
So far so good. Though she works on the business just part time, Maya’s Ideas is on track to bring in about $55,000 in sales this year. She also vows to give away 10 percent of her profits to Atlanta-area charities. Penn, whose company is profitable, has donated $4,000 along with many volunteer hours. We love it, please check out Maya’s shop mayasideas.com and learn how you can support this young business woman!
