Philly youth entrepreneurs turn big dreams into business reality<\/p>\n
In West Philadelphia, a new generation of business owners is setting up shop \u2014 and they’re not even old enough to drive.<\/p>\n
Young entrepreneurs took center stage at the NOMO Foundation’s Small Business Expo, turning their passions into profit and proving that age is no barrier to building something of their own.<\/p>\n
From sausages to spinach dip…<\/p>\n
The smell of sizzling sausages filled the air as 11-year-old Zy worked the grill, serving up her specialties: mild sausages and burgers.<\/p>\n
Right next to her, another 11-year-old, Amira, offered samples of her homemade chicken and spinach dip. Amira started her business at just 9 years old.<\/p>\n
“I look at them being children, but learning how to do business,” one customer said after tasting her dip.<\/p>\n
From sauces to stitches, the young vendors showcased a wide range of talents.<\/p>\n
Sisters Ajah and her younger sibling turned yarn into wearable art \u2014 sandals, hats, and crochet crop tops \u2014 all designed and made by hand.<\/p>\n
Others used their booths to share their personal stories through their craft. One 15-year-old artist proudly told customers, “I’m 15, and I’m trans \u2014 you’re supporting a trans artist.”<\/p>\n
For some, entrepreneurship is a family affair.<\/p>\n
13-year-old Bahiyyah, owner of Molly’s Boutique, sells colorful balls of ribbon that are actually socks, priced between $20 and $35. While she runs the front of the shop, her mom is in the back teaching sewing classes.<\/p>\n
These young designers are learning to make clothing that can often be expensive to buy, aiming to make it more affordable for their community.<\/p>\n
“It shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to cover,” one participant said.<\/p>\n
NOMO’s mission: opportunity starts here.<\/p>\n
Whether it’s through a sewing class or a pop-up shop, NOMO \u2014 which stands for “New Options, More Opportunities” \u2014 is showing the next generation that business dreams can start right here in West Philly.<\/p>\n
The organization runs programs year-round to keep youth engaged and empowered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Philly youth entrepreneurs turn big dreams into business reality In West Philadelphia, a new generation of business owners…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70,2918,7523],"class_list":["post-8909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-small-business","tag-spreading-the-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}