Small Biz

Jasmine Lawrence, 16

Eden Body Works
Williamstown, N.J.

When she was just 11, Jasmine was on her way to becoming an entrepreneur. After a chemical hair relaxer caused almost all of her hair to fall out, Jasmine decided to make her own. She researched natural hair-care products online but wasn't satisfied. She found that most of them weren't all-natural products, so she put her allowance together and made her own, using ingredients such as lavender oil. "I thought I must not be the only one out there with this kind of problem,” she explains. "I wanted to share my invention with the world.”

Lawrence participated in programs sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which she says helped her to start "a real business" and gave her pro bono legal and financial help she used to launch Eden Body Works. In short order, she got a business license, a tax ID number, insurance, women's and minority business certificates, and a trademark on her company's name. After borrowing $2,000 from her parents, the high school junior launched her company (working before school and after finishing her homework). This year she expects to earn $100,000 in sales.