Small Biz

Ashley Reed, 21

ASR Clothing
Detroit

Reed started her business after classmates in high school commented on her custom-designed clothes and asked her to design pieces for them. She says that fashion design has always been her passion.

When her counterparts in the fashion industry learn Reed's age, she says they usually doubt the seriousness of her business. But that changes once they check out her line of streetwear hoodies, jeans, and T-shirts. Reed says she doesn't spend too much time worrying about her age, because she's busy running her business and majoring in retailing at Michigan State during the regular academic year and majoring in fashion merchandising and management at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the summer. Reed expects to complete both degrees in 2008.

Her five-employee business has been featured in newspapers and magazines, and most of its clients are high school or college students from the U.S. but she says recently it has received international orders. For now, she's investing in equipment that allows her to speed up production and is planning to expand when she graduates.