I GET awed whenever I meet successful entrepreneurs who tell me they’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug since they were young.

Ailene Co of fashion store U.R.U. was selling stationery and mechanical pencils when she was in grades 4 to 6. When she was in high school, she sold clips, headbands, hair spray, and key chains.

Ana Amigo-Antonio of Chocolate Clothing Co. recalls selling as early as five years old. “My parents were in interior design and our house would always be remodeled to reflect new trends. So there were always carpenters in the house. I would sell them candy and soft drinks,” says Ana.
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By Katrina C. Wy*

I started running my own business at the age of 19. It was an online shop at a website called Multiply. All of my friends visit this site everyday and getting an account is free so I decided to try posting stuff for sale and see how my friends (my potential clients) would react.

I chose to sell trendy but really affordable clothes. It was a low-risk business as the only capital I needed was for my inventory. I figured that if I fail to sell anything, I can still keep the clothes for myself and it wouldn’t be such a waste of money. I was shocked, however, by the response I got from my friends. They really liked the clothes I was selling and was extremely happy at the price I was selling it to them.

My clientele increased as the months went by mainly thru referrals and other people who usually do their shopping online. After a month, I was already shipping my clothes all over the country and I even got inquiries about shipping my products to the US! I expanded to include luxury items and electronic goods to my product line. I was earning a lot, enough actually for me to not ask money from my parents to pay my condo, my bills, my shopping and living allowance. It was such a great experience for me as I was earning money through something that I was really passionate about.

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