When thinking about examples of the most successful entrepreneurs, it’s very likely that names like Larry Page, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, and many more come to most people’s minds. Obviously, these are all great entrepreneurs and their success is admired by
The reality is that many of those today considered examples of successful entrepreneurs come from very humble backgrounds, proving how great things can be achieved when one keeps perseverance and hard work in mind. Perhaps as the saying goes, successful people are not born, but instead, they are made. This is exactly what many of the success stories that will be coming next have to say; stories that serve as prime reminders of what we humble regular people out there can achieve too.
Let’s go over some of the most inspiring and successful entrepreneurs’ stories out there: their accomplishments, the mindsets behind such great success stories, and the circumstances that motivated them to continue to push harder. You’ll be surprised at how many success stories started their journey as small ecommerce owners and worked their way to become some of today’s industry leaders.
What Is an Entrepreneur?
Before we start and get into the details, why don’t we take some time to define what exactly an entrepreneur is? And what is it that makes an entrepreneur successful?
The dictionary definition: an entrepreneur is someone who decides to start a business with the hopes that it’ll become profitable. It is easy to call someone an entrepreneur by this definition, for instance, about 80% of people who start a business make it through their first year.
The problem comes with the passing of time, this is when only 70% make it past their second year, and by the tenth, only about 30% withstand the pressure that comes with running a business and being an entrepreneur.
It is not that easy being an entrepreneur, not to mention becoming a successful one. It is not all roses and butterflies to be a business person. It takes a lot more than just starting a business, it takes a willingness to take financial risks, someone with big dreams and aspirations, a storyteller, and an innovator. This is exactly what many of the following success stories have to say, proving that with the right attitude, tools, and foundation big things can certainly be accomplished.
3 Success Stories That Show What It Means to Be a Successful Entrepreneur
From being too young or experiencing a shortage of employees, to working through a global pandemic, these stories serve as prime examples of what it really takes to become successful in business. Here are three great examples of
Jovana Mullins and how she started the successful clothing brand Alivia
Raised in Overland Park by a
Eventually, her entrepreneurial instincts and passion to help others led her to quit her job so she could have more time and flexibility to focus on consulting and volunteer work. She had been volunteering at the Center of All Abilities in NYC offering art therapy sessions for people with autism, which served as the main inspiration to start her brand, Alivia.
How Alivia got started
The idea of having her own clothing brand was nothing new to Jovana, she had always dreamed of starting her own ecommerce store one day. It was not until she started volunteering and seeing the impact art had on those with developmental disabilities that she thought to herself what an incredible idea it’d be to create a clothing brand featuring the colorful and unique art pieces so kindheartedly created by her students. She immediately thought about how this could be a great way to combine her fashion and entrepreneurial instincts and help raise funds for nonprofits supporting those with disabilities.
Today, with the help of her mom and her creative students, Jovana has turned Alivia into a successful clothing brand that has not only revolutionized the world of fashion but also adds purpose and value to the lives of so many special people out there. In Alivia’s lifetime, Jovana has experienced all of the highs and lows that come with owning a business, to the point of having one of her production sites completely shut down during the pandemic.
However, none of this was able to stop Jovana and her mission, instead it motivated her to try harder. Alivia remains and continues to grow today despite it probably being one of the most difficult times to run a business, and is all thanks to Jovana and her team’s resilience.
Tami Oyelakin proves its never too early to start your own business
Tami Oyelakin is not your typical entrepreneur. She has proven herself to be a stereotype breaker and has demolished the idea of being too young or too old to start your own business. Tami is a
Tami’s inspiration behind Tlúwa Lounge
Tami noticed how difficult it was for young and new entrepreneurs to find affordable design and marketing services. She knew how overwhelming it can be when you are just starting to invest a lot of money in product marketing, which is precisely what brand new stores need the most. From this realization, she decided to start her own marketing business that focused on the offering of affordable design services for new and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Most studies agree the average age of an entrepreneur is 40 years old, but Tami was able to defeat every rule and standard in the way of her success. With the help of her family and friends, combined with her resilient mindset, she was confident that her hard work would pay off, and eventually, it did.
Now that her business has flourished, she is thankful to have found a platform like Ecwid that is also meant to help aspiring entrepreneurs by offering low to no startup costs. She acknowledges what a huge stepping stone it was to have access to the right tools at such affordable costs, which was exactly what she wished to achieve.
Since launching her marketing business, Tami has helped hundreds of others, specifically female teen entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She also continues to prove to many how age is just another number, and not a reason to feel discouraged. For more stories like this take a look at
John Carver and the story of his seven-figure business Atlas46
Last but not least, we have John Carver, Atlas46’s founder. John is a perfect example of a successful entrepreneur and what it means to be one. Before he founded Atals46, his now
Replacing old strategies with new ones
When he first started it, there were only seven people taking care of all of the work. In less than five years, the company grew to over 250 employees and he decided to open a new facility at the time. Today, John owns about three facilities that are mostly operated by his son. Like many other business owners, he went through his own struggles, some of which included a lack of employees.
Despite the many obstacles, his dedication pushed him to find solutions and eventually led him to take his business online with the help of Ecwid’s selling tool. This allowed him to increase his marketing efforts, offer his customers different deals and discount codes, and reach customers all over the world which was a key element behind his success. Today 99% of the company’s sales are made online and make over three million dollars a year. This is what we call one
What Do All of These Successful People Have in Common?
As we take a close look at these inspiring stories and learn more about what it takes to become successful, we think it’s safe to say successful people, at the heart of it all, take action. Although success has no single definition and is never linear, we can all agree the secret lies in the willingness to move forward and not dwell in the negative.
Oftentimes, when thinking about starting a business or simply following a dream, we can get caught up in the
Just take a look at Jovana, the pandemic caused a huge toll on her production and sales. Jovana could’ve easily given up, but she chose to use this as motivation. Or take a look at Tami for a minute, she could’ve easily dwelt in the fact that she was too young to start a business, yet her decisiveness and eye for the future led her to move past the many voices telling her it was impossible.
Fall seven times and get up eight
Successful people are aware of their strengths and choose perseverance over discouragement. In fact, when we asked Kay Keusen, one of Ecwid’s successful entrepreneurs and owner of the premium Swiss chocolate store: Taucherli, what skills he’d say successful entrepreneurs have? He stated:
“The most important skill is perseverance. Especially nowadays when you see successful stories, a lot of people just think: ‘Wow, they just got rich’. No, in 99% of businesses, you have to work hard.”
As the saying goes, fall seven times and stand up eight. The key lies in a persistent mindset and the ability to embrace failure as an opportunity to try harder.
Create Your Own Success Story
Don’t let doubts stop you from moving forward. At Ecwid, we are constantly surprised by our merchants’ abilities to use and adapt our tools to their needs and grow their own business. We have learned it doesn’t take much for entrepreneurs to start a new business and turn it into something big. Most of the time, what many of these need is a push and foundation to get started.
After helping thousands of others start their own ecommerce business and watch them grow into
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