PR, management lessons from acclaimed 9-year-old entrepreneur

At the age of nine, Alina Morse of Wolverine Lake, Michigan, is already an acclaimed entrepreneur in the US, winning success and admiration with her innovation. She has invented a line of lollipops promoting healthy teeth for children. Helping her in the invention is her father, Tom Morse, a former consultant to Deloitte for its Consumer Packaged Goods clients.

Her brand, Zollipops, a sugar-free lollipop containing sugar alternatives erythritol, xylitol and stevia, “helps strengthen the enamel”, reports Lauren Abdel-Razzaq in The Detroit News. With a $7,500 investment, Alina sold $70,000 in Zollipops last year.  

Also, there is a lot that business leaders can learn from her. The Chief Executive magazine lists eight basic business lessons from Alina for CEOs and business chiefs. The lessons are: 1. be enthusiastic about your product or company; 2. have a strategy for wowing the media -- especially in this era of viral and digital marketing, it’s crucial for a new company to get a foothold in the news and entertainment media; 3. start the nurture process early; 4. write down or verbally record every idea, no matter how small for potential customers, new products and new businesses; 5. solve a problem or create a need; 6. question the norm; 7. plan your expansion opportunities; 8. think globally. 

That Alina pursues ‘Performance with Purpose’ very seriously has been reinforced by the fact that she has earmarked 10 per cent of her profits for CSR in an area which is relevant to her business: organizing oral hygiene programmes in the neighbourhood schools.