Miss. Tatyanna Penrice is only 13 years old, in the 8th grade and has already committed herself to being an entrepreneur. She is the owner and designer of Monet’s Closet, a company which provides Custom Decorative Pillows. She is usually met with congratulations from her community upon their recognition that she is a young entrepreneur. During our phone interview, we discussed several things from her motivations to her dreams and aspirations.

Her inspiration for beginning her business was that she always wanted to become a fashion designer. She was practicing her skills by designing and making pillows for free and fun, then she was invited to host her own booth with her merchandise at the Mocha Kids Expo. Upon the invitation to the expo, she quickly developed her business name and executed a plan to get her business off the ground.

Even though she sometimes get discouraged when her machine messes up or her products are not up to her standard. She is motivated to keep doing her business as she knows she is getting closer towards her goal of becoming a fashion designer.

She is completely dedicated to her business as she practices exemplary time management skills. These skills are displayed through actions such as doing her homework on the school bus or immediately when she gets homes, and then promptly working on her custom pillow designs. She also manages her time with being actively engaged in her school as a member of the choir and theater.

All that she is doing does not prevent her from receiving good grades, but her parents are still strict on her. She appreciates the strictness and says that it motivates her and pushes her to do good. In her own words “It helps me because I want to see myself successful and I do not want to embarrass my parents.”
Her friends at her school are aware that she has her own business and they do support her. She said, “they think it’s pretty cool.”

In the future, Tatyanna would like to start designing clothes and her goal is to save her money to purchase more work equipment such as an embroidery machine. She truly enjoys running her business as she says that making pillows is super easy. As a young entrepreneur, she has made it clear that she has learned the skills of saving her earnings and paying herself. She thanks her mom for helping her to figure it all out.

When I asked Tatyanna who does she look up to I was expecting to hear Beyonce, as it is the most teenage girls dream. But she is truly unique and states that she looks up to her grandma and mom. She states, “My grandma has been thru a lot and she is still able to smile and be happy after everything that has happened to her. Even though she lost her job and have to pay for everything out of pocket she is still happy. And my mom she is good at managing things and keeping her priorities straight”