Gabrielle O. Starkes Cleaning Up As A Kidprenuer
Hi Friends,
I started GO! Bubbles at six-years old and shared why I started it with Ms. Arthia Nixon. It was featured in KidsNewsmaker.
Read the story below:
Seven-Year-Old Soap Maker Cleaning Up As A Kidprenuer
By Arthia Nixon
Florida, USA… Gabrielle Starkes’ soft spoken voice and infectious smile are often the first thing potential buyers notice when the meet the seven-year-old soap maker. Her poise, confidence and a thorough understanding of how to make her GO! Bubbles soap products revealed that she’s a girl on a mission to leave her mark in the $15 billion dollar bath and shower products industry, which grew by four percent between 2014 and 2019.
The Orlando, Florida native is so sure of her product, she was able to pitch her product ‘Shark Tank’ style to judges during the Raising A Mogul Family Business Summit in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2019 against kidpreneurs as old as fifteen.
“I wanted to make my own products because my mom has her spa products and I wanted some too,” explains Gabrielle. “GO! Bubbles is natural and a plant-based soap so that means it’s good for the environment and that means it’s really good for your skin because it doesn’t have fake stuff. My mom has to help me but when it comes to stir up the ingredients and pick the fragrance and pour the molds, I do that. I like to pick out the toys and finger puppets to put in the soap too.”
With just two years of elementary school under her belt, Gabrielle attests to seeing kids who sometimes forget to wash their hands before eating or after using the bathroom.
“When you don’t wash your hands, that’s bad hygiene and it spreads germs,” she said. “I want to give kids a reason to want to wash their hands and that’s why there is a toy inside the soap. The only way to get to the toy is to wash your hands.”
Gabrielle was excited to learn that she made over $1,000 selling her soaps through her mom’s website and social media. After attending the Raising A Mogul Family Business Summit and meeting the teen founder of Zandra Beauty who started her million dollar business at age nine, Gabrielle’s mom Michelle said that she is inspired to get her products into retail stores.
“When people meet Gabrielle and hear her for themselves, she leaves an impression,” said Gabrielle’s mother, Michelle. “She saw what I was doing with my spa products and instead of telling her not to touch, I let her watch and she wanted to do something similar for kids. To think that she officially started her business in 2018 and then nine months later stand on a stage to say why she deserves to get funding for her business is phenomenal. Her dad and I are extremely proud of her.”
For more information visit www.gobubblessoap.com