VENTURE STORY: YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

The 20s mark one of the most diverse stages in most people’s lives. Some 20-somethings have never been in relationships, while others are getting married. Some are in college; others went straight to work. Some of us are just in the beginning of our careers and others, far more advanced.

Then there are those among us that have already become their own boss, charging headfirst as young entrepreneurs.

Many people choose not to pursue the entrepreneur route for a variety of reasons, among the most prominent a lack of professional experience. Despite that hurdle, two young Portland-area women decided to toss their fears out the window and embraced the challenge that comes with being a young entrepreneur.

As we learn their stories, we might ask if every business is unique as some people insist – and, if there is something common that all young entrepreneurs might share

Melody Rin is the 20-year-old founder of Rin’s Resins, where she turns decorative resins into durable plastics, or durable castings applied on top of glassware. She is most known for her floral resins, which commonly end up sold as ashtrays, earrings and heart jars. But she is perhaps most famous for her work on bongs, the latter making up most of her Instagram page.

While she has a regular stock of standard orders that are her floral designs, she has made custom commissions including a sparkly green Hennessy bottle for a collaboration and a Trail Blazers-themed bong which has the words “Rip City” in matching Blazers colors.

“I really love being my own boss,” said Rin. “If I want to have a meeting, it’s literally just me and I don’t have to go through a lot of hoops to make that happen,” she explained with a laugh.

She shares that part of being an entrepreneur is having to go through a lot of trial and error and realizing that menial logistics is part of the journey. For example, there are days that she wants to continue doing her resin work, but needs instead to dedicate time to ship boxes first. Ultimately for every moment there is pleasure doing work, there is another moment that can be a chore. Nonetheless, the result is oftentimes rewarding and you take the good with the bad, she said.

Rin said one of the difficulties faced as a young owner is that older people do not take you as seriously, commenting that “it’s just a phase, or that you are doing it for fun.” However, she stresses that being an owner makes managing a business so much more personal than a job.

“There’s a whole community of artists out there who also take their work seriously,” she noted. While she does lack a lot of professional experience that older business owners hold, she is lucky to have a family that supports her. That experience can always be gained, and she is always on the road to learn more about herself.

“I dip my toes into a lot of jobs, which gives me experience, and (I know) that plenty of my interests such as baking and photography also give me ideas to build my business,” she said.

Just as there are moments of joy that can be found in being an entrepreneur, there are low points. Nearly all artists will eventually face a creative block where they cannot focus their imagination or enthusiasm to pursue a project to the best of their ability, and realize that they are their own worst critic.

“There are times when I doubt my own ability and I start asking if my work is honestly good enough,” Rin said. Being an entrepreneur is doubly painful because not only do you have an expectation for yourself, but there is also an expectation from the people that order from you, she explained. Regardless, she does not see herself being deterred: “They (customers) have still been supportive of me and I still have a family that encourages me, which keeps me motivated through all the low points.”

Rin acknowledges that her journey is long and still a work in progress. However, she is also a strong proponent that age is not an obstacle to greatness in the world, but merely a number. She takes inspiration from common phrases; for instance, “while it sounds corny, ‘Do not give up,’ ” she said. “There are days I go without sales, but being able to talk about them helps (me).”

She adds that there is almost a universal spirit among young entrepreneurs: Defiance.

“There will always be haters who say that ‘I can do that myself.’ Then challenge them to make it as good as you!” she said. “We should follow our dreams even if it is crazy because you’ll be happier pursuing the dreams you set rather than the dreams that others put on you.”

Just as Rin believes it is better to pursue one’s own path, Mia Bratcher, 19, believes that ambition will propel people to be the best that they could be. In her words, “Better to shoot for 100 and get 80 than shoot for 20 then get 10.”

The founder of a cosmetics company, Mia’s World, Bratcher set her goal to make quality eyelashes and lip glosses at an affordable price as she once struggled herself to find quality cosmetics items at an accessible price. She prides herself because she views her company as more than just a place to get quality eyelashes and lip gloss. It’s also as a brand that serves the community as a role model for young people who also seek affordable beauty and as an inspiration to encourage them to pursue their own dreams.

“I wanted to find a way to financially support my mom and I didn’t like working for Domino’s,” while she “inherited a spirit of entrepreneurialism” from her father, she said. She explains that her family comes from an artistic background and so she wanted to combine her father’s business attitude with her own artistic interests.

The birth of her company came in 2019 in the middle of softball season at Centennial High School in Gresham, where she mentioned to her teammates that she wanted to create a business selling lip gloss and eyelashes.

“They had questions at first, but one of my team members made my first order and that’s how Mia’s World began,” she said.

She was really afraid to mention to her family that she started a business, mindful of their possible reactions, but found her parents to be her biggest supporters. She notes that Centennial provided an excellent starting ground as it enabled her products to be spread through word-of-mouth.

“If I was older in my life, I wouldn’t have the community that high school provides me,” she said. “(It is) what gave me the drive to see my company as not only a tool to help spread beauty, but also to give back to my community. It is why I made Mia in my company an acronym, standing for ‘Made to Inspire Artists.’ ”

Reflecting on her view as a community influencer, she acknowledges that her age has had a profound impact on her personal and professional image.

“My customer base is younger than me and they look up to me; (and) I think the older generation is also proud of me, because entrepreneurialism is easier said than done,” she said.

Bratcher concedes that the older generation still has its moments of doubt, as they see her business as a side hustle and believe she will eventually pursue something else. “But I’m bigger than just the Portland-Gresham area,” she explains. She points out that her commitment to the local community is solid as she donates a sizable portion of her profits and reinvests all her money back into her business.

Bratcher currently attends Oregon State University, where she is finding out about the best ways to improve her business while also balancing her life.

“It gets difficult trying to have that trifecta of being an owner, a college student and having a social life,” she explains – observing that one of the ultimate equalizers between everybody, whether they are rich or poor, is the amount of time they have in one day.

She recalls a time in high school where she had to stay up all night for a Winter Formal to make lashes for all her orders in time for the dance. “Now that I’m in college, it’s even harder to manage, especially when there’s exams,” she said.

Bratcher said she hopes to grow at a faster rate, to leave Earth a better place, but laughed as she admits that sometimes she doesn’t know how she manages to maintain the delicate balance in her life. Perhaps the most difficult part of being an entrepreneur is the emotional difficulty it takes to reinvest in your company and the mystery of not knowing where it will take you, she adds.

But similar to Melody Rin’s theme of “defiance” in her enterprise, Bratcher takes the pressures of her journey in stride, stressing that “A broke college student who struggles to put food on the table will be more motivated than someone who’s had it all.

“Dreaming big means that you will manifest big. You may not make it to the goal but you can be close and that strength is the ability to do your work in silence,” she concludes.

Perhaps there are unifying themes of young entrepreneurialism, after all.
Both Rin and Bratcher faced doubts from their older peers, but remain determined to prove their efforts are not “just a phase.” While both struggle to balance their lives, their high hopes keep them going through the difficulties. And even while they work to expand their businesses, they remain humble as they also work to support the community that has backed them from the beginning.

Defiance, ambition and humbleness – these are themes that unite young entrepreneurs such as Rin and Bratcher as they each strive to be not just a good entrepreneur, but an exemplary one.