Dreamer ENT – Dream. Dare. Soar.

You are browsing the archives of 2010 July.

Entrepreneurship is all about fitting your skills and creativity to serve the needs of those around you. 19-year-old Raymond Lei is doing just that as he helps people everywhere customize their style through his T-shirt company ooShirts.com.

The idea for ooShirts was sparked in 2006 when a group of Raymond’s classmates needed custom t-shirts for their school club, “Monta Vista Tennis Club.” Then a sophomore in high school, Raymond took up the task of finding a company to print their shirts. He looked through both local and online companies, only to discover time after time that the Tennis Club couldn’t afford to have its design printed.

Disappointed at the poor selection of affordable services, Raymond vowed to one day start a t-shirt company that saved its customers money. He gathered up $2000, began planning and in March of 2007 the first ooShirts website was launched. The site allows anyone to upload their own design, pick a shirt style and color and have their t-shirt printed and shipped. Ever since, Raymond has been serving up personalized style a tee at a time. Check out what he had to share with Dreamer ENT about being a young entrepreneur:

Dreamer ENT: Tell us about you: How old are you, what school do you go to, your major and year?

Raymond Lei: I’m 19 years old and I’m a business major at UC Berkeley. I’m going to be a sophomore next semester.

DE: Tell us about your company and the concept and mission behind it. Where did the name come from?

Raymond: The company sells custom printed t-shirts to groups. Typically, you need a large budget to get your shirts done, but my goal is to make this affordable by running a more focused and efficient business.
When I was 16, I saw that Google and Yahoo, two of the largest tech companies, had two o’s each in their names. “That must be the trick!” I thought to myself, and named my company ooShirts.

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Are you ready for MO’? Monique Coleman is preparing to launch her own online talk show for teens called Gimme MO’, which premieres this fall. The show is aimed at inspiring young people and based on the clips Monique has posted so far it seems like it will be very upbeat and will touch on relatable issues:

Gimme MO’ Show Description

GimmeMo’ is an online talk show launching in the fall of 2010. Actress Monique Coleman is hosting the show with the intention of empowering today’s youth. She will be facilitating safe conversation about real issues, bringing awareness to organizations that are serving teens, & conducting celebrity interviews. Each webisode centers around one compelling topic. Monique recognizes that the youth are constantly on the web, so she will meet them where they are and provide them with much needed positive content.

Monique is also busy working on a book called “From Ramen Noodles to the Red Carpet: A Guide to Becoming Who You Are Without Forgetting Who You Were.” She was quoted on Just Jared Jr. saying the book is “primarily for actors, but speaks to anyone who has ever felt alone or in need of support in a difficult career. Drawing from personal experience, I offer advice and address how to maintain a positive attitude and believe in your self when others may not.”

Stay connected with Monique on Twitter, Facebook, on her official website and on her Tumblr.

Below is Monique’s personal statement for the Gimme Mo’ Talk Show; we love her passion and vision:

Monique’s Gimme MO’ Personal Statement

I believe that today’s youth want MOre…
I believe they deserve MOre….
Which is why I’m starting a MOvement!
It’s called the GimmeMo’ Movement…or simply GimmeMo’

MOre What?

MOre Information, MOre Support, MOre Knowledge, MOre Respect, MOre Awareness, MOre Challenges, and MOre Rewards.

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Alyson Stoner recently released a new inspiring song called “Make History,” which she calls “The World’s First Artist/Fan-Written Song.” She had asked her fans to submit ideas for the song and to vote for it on Radio Disney. You can now order the song on iTunes by clicking here.

Alyson wrote to her fans recently saying:

Thanks for voting on RadioDisney.com for our new song, Make History. Because of you, it was this week’s pick on Radio Disney’s Music Mailbag! Now let’s work together and spread the word!!

My goal is to inspire others to tap into their gift, and begin using it to make a difference. Together, we can create massive change, FOR GOOD!! Please join me…let’s MAKE HISTORY! – Alyson Stoner

I love the lyrics of Make History like:

“Hey, you were made for something great, you got history to make…
So where ya wanna go? Who ya wanna be? Whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna say? What’s it gonna be?
Everybody on your feet, you reach as high as you can dream…
So never stop imagining; don’t miss a beat, make history…”

You can listen to the song below:

Alyson will also be starring in the upcoming Disney Channel Movie “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” that premieres in September. You can keep up with her on Facebook, Youtube or at her website.

Watch the video below to see the story behind the song:
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Check out this video from CNN where a South Florida senior named D’Anna talks about how she started her own creative clothing customization business, D’Anna Dolly’s House of Fashion.

The young fashionista reworks jeans, jackets and other items by tie-dying, sewing material or adding jewels & studs. You can read more about D’Anna and another teens in this article from the Miami Herald that also talks about how you can also start your own business this summer instead of wading through the current unpredictable job market.

Photo Source: The Miami Herald

Here’s an inspiring story of how one girl decided to make a difference instead of just sitting by and watching…

After hearing about the oil spill in the Gulf that is affecting many people and animals there 11-year-old Olivia Bouler was moved and decided to take action. The Gulf Coast was a familiar place to her, where she spent many vacations with her family who live in Louisiana and Alabama.

Olivia, who describes herself as an “aspiring ornithologist, artist, and saxophone player,” decided to put her artistic skills to work, creating and selling original artworks of birds, because she knew birds would be affected and could likely suffer as a result of the spill.

She contacted the National Audubon Society to ask for help, in hopes of giving her illustrations to raise money for clean up costs. The response has been enormous and, Olivia has raised thousands and has over 27,000 members on her Facebook page: Save the Gulf: Olivia’s Bird Illustrations. Her story has appeared in several news outlets like BBC radio, AOL News, Newsday, Italian news, and Belgian news. Her work is now also featured as an AOL Artist, with AOL giving The Audubon Society $25,000 in honor of Olivia’s efforts.

What an amazing effort; we love Oliva’s artwork and commend her for the work she’s doing! Want to donate or contribute to her efforts? Visit http://www.aolartists.com/projects/help-the-gulf to donate and visit Save the Gulf: Olivia’s Bird Illustrations to find out how you can get a print of her work for your donation.

Read more about Olivia in this feature from AOL’s Good News Now and read the letter she wrote here.