TEENPRENEUR
The Teenpreneur Award recognizes an entrepreneur or group, age 13 to 19, committed to advancing the rich tradition of black business achievement.
Teenpreneur Award Winner
Adam N. Holland and Jonathan K. Holland
AJ’s Hawaiian Iceez L.L.C. – Brandywine, MD
www.ajsiceez.com
Brothers Adam Holland, 16, and Jonathan Holland, 14, started AJ’s Hawaiian Iceez L.L.C. three years ago in an attempt to help their parents pay for their and their younger sister’s private school tuition.
Although they researched ahead of time and had even seen a similar business do well, the teens didn’t realize the success they’d reach with their Hawaiian shaved ice company. Revenues for AJ’s Hawaiian Iceez have more than tripled since the company started in July 2008, growing from $10,800 to $36,618 in 2010. The seasonal business runs from the second week in April until the first week of October. “Our work ethic, by far, is our most important contribution to our business. We were taught that success is intentional, and we intended to always be successful,†says Adam, adding that the company also purchased a custom shaved ice trailer in January 2010.
The brothers have expanded their business to selling office items during the off-season such as silicone USB flash drive wrist bands that are custom printed with school names, custom laptop sleeves, and a private-label water that they sell with their shave ice frozen desserts. In addition, Jonathan is working on a book for tweens called Likeability: The Characteristic That Every Kid Should Possess.