Whenever I discovered an interesting product online, I am always curious to find out more about the owners by checking out the ‘About Me’ page. Learning who they are and why they do the things they do inspire me to transform plain ideas into online business opportunities. Here are the stories of four successful entrepreneurs that we can learn from.
(1) Peggy Byron – “Changing the Way People Sleep”
Peggy Byron was the creator of Au Lit Fine Linens, one of the leading bedding company in Canada. Established for more than 30 years, Byron had always been fond of fabric designs since her young age.
She started her first shop in Montreal selling only pure cotton sheets and when the business got bigger, she decided to produce her own collection.
Today, Au Lit Fine Linens sells all things linen proudly made in Canada and has been featured in several home magazines.
The official website displays a wide range of beautiful, crisp and rustic linens while educating users on how to choose good quality products for their sleep. In fact, the products are so comfortable to look at, it makes you want to sleep on one.
(2) Bill and Jess Geier – “The Benefits of Returning to Nature”
Bill and Jess are both father and daughter who team up to produce and sell raw fruits and vegetable juices. The business idea of Raw Generation stems from a very personal incident when they lost a family member battling with pancreatic cancer.
Since then, they have started looking for ways to eat healthier and that passion lead them to discover the nutritional benefit of raw juices.
The juice ingredients are made from a variety of raw fruits, vegetables, seeds and herbs. They are not subjected to any form of preservation or dilution and they are packed in BPA-free plastics and opaque bottles to prevent sunlight from destroying the nutrients within.
Raw Generation juices are as good as homemade and they promote these healthy concoctions in small batches through their online store.
*Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s.
(3) Bridget Hilton – “Music Changes Everything”
Bridget Hilton is the founder of LSTN, a site that sells stylish headphones and earphones made from high quality reclaimed wood. As someone who is passionate about music, Bridget has a strong desire to connect people to sound which eventually brought her to help out in the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
For every sale made on her website, she would donate a hearing aid to someone in a developing country. To date, her company has restored hearing to more than 20,000 people and you can see some of their contributions in this video below.
(4) Jeff Sheldon – “Do What You Love What You Do”
Jeff Sheldon is a graphic designer by training, but sees himself creating his own online brand after graduating from college.
Driven by his passion for typography and minimal design, he started designing and selling T-shirts online and eventually created Ugmonk to promote high quality items such as clothing, accessories and prints. Each design is unique as they are professionally crafted by the creator himself.
Unlike other clothing retailers, Jeff takes to the internet to make his brand more personal and transparent. You can always find updates on his new creation through the official blog.
As a result of this exposure, they are able to market their products worldwide within just a few years of launching. Ugmonk has been featured in various media and also play an active role in giving back to the community as part of their business goals.
Do You See Yourself Starting a Business Too?
I am sure you can see that linens, headphones, clothes and juices are not any extraordinary items. In fact, we can easily get them at our local stores. However, because someone dares to think out of the box, these ordinary items are actually generating good profits online.
No matter what product you begin with, I think the foundation of creating a successful business is nothing more than providing people with something that can be used to improve their quality of life, and to some extend, give them happiness. So, even if it’s just a simple idea, I think you have more than enough to trigger a project plan.
If you are wondering how to get started, I would recommend that you check out Wealthy Affiliate as it provides a great training platform that helps aspiring entrepreneurs (like me and you!) to be successful in creating an online business.
Do you have any thoughts or questions about business ideas? Feel free to leave them in the commenting area below and I’ll get back to you.
Hi Cathy,
What a great read! I always get inspired reading articles like this. They inspire in me that entrepreneurial spirit, and drive to succeed in my various endeavors.
Each of those four people are extremely inspiring, but I’m especially curious about Jeff Sheldon. Does he seriously craft each item he sells? If so, I can imagine the prices he’d have to charge….
Ian
Yes, I believe Jeff is the creator of his own collection. If you get the chance to visit his online store, you’ll find that his design is fairly simple yet unique. Not too pricey if you consider the quality level that comes with the product.
Excellent, excellent article.
I think its great how you showcased successful entrepreneurs from all around to show what is possible when you take your business online. That’s an amazing idea and I think it provides a great way to get people excited about the concept of starting their own online business.
Thanks for dropping by Alec,
What’s more exciting is that you can start your own online business with Wealthy Affiliate for free. It comes with free websites and the level one training for online entrepreneurship. Within the course, you’ll be taught on how to search for a business niche, which is usually the most challenging part for beginners. Once you get past that stage, you’ll know your audience better and how to drive good quality traffic to your business.
Cathy – You selected some diverse products to showcase in this great article. Online marketing is the way of the future, whether you have your own product to sell, are selling products as a distributor, or doing affiliate marketing. The time is now to begin thinking through your own strategy. Everyone is capable of earning a secondary income stream in this way, and if done right, financial freedom can result! Great job in supporting others in the community as we all navigate through the waters of technology!
It is amazing how people move toward success by following a dream or a passion. Having the ability to share what we have worldwide through the use of a well-designed website is very cool. I am aware of the Wealthy Affiliate program and it provides excellent tools to get its members earning online. All that you have to bring to the table is passion and motivation.
Great article, Cathy!
These are very inspirational stories. It goes to show that thinking outside the box is worth the risk to be different. It certainly can pay off to stand out from the crowd. These stories have motivated me to continue working at what I love to do.
I was wondering, have you ever met any of these people personally?
Thanks, Stella
Hi Stella, I wish I had. If there’s one person I really want to meet, it would be Bridget. I love what she is doing, combining technology and music to improve the life of underprivileged children. It inspires me to do something purposeful for my online business too.
Hi Cathy,
Personally, I have thought about selling my own products online, but in the end I settled for affiliate marketing. With affiliate marketing, I don’t have to carry inventory or do product fulfillment.
If I was looking for a product to sell, I would search either for something that would solve a problem or relieve a pain, otherwise something related to a passion. People are ready to spend money on things they are passionate about like golf or fishing.
Anyways, whatever sort of online business you start, having some good training in very important and the Wealthy Affiliate platform is the best place to go for that.
Thanks for the post Cathy. You’ve got me thinking again about what I could be selling.
Hi Peter,
Selling one’s own product requires a lot of market research and inventory is certainly something to consider. Just like you, I find that affiliate marketing is easier to begin with. But who knows, in a few more years to come, I would have enough marketing experience to start my own brand online.
I am interested to know how it works for you, Peter so do keep me posted 🙂
I was listening to the radio, and they were telling a story about how a little boy – he was under 10 – who started a charity feeding needy families. Now he’s a young teenager, I guess about 13 or 14, and he runs a nonprofit organization. He’s fed tens of thousands of families, and he has volunteers as young as 8. He got his friends, family and neighbors to help. He works on it constantly. He said it’s his purpose in life to help the needy.
I thought it was amazing and sweet that someone so young could start a nonprofit organization and be that passionate about it. But you can do anything you put your mind to, no matter how young – or old – you are. 🙂
What an admirable young boy, which makes me think how we should raise our children to be more giving and loving. Many young children aren’t aware of the harsh reality out there and because they grow up in a comfortable surrounding, it’s even harder for them to imagine what’s life without basic needs.
I believe this boy will set an inspirational example for his generation to follow and to pursue their own definition of success in life.
Another terrific post Cathy.
I look forward to reading more about new and interesting ways to make a living, always backed up by relevant real life stories from successful business people. Very inspiring and a great spring board for others, including myself!
I jumped into the Wealthy Affiliate community 3 months ago and never looked back. Their training platform is full of resources designed to create businessmen/women of us all!
Waiting for your next post.
Hi Lin, thanks for the follow.
Once in a while, it’s good to read how people follow their passion and become successful. I think it serves as a reminder of what we can potentially do for ourselves when we are lack of motivation. Likewise, the community at Wealthy Affiliate always inspires me to write better blog post and that certainly helps to grow my online business too.
Great inspiration here!
I love hearing about other people’s success and like you said the “About Me” page. What you come to find is they are ordinary people just like you and I, but they had a passion, desire and commitment to become successful. Oh yeah, and let’s not leave out the hard work too!
Great stuff Cathy!
Hi Jason,
Passion and perseverance are two big driving force for any form of success in life. They make us do things that seem impossible and continue to create opportunities for us to grow. Isn’t it amazing what ordinary people can do?
Hi Cathy,
I loved reading these success stories of different entrepreneurs who think differently. These people not only turned their passions into business opportunities online, but they also go the extra mile to help people. I really loved the testimony of Bridget Hilton. Thank you sharing this and for the encouragement.
Hi Suzette,
I personally admire what Bridget is doing to help restore hearing in disabled people. More young entrepreneurs should follow her footsteps to assist those who are less fortunate.
I remember the days when people always tell me that the best way to succeed in life is find a stable job, do good deeds, climb the corporate ladder, become a manager or supervisor and then retire with the benefits of a pension.
It is not totally wrong, but when I grew older (well, not too old) I realized that there is more to life than that. As long as I find a way to connect passion to profit, and forget all the false beliefs about being rich, then success can also be achieved – in a shorter time frame.
That’s so true, Glen.
I was taught that way too when I was young and I spent my entire college time believing it. But somewhere during the years of employment, I realized that the path was not right for me. I was helping someone build their passion – not mine and that felt very wrong.
So yes, if we can gather the resources and don’t mind learning from zero all over again, then we can really do the things that matter the most to us in life.