Sunday, January 28, 2018

Young Fashion Designer Achieves Great Success

When we think of entrepreneurs, most of us picture adults or college-age people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg when they first started their companies. The Internet, however, has offered the opportunity for very young people to run companies and start their careers early in life. This article is the first in a new series on this blog featuring young entrepreneurs. 


Moziah Bridges, 15, the President and Creative Director of Mo’s Bows (mosbowsmemphis.com) is a real inspiration to kids who have dreams of running their own businesses. Several years ago, Mo wanted an accessory that would make him look sharp but couldn’t find anything that suited him. His grandmother helped him make bowties and Mo’s Bows was born. 

In 2014, when Mo was 12, he and his mother, Tramica, appeared on Shark Tank. Reminded of himself and his mother and his early endeavors and impressed by Mo’s diligence, fashion mogul and entrepreneur Daymond John invested in the fledgling Memphis, Tennessee-based company.

With John’s help and guidance, Mo’s Bows were soon on the shelves of stores like Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus. In 2025, Mo found himself on TIME Magazine's
Most Influential Teen List and invited to meet with President Obama at the White House. When “ESPN hired Mo as a fashion correspondent for their NBA Draft telecast, …his company hand-made bow ties for all of the draft picks” (Belzer, 2017). 

The partnership with the NBA has launched Mo's Bows to a new level and may earn the company over $6 billion this year. In addition to bowties, the company now offers neckties, pocket squares, and t-shirts. Says Mo, who is well on the way of achieving his dream of being a fashion mogul himself and who hopes to have a full line of  clothing by the time he graduates from college, "I never imagined the baby business I started at my grandmother's kitchen table would one day be an internationally recognized brand."Text Box: mosbowsmemphis.com


Sources:

www.mosbowsmemphis.com


Belzer, Jason. (2017, May 9). The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets: 15-year-old Mo’s Bows Founder Hustles His Way into NBA Partnership. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2017/05/09/15-year-old-mos-bows-founder-hustles-his-way-into-nba-partnership/#54ed19104e87


 

Monday, January 8, 2018

The Importance of Good Editing



I’m a big fan of e-books. Nothing is more convenient when I’m traveling or sitting in a waiting room than having my Amazon Fire handy with all my downloaded reading material. I’ve read many novels and nonfiction books over the past year on this device. One thing has stood out in many of them—one thing that is frustrating for a professional writer: poor editing.

I won’t name specific titles, but I have posted reviews on this blog regarding some of them. These works contain comma splices and run-on sentences; dangling and misplaced modifiers; paragraph breaks at the wrong places; missing, repeated, misspelled, and misused words; and punctuation errors of all types. I’m not talking about an instance here or there. These errors were consistent, occurring throughout. Most of these books are self-published, but some came from traditional houses, and while many had terrific plots and characters or great information, the poor editing got in the way of an enjoyable read. 

There is no excuse for any author not to put his or her best work forward. One’s reputation depends on it. If you are an indie author, that means taking the time to have the manuscript professionally edited and proofread. If you intend to seek out a traditional publisher—whether large or small—and this lack of professionalism plagues your manuscript, pay to have these tasks accomplished before you submit your work and risk a rejection slip. Yes, it costs, unless you can barter with someone who has the required expertise. Hire a person who edits books for a living—not a friend or a spouse who doesn’t. 

I won’t bother reading any more books by the people whose unedited and unproofread works wasted my precious time. No author who is serious about his or her writing future would want this reaction from a reader. It’s sad, because these writers’ reputations have been ruined at the beginnings of their careers.

Don’t let your manuscript be one that gets a bad review over mistakes that are easily rectified with the proper effort. Keep your reputation intact and the future of your career bright. Take the time and spend the money to have your book professionally edited and proofread to increase your chances of getting glowing reviews.