T2T - WOW! You’re Mom sounds like an amazing woman.
She definitely saw all
the potential in you. T2T - What’s a typical day for you? Do you attend school or are you home school? TM - I am cyber schooled through a public online charter school. I normally wake up about the same time as my 8 year-old brother; I eat breakfast with him and then head to my office which is in the lower level of my house. I will usually return e-mails, and spend about a half-hour strategizing my tweets and Facebook activity for the day. Then I have a daily Skype meeting with my tutor to check the progress of
guess it was mostly because I wanted to be a trail-blazer so to speak. There aren’t many teen entrepreneurs and I wanted to prove that this is do-able. Teen girls can really make this happen! T2T - Have you experienced any obstacles being the CEO of your own business? TM - I have experienced MANY obstacles being so young-- mostly legality things. Banks don’t like that I’m so young, which as you can imagine has put a major set- back on progress trying to launch Utoria. T2T - What advice would you give to other aspiring teen girls that have a desire to start their own business but don’t know where to begin? TM - Find a mentor and do your research. Researching and being knowledgeable about whatever you’re doing is the most important step. Know everything about your product or service. It makes you credible. Anyone reading this article can e-mail me for advice at: tori@myutoria.com.
my school work. After that my day can be very unpredictable. I don’t have a staff so I have to wear many different “hats” for my company. I could be event planning, designing presentations, communicating with Utoria Girls, taking product inventory, etc. Sometimes I can work until 5 p.m. and other nights I won’t leave my office until after midnight. It really all depends on what Utoria’s involved in. T2T - Who was your inspiration when you started this entrepreneurial path? TM - I always get asked this question! I
T2T - Do you have any mentors that you look to for advice or successful entrepreneurs you would like to meet? TM - I have so many mentors I don’t think I could list them all! I have been working closest with Good Morning America contributor Tory Johnson, and product development specialist Jen Groover. Both who are very amazing women. As far as people I would like to meet I have a long list. Mark Zuckerburg is #1, also Jessica Herrin, Bethany Frankel, Jeff Lewis, Dylan Lauren, and Oprah. I could go on and on…
T2T - What does Tori like to do in her spare time? TM - I have very little spare time, but when I have time to myself I like to swim, play tennis, go boating, ice skate, ride 4-wheelers and explore new places! But I travel so much that I’m rarely home although when I am I go to the gym a lot. T2T - What is your ultimate goal for yourself and your businesses? TM - I can’t honestly answer that question because I don’t know. I am still really young and I get to spend every day doing something I love so as long as I continue doing that I know I’ll be successful!