There’s nothing Booked Parties loves more than supporting the creative, energetic spirit of entrepreneurs. Recently, we are finding inspiration by setting our sights a bit lower…literally. A new crop of entrepreneurs are on the rise, but you won’t find them running their businesses between the hours of 9am to 3pm when school is in session. Gone are the days of paper boys and lemonade stands. Today’s young business owners are savvy beyond belief, successfully identifying niche business models and leveraging the power of social media in a manner that’s so natural to them, it’s staggering to us grown-ups. The children are clearly ready to lead the future.

Organization is certainly having a moment right now. Marie Kondo’s Netflix series, “Tidying Up” and the Home Edit girls’ celebrity pantry makeovers are inspiring a slew of recovering hoarders to reform their ways. For 12-year old Audrey Winter, however, an organized household has always been the norm. Her mom is Katy Winter of Katy’s Organized Home and making beds and keeping belongings neat are just part of the daily routine.

Audrey came to realize that her organized household was not the norm. She saw parents, exhausted and frustrated from nagging their children to clean their rooms, reach out to her mom for help. Together with her mom, she learned that the only way to create lifelong habits for children was to engage them in the process. Through social media, Audrey decided to launch a campaign- InstaReady Your Room to influence her peers to develop organization skills that they can carry into adulthood. With simple tips, she reminds kids to close their drawers, fold their clothes and display their possessions rather than dumping them in a corner!

We sat down with this young entrepreneur to learn more.

What inspired you to take the skills you’ve learned and share them with others?

I think that it’s important for kids of all ages to organize their lives in every area from tracking their schedules to organizing their rooms to sorting their clothing. Organizing is a skill that, if learned, can help you succeed in life. I want to get better at organizing and I think other kids do too! When you are an adult, you need to have these skills, so why not get a head start?

How have you benefitted from learning to organize your own space?
I keep my makeup, clothes, soap-making supplies and everything extremely organized and I think it helps me be a more responsible person. I feel like my life is less chaotic as a result. My mom strongly believes that these skills set kids up for success throughout the day and in life and I agree.

What are some of your tricks to convert stubborn mess-makers?

My mom has lots of tricks, which she taught me. She has my younger brother making his bed every day, which is a miracle! If he can do it, anyone can! Kids can learn to own their space by just making their beds properly or quickly folding their clothes. I just did a post on how to organize your treasures and memorabilia. I, for example, like to save playbills. So I created a playbill binder that fits the playbills perfectly. This weekend I posted on how I organize my makeup by separating them into the categories of lip, eye, face and brushes and storing them in clear, labeled containers. 

How do you promote your business? 

Right now, I’m mainly relying on social media. We created an Instagram account and YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago. Kids my age are always on their phones, so it’s the most effective way to promote your ideas. We will reevaluate our strategy as time goes on as we see what the future holds.

Tell us about the #fastfoldchallenge campaign you just launched.

The #fastfoldchallenge is a short video that I posted to show just how easy it is to fold a shirt. My personal best is three seconds. Kids love a competition, so we are challenging them to learn to fold and show-off their skills! My camp was very supportive of the campaign and gave us a shout-out on social, which got 700 views.

Are there any challenges you experienced along the way that you didn’t anticipate and, if so, how did you handle them?  

Honestly, organizing is hard! I used to be a pretty messy person and my mom was always reorganizing my room. As I got older, I wanted to do it myself. Sometimes I get really lazy, but I can’t go to bed with clothes all over my floor or papers everywhere. When my room is like that, I start losing things, which just makes me crazy! So, when my room is organized I know where everything is and I am much less stressed when I’m running out the door at 7:30 am for middle school.

What advice can you give other kids looking to become “mini movers & shakers”?

If there is something you want to experiment with, just do it, even if you have doubts. It’s always fun to try something new! 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I love to sing, play guitar, and act. I want to be a mom and wife, but I also want to have another job related to music.

Photographs provided by Katy Winter 

Shauna Levy is a writer, communications professional and a stay-at-home mom.  Her interests include flaunting her discount shopping finds, cooking food her children reject and restoring her 125-year old home.  She is currently raising three boys, ages 9, 6 and 5 alongside her husband in Chappaqua, NY.