Many of them aren’t old enough to drive, but they’re CEOs of their own companies

When Elijah Rutland’s parents wouldn’t buy him the sneakers he wanted, he rebelled by drawing sketches of shoes.

Then he started painting designs on shoes, live-streaming on Facebook as he worked.

Two years later, the Macon 17-year-old’s Facebook live-streams garner thousands of views and he’s sold more than 100 pairs of shoes.

Rutland said camouflage and rainbow designs are his best sellers, but he’s also painted Atlanta Falcons-themed sneakers, and shoes featuring Super Mario and Luigi characters.

While the recent Central High School graduate had a handle on the creative talent needed to support his company, Fix My Sole, the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy helped fill in the business piece, said his mother, Monya Rutland.

The younger Rutland sat painting sneakers with a design for the upcoming Black Panther superhero movie at a pop up shop Saturday that also featured products and services from six other Young Entrepreneurs Academy participants.

Twenty students from area middle and high schools participated in the 30-week program, developing products and business plans and launching their companies, said Nadia Osman, the program’s manager.

The Macon program — the first and so far only in Georgia — began last year and is modeled on a national one that’s produced millionaires and one student who pitched to investors on the “Shark Tank” TV show, she said.

Valencia Williams, an 18-year-old who graduated from Central High School this spring, is using the program to launch an event planning company, Dream Catching Events.

Christopher Timothy, a 14-year-old rising Howard High School freshman, started Khalil School Creations, a company that sells customizable school binders.

Lauren Beamon, a 15-year-old Central High student, is selling customizable laser engraved plaques through her company, Libby’s Laser Lithos, to help raise money for college.

Fourteen-year-old Academy for Classical Education student Aman Boricha-Masand launched Cord.It, a paracord bracelet company modeled on accessories he made as at camp as a third grade CUB SCOUT. One $22 model includes a compass, fire starter and a whistle.

Tyra Hill, a 12-year-old Clifton Ridge Middle School student from Jones County, started a videography company.

Another 12-year-old, First Presbyterian Day School student Macy Fuller, hopes to begin selling doll and book combo sets in July through her company, String Things.

She said she started making the dolls as a young girl and sold them to classmates. Now, by adding a book that teaches children about the beauty of diversity, she’s turning them into a business.

Osman said the chamber of commerce’s hopes that by supporting entrepreneurs at a younger age, they’ll see that they can make a living doing what they love, and do it in Macon, Osman said.

“The idea is that these students have business skills that can last them a lifetime,” she said.

This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Many of them aren’t old enough to drive, but they’re CEOs of their own companies."