Making jewelry by 7

Gabrielle started making jewelry when she was 7 after watching a video on YouTube. When she wore her first “Bling Bling Ring” to school, a friend loved it so much, she bought it. That inspired Gabrielle to keep making jewelry, and for the first few years, she sold her creations to friends and family. But her venture took off in 2010 after she set up a table at a business event with her mom and just about sold out of all her jewelry.

“They were saying ‘Oh my gosh, this was made by a 9-year-old,” Gabrielle explained. “After that, I got more exposure because I would give my business card to people. That’s how I got more known.”

And then came the book, which began as a school project at Pointer Ridge Elementary. Gabrielle wrote about inspiring other children to become entrepreneurs and to follow their dreams, and her book made it to the state level of the competition, she said. She decided to self-publish the book so other kids could follow her experience. Titled “Making of a Young Entrepreneur: A kid’s guide to developing the mind-set for success,” the book can be purchased on Gabrielle’s website, at Amazon.com and through Kindle. She’s already sold more than 500 copies, according to her mother, Marcella Mollon-Williams.

Gabrielle is also a speaker in demand. She speaks at Girl Scout events, youth entrepreneur workshops, writers’ workshops and more. She has been recognized by the Entrepreneur and Professional Network as the 2011 Rising Star Young Entrepreneur of the Year and was named one of the Most Influential Community Leaders by Sharpermind Consultants. Gabrielle was also the recipient of the first annual EPNET Young Entrepreneur Scholarship.

Mollon-Williams is not surprised by her daughter’s drive and success.

“It seems so normal to me. She’s always been kind of mature,” the mother said. And entrepreneurship runs in the family. Mollon-Williams owns her own financial planning business, Gabrielle’s father owns his own film company and her brother has a website of book and movie reviews.

Gabrielle said she likes to encourage other young people to go into business.

“It’s important to start when you are young because a lot of adults will support you because they want to keep you on that path,” she said. “I started out learning things that will be really helpful when I grow up, like keeping a positive attitude and going into business with the right mindset.”

When she does grow up, Gabrielle wants to be an international best selling author and a gemologist. But in the meantime, her mom is trying to balance things so that Gabrielle still has time to be a kid.

“At the end of the day, I’m still a parent, and I’m very careful to make sure she’s not over extending herself,” Mollon-Williams said.