NFIB/Visa Young Entrepreneur Foundation Award Winner: Claire Coder

Date: May 05, 2015

The 16-year-old creator behind “There’s a Badge for That” experienced government regulations, but pressed through.

When Claire Coder’s grandmother gave her granddaughter a badge maker, she planted the seed for what would become There’s a Badge for That. Coder started making buttons and badges for friends and family, and soon started selling them locally, and soon,  nationally.

At 16, Coder started her own business, and two years later she employs six people on a part-time commissioned basis. “The company is basically based on the idea that there are endless possibilities,” says Coder.

Coder has always had the desire to help and inspire people, and There’s a Badge for That lets her do this in a real way. “Everyone I have hired is under the age of 21,” she says. “I truly believe the youth can change the world.”

She had to work hard to get her business off the ground. “My dad would always tell me perseverance pays off,” says Coder, who in the beginning went door to door in her local city of Toledo to find her first clients.

When she turned 18, Coder had to transfer the business to her own name, which required a lot of paperwork and jumping through hoops. The paperwork and ins-and-outs of government regulations is “the hardest part of being a business owner,” she says. She has reached out to mentors, the community and her family to help navigate the intricacies of owning her own business.

Coder will be leaving in the fall to study communications with a minor in business and Spanish at Ohio State University, and her business will be moving with her. She will set up the main base in Columbus, with a team managing the business in the Toledo area.

Coder’s goal is to be a motivational speaker. “I can encourage other young entrepreneurs to do what they love and reach for their dreams,” she says.  She would love to be a speaker on TED Talks – “that’s the dream!”

Her business invokes the idea that there are endless possibilities, and Coder encourages other young entrepreneurs to embrace this. “My advice is always do what you love and love what you do,” she says.

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