12-year-old girl from Glasgow launches her own business

GLASGOW, Ky. (WBKO) – Lily, a 12-year-old from Glasgow, has always been creative and business-minded. From a young age, she has sat in on her father’s business meetings. And now, she has started a business herself: Toter Taxi.

“I tote, so you don’t,” founder Lily said.

It started out as an idea to sell custom-made jewelry. It then evolved into a waste management business, inspired by her household chores.

“When I brainstormed it, it started off because it was my chore to do, so then I thought, ‘Why don’t I help other people with the job?’” she recalled.

With the help and support of her family, her newly licensed waste management company is up and running in Glasgow, Bowling Green and Owensboro.

“I feel like I have a privilege to do this, I feel like I have more of something else to do,” she said. “And I still get to go out and do fun things, but I feel like this is fun too.”

Some of the services she provides includes pulling people’s waste bins to the curb for trash pickup day, power washing the bins and curb painting street numbers outside of homes to boost visual appeal and improve visibility for emergency services.

Lily is learning valuable life, business and management skills. She attains most of her customers through door-to-door sales and is especially attune on how to deal with the rejections that come with it.

“A powerful mindset and to be kind to your customers,” she said. “[You] don’t need to get angry with them or nothing, especially if you get a refusal. You say, ‘Alright, good day, and walk off the property.’”

Toter Taxi just received its license to operate in Owensboro at the end of April and just from knocking on doors around town, Lily said she received about 15 customers.

But not without the help of her father, whose business-oriented mindset has helped Lily through her first business.

“She keeps all tips and she has a percentage of profit sharing,” her dad Richy said. “Her long term goal is to be able to save up and be able to, when she turns 18, not to be looking for employment or, you know, going in debt with college or doing something crazy. She’ll have business sense and real world, life applications like she’ll have social skills to be able to speak with people.”

Richy said Lily usually starts her day around 5:30 a.m., joining her dad in meetings before being homeschooled. After school, chores and plenty of free time to play, Lily is off to work.

Lily said many of her customers are kind to her and take time to chat after she completes the job.

“It feels nice because it makes me feel like I have some fans and people support me.”

One of her customers, Cam Nash, is inspired by her motivation.

“Lily is just like a little entrepreneur. She’s just ready to get down to business,” Nash said. “She’s just so impressive, especially for her age. She’s so intelligent, she can talk about things that no other [12]-year-old talks about, she just impresses me.”

Nash assures people who are afraid to trust Lily with the service or money, that the task is simple enough to put your faith into her.

“She has so much drive and motivation,” she said. “If you get the chance to meet her and talk with her, you would know she’s serious.”

While Toter Taxi is just about two months old, other local businesses are already supporting Lily by posting her flyers up in their buildings. Owner of Garcia’s Grill in Glasgow, Armando Gomez, has also been working since a young age. He is impressed with how young Lily is starting out and gave her some advice.

“Just keep going, work hard and dream,” Gomez said. “Put a line on top of your head [that] says, ‘I want to be there,’ and then you can go.”

And Lily is already dreaming big. She hopes to expand her business as much as she can, starting in Kentucky and moving across the country. She is also thinking of other ways to expand her business such as providing lawn mowing services.

With the money she makes, she wants to buy better equipment for the job, save, invest it back into her future and spend it on what other typical 12-year-olds would spend their allowance on.

“I’m, of course, going to save it up and put it towards my business,” she said. “I want to get some chickens first, I just love chickens and maybe use it to upgrade my things I use to paint curbs and everything else. [And] definitely use some money to get outfits and clothes for going out.”

For those who are afraid to put their mind to something, Lily offered some advice.

“Don’t give up and believe in yourself. Keep trying and you’ll succeed.”

To learn more about Toter Taxi, visit their website and keep updated on their Facebook.

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