Young Woman on a Mission
Aissata Kone, 10th grader at Strath Haven High School and owner of Gloss 4 the Cause. Photo: Aissata Kone
You might say Aissata Kone was born to be a businesswoman. The Strath Haven High School 10th grader says she comes from “a family of grinders.” Her mother is an entrepreneur, and her father is hardworking and dedicated to education and hard work. Growing up with these examples inspired and informed Kone’s work ethic.
“The first business I remember my mom starting was a tutu business that she ran with my aunt,” recalls Kone. When Kone was small, her mother, DeeMarie, taught herself to sew, then began creating and selling baby and children’s clothes.
When Aissata was 10, her mother approached her about starting her own business. DeeMarie bought a vinyl cutter and a heat press, and the two got to work designing T-shirts with messages of empowerment for women and girls. “It was a womanist brand,” Kone says.
When the stay-at-home order was issued at the beginning of the pandemic, Kone and her mother began reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Children About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not,” by Robert T. Kiyosaki. A long time Girl Scout, Kone followed up this reading with summer courses in financial security and literacy offered by the Scouts.
Now, Kone is running several ventures simultaneously. She has a jewelry business. She builds websites. And her newest project, Gloss 4 the Cause, is all about lip gloss.
Kone launched Gloss 4 the Cause in December and says she has been blown away by how much support it has received. “Every day I get an email saying, ‘You have a new order.’” She has brought on younger siblings, cousins, and friends to be partners and learn financial literacy by participating in the business. The partners design and promote their glosses, while Kone handles the packaging and shipping.
An integral part of every business Kone creates is giving back. “My mother and I always take part of our earnings and donate them during holiday times,” she says. In the case of Gloss 4 the Cause, 25% of sales go to purchase gift baskets for girls in shelters, foster care, or other difficult circumstances. The baskets have included guided-meditation instruction manuals, affirmation coloring books, diffusers with essential oils, tea, and journals.
With so many women in her life — mother, aunts, friends — organizations that serve women are often the first that come to Kone’s mind when she decides where to donate. Gloss 4 the Cause donates a portion of proceeds to a different charitable organization each month. In past months, donations have gone to family and women’s shelters, including Mother’s Home in Darby, a residential shelter for vulnerable, pregnant, homeless women in crisis.
Running all of her businesses can be a lot to manage while also attending high school. Kone says her friends and family are a big part of making it possible. “I have a really good support system.”
She also meditates. Every day. Her introduction to meditation and mindfulness also came through Girl Scouts, and, since the pandemic began, she has shared the practice with friends to help them cope.
As for the future, Kone is taking a page from “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and planning to add a passive income stream to her portfolio by way of a vending machine she asked for and received for her 16th birthday — although she’s not yet sure what will go in it or where she’ll set it up.
Eventually, she aspires to become a clinical psychologist.
Kone says she hopes Gloss 4 the Cause will last through college. She wants it to “be a stream of income and a standing community service.”
