Kids Who Shine

KIDS WHO SHINE ANIYAH DAVIS, 10

BY JEANA DURST

The first thing you notice when talking to Aniyah is how she exudes positivity. This bright young girl has a thriving online business in Homewood. Her mother Keyshia says, “She’s always been my little entrepreneur.” So it was no leap when, at the age of eight, Aniyah told her mother that she wanted to start her own online boutique, and then began making metal buttons with creative messages.

She comes by this honestly; both of her parents own businesses. The youngest in this Homewood family of five, Aniyah has the support of her whole family—even her older brothers who are far away serving in the Air Force and the Navy.

Aniyah sells her buttons alongside cute accessories for school age girls. She even created her own logo for the boutique using the phrase “pretty blessed.” When I asked her how she got the idea for it, she simply explains, “It is because I’m blessed.” On her website, you’ll find buttons with that message and others such “I love to dream,” and the appropriately named “Girl Boss.”

One of her most exciting orders was when Nick Sims asked her to create custom buttons for his campaign for Homewood City Council. It was a proud moment, her mother says. Making the buttons is definitely a family affair. Keyshia operates the cutting machine and handles social media and emails, while Aniyah does the rest. This busy fourth-grader who also loves dance and gymnastics doesn’t mind the extra time it takes to run a business. “When I give people buttons, it makes them smile, and then it makes me smile because they are happy,” Aniyah says.

And that’s not the only way Aniyah spreads joy. Last year Aniyah’s teacher called home to tell her mother that she had invited a girl with disabilities who was excluded by others at school to be part of a social group of girls. “I like to tell people that when God created Aniyah he was showing out—she’s always been affectionate and loves helping people,” Keyshia says. To order Aniyah’s buttons and support this young entrepreneur who is saving up for college, visit aniyahsboutiqueshopllc.com.

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