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Ben Barry, 26, Ben Barry Agency, Best selling authorWithin 26 years, Ben Barry has written a best selling novel, been on CNN, The Oprah Show, has run a business for over a decade and is in the process of attaining his PHD from Cambridge University. This Canadian has demonstrated how young entrepreneurs can
help change the
Photo provided by Ben Barry Agency
face of an industry.
Ben Barry was like any other 14 year old boy, his interests were cross country running and hanging out with his friends but this was not all that he was destined to do at such a young age. Ben went to visit a friend with modeling aspirations and she told him how she had spent $3000 on such things as how to walk the runway, how to do make up and creating a modeling portfolio. After spending this money, she was told that in order to be in the industry she would need to go down quite a few dress sizes. Being a size 8, they informed her, that she would need to go down to a size 2. Ben listened to what his friend had to say and looked through her portfolio. His feeling about his friend’s photos was not the same as the previous opinion she had received. “The picture could be in a magazine or on a billboard, again I knew nothing about the industry but I thought she was beautiful.” Ben made the decision to send the photos to a local Ottawa magazine with a note indicating that he felt that they should hire this model and gave his name and phone number. “I didn't think much of it. I went back to everything else in my life. I studied for math tests, cross country running etc but then I got a call back from the fashion editor. The editor said that they loved the model, wanted to hire her and assumed that I was her agent. I just said yeah sure, I’m her agent and you know I just kind of played along with it. They asked for a fax number and I gave them my mom’s office fax number and they said great we look forward to working with you.” Ben built his business from his parents’ basement and within a year, he had 30 models that he was representing and found the time to do this at lunch, after school and on weekends.
While still in high school, Ben received a phone call from The Oprah Show and obviously being surprised that they were calling assumed that it was a joke and hung up the phone. They called back and realizing that it was actually them, he apologized for the hang up and later appeared on the show to discuss his business and his unique message. After the show aired, he received thousands of emails from people across North America demonstrating their support. “That support from everyday women is so encouraging for everyone on my team. Obviously, what we’re doing is quote ‘revolutionary’ in the industry. This goes against their entire mantra, their entire philosophy, that to sell a product you have to present an unattainable ideal. Everyday we are up against a great deal of resistance despite the successes that we've had but the support from everyday people is what helps us move ahead.”
By the time Ben was heading to university he had an office in Ottawa with approximately 150 models and his own staff. Ben decided to move to Toronto for his undergrad and opened an office and eventually moved his business there as well. Barry’s modeling agency has a unique message that stands out amongst its competitors and this is due to the fact that Barry uses real women that are not only a size 2 but a size 14 as well. “They (consumer) are sick of being bombarded with a stereotype of beauty that they know looks nothing like them and never will so they crave authenticity. We help brands reconnect with consumers so they feel empowered not discouraged by the images.” He indicates that he is not trying to get rid of the size zeros or two’s, “What we’re advocating is for body, age and racial diversity and not diversity for the sake of diversity but for brands to look at their target market and to reflect the diversity within that market.”
At the age of 24, Ben wrote a best seller called Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship which shared his story as well as other young entrepreneurs. “The vision of entrepreneurship which I think is natural to our generation is using business as a vehicle for social change. The most innovative ideas make money by solving a social problem. I wanted to share my story but also tell people that I am not an exceptional case. There are a lot of young people running cool businesses right now. The first part of the book shares my experience while the second part shares stories of young people across North America that are doing well by doing good.”
The advice that Ben has for young entrepreneurs or people considering going down this path is, “You don’t have to wait until you’re older to begin making your business. You have all the skills and all the experience to start now. No matter how much preparation you do, there is always a chance of failure. The key lesson is to act and if you make a mistake, to learn from it and continue going. The second key point is people are often scared to start their own business because they think they don’t have a lot of money…be creative with your capital, to make a list of everything you need and then in one column put a dollar amount but in the next column put in friends that can help you. That can make your business cards and design them for free, maybe a friend’s mother or father that can lend you an office in the evenings if you need client meetings. To look for goods in kind and friends with skill who can help you. What you’ll find is often you don’t need a lot of money to begin because you have all of those key resources around you already.”
If you would like to know more about Ben Barry, you can check out his website
http://www.benbarry.com/
Written by Jenifer Lapierre
By the time Ben was heading to university he had an office in Ottawa with approximately 150 models and his own staff. Ben decided to move to Toronto for his undergrad and opened an office and eventually moved his business there as well. Barry’s modeling agency has a unique message that stands out amongst its competitors and this is due to the fact that Barry uses real women that are not only a size 2 but a size 14 as well. “They (consumer) are sick of being bombarded with a stereotype of beauty that they know looks nothing like them and never will so they crave authenticity. We help brands reconnect with consumers so they feel empowered not discouraged by the images.” He indicates that he is not trying to get rid of the size zeros or two’s, “What we’re advocating is for body, age and racial diversity and not diversity for the sake of diversity but for brands to look at their target market and to reflect the diversity within that market.”
At the age of 24, Ben wrote a best seller called Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship which shared his story as well as other young entrepreneurs. “The vision of entrepreneurship which I think is natural to our generation is using business as a vehicle for social change. The most innovative ideas make money by solving a social problem. I wanted to share my story but also tell people that I am not an exceptional case. There are a lot of young people running cool businesses right now. The first part of the book shares my experience while the second part shares stories of young people across North America that are doing well by doing good.”
The advice that Ben has for young entrepreneurs or people considering going down this path is, “You don’t have to wait until you’re older to begin making your business. You have all the skills and all the experience to start now. No matter how much preparation you do, there is always a chance of failure. The key lesson is to act and if you make a mistake, to learn from it and continue going. The second key point is people are often scared to start their own business because they think they don’t have a lot of money…be creative with your capital, to make a list of everything you need and then in one column put a dollar amount but in the next column put in friends that can help you. That can make your business cards and design them for free, maybe a friend’s mother or father that can lend you an office in the evenings if you need client meetings. To look for goods in kind and friends with skill who can help you. What you’ll find is often you don’t need a lot of money to begin because you have all of those key resources around you already.”
If you would like to know more about Ben Barry, you can check out his website
http://www.benbarry.com/
Written by Jenifer Lapierre
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