8-Year-Old Turns Her Doodles Into a Thriving Sticker Business

When most kids are making lemonade stands or collecting stickers, one young creator in Portland, Maine did something extraordinary: she turned her own drawings into a real business, and had fun doing it.

From Doodles to Designs

Maddie (now 12) wasn’t thinking about entrepreneurship when she picked up a pen at age 7. She just loved drawing. Her doodles weren’t random scribbles. They were characters with personality and story. What started as creative play soon caught the attention of classmates and friends.

“It began with drawings I just wanted to share,” Maddie told her dad. With encouragement, she asked if she could turn those drawings into stickers, not just for herself, but to share with others.

With help from her parents, she learned how to digitize her artwork and work with a printing service so her characters could become colorful, tangible stickers.

Building a Real Business—Step by Step

By age 8, Maddie wasn’t just giving stickers to friends, she was selling them:

• Lemonade stand launch: She paired her sticker rack with a classic lemonade stand, giving first customers a chance to see her art in person.
• Online storefront: With help setting up a basic website, customers could order from farther afield.
• Local reach: Maddie’s stickers eventually found shelves in souvenir shops and at events around town.

The result? More than $5,000 in sales, which is impressive for any young entrepreneur. Better yet, she’s already donated over $500 to local charities, choosing early on to make giving back part of her business ethos.

Life Lessons in Creativity and Business

Parents and educators often talk about “21st-century skills,” but Maddie’s journey shows how those skills can grow naturally from interests children already love. Through her sticker business, she learned:

• Creative confidence: Her art stopped being just something to keep in a sketchbook; it became something people valued.
• Problem-solving: From designing to printing to pricing, she learned how to navigate each step instead of being handed answers.
• Financial literacy: Rather than spending all her earnings at once, Maddie divides her income into four “buckets”—for fun, saving, reinvesting in her business, and giving back—a smart tactic for long-term growth.

Her father, an entrepreneur himself, says he’s found renewed inspiration in watching her fearless creativity, and that adults could learn something from how freely she tackles new challenges.

Why This Matters for Gifted Kids Everywhere

Maddie’s story is more than a feel-good piece about a young girl making money. It’s a relatable blueprint for how talent (even at age 8) can become purpose, contribution, and growth when nurtured in supportive environments.

Whether your child is passionate about puzzles, science, storytelling, or design, the key lessons are the same:

• Start with curiosity first. Real success often begins with doing what you love.
• Learn by doing. Encouraging kids to try (even if they make mistakes) builds confidence and practical skills.
• Make it meaningful. Helping others, managing money thoughtfully, and taking ownership of a project are the kinds of experiences that shape capable, creative adults.

Maddie didn’t just make stickers. She discovered what she could do when adults trusted her ideas and gave her space to explore them.