Michigan's Youngest CEO is a 9Yr Old With Her Own Makeup Business

LeeLee Kisses isn't your average Michigan-based company. The growing makeup company is run by a 9-year-old Muskegon girl, with a little help from her folks.

Aliyah Hughes' company is growing fast, and can now tout selling products in 13 states. Hughes started working on her products and developing a business plan during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, while many businesses were struggling to survive.

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Her mom, Diamone Hughes, encouraged Aliyah and the pair began learning how to make and package lip gloss during her summer break.

“My mom said ‘Aliyah, you can have a business.’ I said, ‘Okay, so I won’t be bored anymore,’” Aliyah tells Mlive.

Many of the girl's products are vegan and handmade. Most are targeted at kids, but she's also branching out and creating a few products geared for adults.

"I've got unicorn bracelets, LeeLee Kisses Chapstick, lip balms, lip gloss, and LeeLee Kisses cards," Hughes explained as she showed WZZM-TV her wide range of products.

At just 9-years-old, it's a bit early to lock down a career, but Hughes has her sights set on being a hairdresser when she grows up. Her parents tell the TV station that they have hopes that Aliyah can one day move her business into a brick-and-mortar location in Muskegon.

Over the holidays, Aliyah and her parents donated some of the profits from her business to people who were hit hard by the pandemic.

You can see and order LeeLee Kisses products through the company's Facebook and Instagram pages.