SARASOTA, FL — Leonardo Bianchi has taught himself how to design T-shirts, learned the ins and outs of selling at markets, and launched a YouTube series where he interviews other entrepreneurs. He hopes to learn as much as he can from them as he grows his own business.
The most impressive part of all this is that he's just 10 years old.
Along with his 8-year-old brother, Alessandro, Leonardo runs Bianchi Brothers, a Sarasota-based business selling T-shirts featuring original designs and messages about motivation, faith and gratitude.
The brothers will be among the young vendors at Friday night's Children's Entrepreneur Market in Lakewood Ranch, where they'll have a chance to introduce shoppers to their business and its designs. The market will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch.
Their idea for a t-shirt business grew out of experiences the boys had from an early age. Their mother, Alejandra, runs a food business and regularly attends farmers markets, bringing her sons along.
The brothers also spent time volunteering at food banks and food pantries and helping at church events and other community service projects with their family - all experiences that made an impression on them.
"We've been going to food banks, food pantries, helping a lot, everything we could, church events," Leonardo told Patch. "So that was like what we did every single day, and so it became a habit."
Wanting to share the importance of helping others and their overall positive outlook on life with other kids, they started building Bianchi Brothers into a formal business about a year ago, choosing T-shirts because they offered a way to communicate different messages through their designs.
The shirts are divided into categories, including motivation, Christian faith and gratitude.
One of Leonardo's favorites is a colorful design he created himself, featuring the words "I am" surrounded by words representing different aspects of a person's identity.
Another carries the message, "If you don't fail, you're not even trying."
Leonardo taught himself to design the shirts and has picked up other business skills along the way, such as marketing, sales, and communicating with customers.
For Alessandro, one of his favorite parts of running the business is meeting customers and making connections that continue after the markets are over.
"I like that the markets we meet new people and we get contacts, and they go to our website and they follow us," he said.
The siblings also realized early on that not every market goes according to plan, offering them an important lesson at their young age.
"We're also learning to control our frustrations," Alessandro said.
One event, canceled by the rain after they put in a lot of work getting ready for it, stands out for Leonardo.
"We'd been preparing super hard for that one, especially, and it rained and it canceled everything," he said.
The business also gives the boys another way to support causes they care about.
They've worked with One More Child, helping with efforts that have included supporting children in Africa, responding to the needs of children after an earthquake and organizing beach cleanups.
The brothers have also sponsored children through the organization. Leonardo even funded one sponsorship with money he requested for his birthday instead of presents.
Their entrepreneurial interests have expanded beyond the T-shirt business. The boys produce social media videos called "Interesting Talks," discussing subjects they consider important.
"On 'Interesting Talks,' that's where together we talk about topics that we think are important. Some of it's giving. Some of it's helping. Some of it are things about mindsets," Leonardo said.
One recent "Interesting Talk" tackled the topic of screen time for kids.
"We share why it's bad. What, how we can use it, and all of the science behind that. I think it's really interesting. That's why we called it the 'Interesting Talk,'" he said.
Leonardo also interviews business owners and other entrepreneurs for a YouTube series called "Young Entrepreneur by Bianchi Brothers." The conversations are intended to share lessons that other young people - including themselves - might find useful as they build their own companies.
And the brothers recently published a book, "Start Now," which includes stories from entrepreneurs Leonardo has interviewed and lessons from their experiences.
For now, the boys are focused on their local markets and online business, but they hope to eventually expand into other areas.
Leonardo also said that he wants people to understand that the Bianchi Brothers' mission extends beyond simply selling products.
"It's mostly like community, and this is like for everyone," he said. "It's like we're trying to share this with everyone."
See Also:
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Sarasota Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.