Community Corner

Whiz Kid: 10-Year-Old Has a Big Role in Family Business

Hannah Altman, a student at West Hills Middle School, has been selling pencil toppers she designed since 2009.

Every week, Patch spotlights young people in the West Bloomfield community who are successful, talented and just plain awesome. We're pleased to introduce this week's Whiz Kid:

Hannah Altman

  • Age: 10
  • School:
  • Achievement: Hannah is a fifth-grader who has a big role in the family business. The 10-year-old West Bloomfield resident is the CEO of her company, HannahsCoolWorld.com. The business sells sells zipper pulls as well as erasers, bracelets, and other decorative items that Hannah helped design and sells through her parents' website, CoolZips.com.
  • Key to awesomeness: Hannah is creative and confident. "For instance, if there’s 10 kids in the room and nine are wearing a particular sweatshirt, it won't bother her in finding something unique to wear. She’s open-minded enough so that a large number of people will like it. It doesn’t mean that she’s seen it somewhere else in the store," Rick Altman said. "She'll always ask, 'Is it fun, unique, is it different?' ”

    Lauren Altman agreed that Hannah has grown more confident since she  had the idea for handmade pencil toppers in 2009. "I think that we have seen a growth in self-confidence as a result of the decision-making involved," said Lauren, who manages CoolZips.com with Rick Altman. "Hannah helps with everything from what products we want to cover and sell, to national TV interviews. She has just a great, general understanding of responsibility — making sure the orders are timely and properly and giving it your best effort all the time."

    Hannah's parents said that she still has time to be a kid. "I like going horseback riding once a week and I like to play basketball and baseball with my parents," Hannah said. "The business is great because I have a lot of fun choosing the different designs."

Do you know a special young person in the community who deserves a round of applause because he volunteers instead of playing video games after school? Or maybe your daughter's science club is trying to challenge the way we think about the energy crisis? Or maybe your son's lacrosse team won its first game in three years? Everyone deserves a little attention, and we want to tell these stories.

Email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Tim Rath at Tim.Rath@Patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who will be up next.

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