Madison Gorn, the twenty-year-old founder and leader of the million-dollar company Maddie Girl Marketing, returned a few years ago to her high school to attend the graduation of a friend. As she sat in the audience, watching as students walked up to receive their diplomas, Madison wondered what the future of business in America and around the world would be like as the next generation entered the workforce. “These young adults were destined to be our leaders, and I hoped many of the women in particular would become entrepreneurs,” she says. “We need more of them because women have vital ideas that can strengthen our society and economy. I have made it my mission to encourage them to start their own companies and to pass on the knowledge I’ve learned over the past thirteen years of being an entrepreneur.”

Madison knows firsthand the success that women can find when they start their own companies. At Maddie Girl Marketing, she and her employees have helped thousands of clients, including Target, Sephora, Ulta, and Bed Bath & Beyond, to optimize their online presence through customized marketing campaigns, content creation, website design, app development, creation of NFT collections, and more. 

“It has definitely been a journey to find success in an industry that has traditionally been filled with people who are older than I am and, okay, yes, male,” Madison says. “While the road has been a bit rough at times, though, I have found as a woman that owning a successful business, one that helps its clients to reach their own goals, to be tremendously empowering. I want other women to experience that, too.”

Madison believes that some women are born entrepreneurs but lack the confidence to start their own companies. “I was fortunate, I think,” she reflects. “When I started my first company, Maddie Girl Cosmetics, in high school, my mom was completely supportive. She believed in me and encouraged me to go forward even when other people were telling me that I was too young or that I just didn’t know enough. Having that support was very empowering, and I try to mentor other female entrepreneurs so that they can have that foundation, too.”

Madison says that owning and running a business can give more women control over their finances. “This is crucial,” she thinks. “The world and the future are so uncertain. Women need to be able to provide for themselves no matter what the economy or Mother Nature may do. With the income a business can generate, female entrepreneurs can experience more financial security. Through Maddie Girl Cosmetics and Maddie Girl Marketing, I am able to provide for myself and for my employees, and it gives me the confidence that I don’t need to live from paycheck to paycheck or rely on other people for financial assistance. I would like to see more women have that ability by having their own businesses.”

Madison adds that as entrepreneurs, women can explore their untapped potential. “We are great innovators and bring unique perspectives to the workforce,” she states. “For example, when I started my cosmetics company, I saw a real need for makeup that would enhance a woman’s beauty and increase her confidence. I also established Maddie Girl Marketing because I had many ideas for how businesses could rapidly make the shift from traditional to online marketing and increase their engagement with customers. By owning my companies, I was able to let out my ideas and really take off. More women need the chance to do that.”

These days, as she runs her companies and continues to make a name for herself in the marketing world, Madison keeps an eye out for women who are interested in starting businesses. “With the success I have been fortunate enough to achieve, I feel it’s important to pass on to them what I’ve learned. Small businesses play such a crucial role in the American economy, so we all win when women start their own,” she believes. “I will do everything I can to share my knowledge with them so that one day, they can experience the same confidence, fulfillment, and financial security. Isn’t that something we all deserve to have?”