For the most part, most news outlets have tried to avoid the story of entrepreneur Ana Dee because of her past life. Previously an exotic dancer who started at the age of eighteen after dropping out of school, most might have a problem with her narrative. But below the surface is an inspiring story of a woman who rose from the ashes and built three successful companies with her own bare hands and rose to new levels of success in a short time.
“I had the desire to prove others wrong,” shares Ana about her motivations for building her brand. “I knew I had everything within me to succeed, and I just had to tap into it. I also knew I could utilize the free resources of the internet.” With a sheer determination to create her own future and become her own boss, Ana Dee has successfully launched three businesses that now add up to a valuation of $5 million. And the fact that the serial entrepreneur is only twenty-seven years old makes that achievement all the more impressive.
Today, Ana Dee has built her personal brand online to celebrate women and inspire those who feel like it’s too late to make something of their lives. “During all this time, I was branding myself on the side, with a top-charting podcast and YouTube channel, sharing my story and teaching young women how to work from home and avoid the mistakes I made,” shares Ana. Ana also started a TikTok account and went viral after creating a series entitled “#weirdthingsisellontheinternet,” a series of personal stories of how she started in business while in the sex industry.
After exiting high school, the North Carolina native started dancing in clubs to make ends meet. And though it wasn’t the best start, that experience taught her important lessons that she carried throughout her career, including marketing, sales, customer service, finance management, and having a thick skin and not caring what other people think to say. These lessons would become fundamental to her business principles.
After saving up to start her first venture, Ana Dee had it in mind to create a business that would celebrate women’s quirkiness and individuality. So she built Alien Outfitters, a fashion line that would showcase a variety of loud and unique clothes and accessories that celebrates one’s outcry for differentiation. The company would take off and make a million dollars by the time its CEO turned twenty-one years old.
Ana Dee started her second venture and struck gold again, this time leveraging a product that she was personally passionate about: knives. Her second business, Blades for Babes, provided women with a “girly” selection of knives for collecting and self-defense purposes. Just like her first business, Blades for Babes catered to a niche market that would become a loyal following. Her third business is a tobacco product, adult toy, and Cannabidiol store called The Horny Stoner. Despite launching amid a global pandemic, the store has exploded in popularity and grown by 350%.
Ana Dee now enjoys growing her team, while also spending time on her farm with her partner and pitbull rescues. Now that her businesses have begun to automate themselves, she continues to venture out and brainstorm new ways to further climb the ladder of personal success. She hopes that her story would enable others with dark pasts to rise above other people’s opinions and create something that would solidify their legacy.
Check out more on Ana Dee and her companies by visiting Alien Outfitters, Blades for Babes, and The Horny Stoner websites.