ATLANTA – Prominent Georgia businessowner Tiffany Young hopes to continue to inspire others to dream big, work hard and learn how to work with their hands.
Young created the Pink Hotel in 2009, which is a luxury hotel that hosts birthday parties, get-togethers, and other special events. She calls it her “passion project.” Young said her upbringing was the inspiration behind the Pink Hotel and Entrepreneur University. At the Pink Hotel, Young provides resources and tools to be successful to youth ages 10-18.
“I grew up with nothing,” Young said. “Lack made me creative. Some of our kids don’t know that because they have free Wi-Fi and they have food that’s easily accessible. They can snap their fingers and go to Chick-fil-A. When you grow up and you’re not sure if you’re going to eat, you get creative. I thought about everything I didn’t have when I was a kid.”
As she got older, Young says she wanted to use her personal story as a way to help inspire others who may go through the same things.
“I created it to heal some childhood trauma to have the parties I never had,” Young said. “I think of purpose in your business. It is a way for God to speak to me.”
Young created Entrepreneur University, which is held at the Pink Hotel, a nonprofit organization, teaches others how to be entrepreneurs. She said some of her celebrity clients have donated and shown support for her business. She also invites other business owners in metro Atlanta to teach their skills.
There are also programs for mechanics, cooking, landscaping, DJing, writing, lashes, and more.
“The purpose is to teach them to find their purpose because I saw what finding my purpose did for me in my life,” she said.
According to a study earlier this year, Atlanta was ranked the No. 1 city to create a business in the U.S. Entrepreneur University is a special program for the youth to learn new skills.
“A lot of times, entrepreneurs start with nothing but a dream and a passion,” she said. “When the money comes, it is just a dream, its just a sketchpad of thoughts. I had to get my own business. If you knock, nobody should be turned down. Atlanta has too many entrepreneurs for our kids to have nowhere to knock.”
Young said when she was 14 years old, she started working at Applebee’s. Although she was underaged at the time, due to changing management, she did not get caught until she was getting ready for college. She says if she sees a teen who wants to work, they don’t need to lie about their age.
“That’s what Entrepreneur University is about,” Young said. “We are going to teach you how to dig for your purpose, we are going to find it, we are going to cultivate it and I’m going to send you off. And I want you to come back. Latto started for me and worked at my candy shop. Lil Nas X was my DJ. There are a lot of people that come through. Quavo, Future, and more came here. I want to teach you something that sticks, and that is your hands.”
Young says that teens who like to stay on social media and play with their phones all day long can also learn how to do simple things at Entrepreneur University.
Young said many celebrities have had events for their children at the Pink Hotel, including NBA legend Shaquille O’ Neal, and Grammy-winning rappers Future and Lil Baby.
“If you can be on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok for six hours, you can come and learn how to change oil for six hours,” she said.
For more information on the Pink Hotel and Entrepreneur University, click here.
