Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Two years ago, Darrick Ramsey and Alexis Jordan were given a challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal.<\/li>\n
- Jordan surpassed the goal by providing cleaning work for local small businesses and creating an in-demand snack.<\/li>\n
- Ramsey offered pressure washing and car detailing services and ended up making $2,065 in a week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
When Darrick Ramsey<\/a> first held the single dollar bill<\/a> he\u2019d been given, anxiety<\/a> hit him hard. \u201cI was very nervous, like I was anxious,\u201d he recalls in an interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nAlexis Jordan had a similar reaction<\/a>: \u201cFor me, I was very nervous,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\nIn February 2024, a documentary film team tasked these two students, along with about two dozen of their then-high school classmates, with an unusual challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal. They started the challenge terrified of failing, then used their businesses, networks and hard work to turn $1 into far more than $100 in a week. A documentary film released last month called Learn to Earn: A Student\u2019s Journey From $1 to $100<\/em><\/a> chronicled their experiences.<\/p>\nBoth Ramsey and Jordan initially grappled not just with the math, but with the reality of trying to build something<\/a> in \u201cthis economy,\u201d as Jordan put it, where \u201cwhat can you get for $1?\u201d is a genuine question. The time frame added pressure: They had roughly a week, layered on top of school, sports and other commitments, to turn $1 into $100. \u201cWe had other stuff to do, so it was very time-consuming,\u201d Jordan says.\u00a0<\/p>\nHow Jordan flipped $1: services and Kool-Aid pickles<\/h2>\n
Once the shock of the $1 challenge wore off, Jordan went directly to the community<\/a> she knew best. \u201cMy strategy was, where do people give the most money?\u201d she says. \u201cSo for me, I was raised in a church; my church is like a big family. So I said, let me go to my number one supporters.\u201d With that single dollar and her existing relationships, she offered labor and creativity<\/a> instead of products she couldn\u2019t afford to buy.<\/p>\n\u201cUsually what I did was I cleaned their yards, I cleaned the church,\u201d she says, describing how she exchanged services for donations and payments.<\/p>\n
Then she layered on a homemade snack that became an unexpected hit: Kool-Aid<\/a> pickles.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s weird,\u201d she says. \u201cBut a lot of people bought them. Everybody bought them, like everybody was going crazy over them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She explained the process simply: \u201cYou get the pickle jar, you pour out the pickle juice and then you just mix Kool-Aid packets and sugar with it, and then pour it back and let it ferment in the refrigerator for like a day or two, and then after that you put them in a Ziploc bag and you just sell them.\u201d<\/p>\n
With cleaning work<\/a> for local small businesses and a snack that turned heads, she surpassed the $100 target.<\/p>\nWhere she is now<\/h2>\n
More than two years later, Jordan, 19, runs a business called Blended Threads LLC<\/a>, which centers on childhood diabetes, a condition she was diagnosed with in fourth grade.<\/p>\nShe wrote a children\u2019s book, Why Did Diabetes Pick Me<\/em><\/a>, chronicling her struggles and how she overcame them. She is now working on a second book, this time a chapter book. She\u2019s also a keynote speaker, turning her lived experience with juvenile diabetes into education and advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cI wanted to broadcast and bring awareness to it, because you rarely hear anybody talk about childhood diabetes or juvenile diabetes,\u201d she says, adding that people in her community were \u201cshocked\u201d to learn more and \u201cglad\u201d she published the book.<\/p>\n![\"Alexis](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Alexis-Jordan.jpg?w=1024\")
Alexis Jordan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFor Ramsey, the turning point came when he realized that the $1 was less important than the relationships he already had. He was part of the CEO program<\/a> at his high school, and the program had taken students to tour businesses in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cWe had a journal, and I wrote down each business owner, their name and their contact,\u201d he says. When the $1-to-$100 challenge arrived, he asked himself: Why can\u2019t I just reach back out to these guys to see if they can help me?<\/em><\/p>\nHe recorded a simple one-minute video for those contacts: \u201cI tried to keep it real short and simple, explaining, hey, my name is Darrick Ramsey. I talked to you in the CEO program before. I\u2019m just wondering if you had any advice or if I can pressure wash<\/a> your car or detail it for you,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\nHe had bought the power washer before the challenge with money from an hourly job.<\/p>\n
The response was overwhelming. \u201cI kind of overbooked myself with all the people that we had met and all the people they know,\u201d he says. \u201cI really got to see the community coming together. It was just great.\u201d<\/p>\n
He focused first on pressure washing and later added car detailing as demand grew. \u201cIt got to the point where I had to pressure wash in the cold, had to pressure wash in the rain; we had the car detail in the freezing cold, like cars were icing over as we were washing them,\u201d he says, describing one of the busiest weeks<\/a> of his life. By the end of the challenge, he\u2019d far exceeded the target, earning $2,065.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhere he is now<\/h2>\n
Ramsey, 20, was born in Decatur, Alabama, and moved between Chicago, Atlanta and Alabama before settling back in Decatur. He struggled \u201cacademically, financially\u201d in school, which shaped his purpose now: \u201cI feel like one of my life\u2019s purposes has been trying to help the youth with what they do best, and keep excelling,\u201d he says. He is a physical education teacher<\/a> and mentor who \u201cgoes all over Decatur city schools\u201d to connect with kids, pulling them aside to talk through \u201cbehavior issues and really just stuff I was struggling with.\u201d<\/p>\nHis business, PeerPressure, was born out of personal grief and bad influences in middle and early high school. After a close friend died the summer before ninth grade, he says, \u201cI was peer-pressured<\/a> into doing a lot of things that I really felt like I wouldn\u2019t have done if I wasn\u2019t around those bad friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nIn his sophomore year, with the help of teachers, he turned that story into a brand. PeerPressure now offers pressure washing, mobile car detailing, house washing and automotive light work, built over \u201cabout four years\u201d and expanded through work with \u201cmany business owners<\/a> within our community and outside of our community,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Darrick](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Darrick-Ramsey.jpg?w=1024\")
Darrick Ramsey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHis biggest challenge was internal<\/h2>\n
Ramsey says that he was his own \u201cbiggest enemy\u201d solely because he didn\u2019t really believe in community or family at the time. Academic<\/a> and financial struggles left him feeling isolated and under pressure, which \u201ccreated a lot of self-doubt\u201d during that week.<\/p>\nReaching out to people changed that perception. \u201cThey started showing me that I wasn\u2019t alone,\u201d he says. \u201cThen I started to see a bigger vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lesson<\/a> has stayed with him. He endured years of \u201clong nights, a lot of crying, a lot of work.\u201d Those years helped him define his purpose: \u201cIf I can change somebody\u2019s life through teaching and mentoring, then I feel like I\u2019ve fulfilled my purpose,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\nThis article is part of our ongoing\u00a0Young Entrepreneur\u00ae<\/a>\u00a0series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a\u00a0young business owner.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Two years ago, Darrick Ramsey and Alexis Jordan were given a challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal.<\/li>\n
- Jordan surpassed the goal by providing cleaning work for local small businesses and creating an in-demand snack.<\/li>\n
- Ramsey offered pressure washing and car detailing services and ended up making $2,065 in a week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
When Darrick Ramsey<\/a> first held the single dollar bill<\/a> he\u2019d been given, anxiety<\/a> hit him hard. \u201cI was very nervous, like I was anxious,\u201d he recalls in an interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nAlexis Jordan had a similar reaction<\/a>: \u201cFor me, I was very nervous,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\nIn February 2024, a documentary film team tasked these two students, along with about two dozen of their then-high school classmates, with an unusual challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal. They started the challenge terrified of failing, then used their businesses, networks and hard work to turn $1 into far more than $100 in a week. A documentary film released last month called Learn to Earn: A Student\u2019s Journey From $1 to $100<\/em><\/a> chronicled their experiences.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
When Darrick Ramsey<\/a> first held the single dollar bill<\/a> he\u2019d been given, anxiety<\/a> hit him hard. \u201cI was very nervous, like I was anxious,\u201d he recalls in an interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alexis Jordan had a similar reaction<\/a>: \u201cFor me, I was very nervous,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n In February 2024, a documentary film team tasked these two students, along with about two dozen of their then-high school classmates, with an unusual challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal. They started the challenge terrified of failing, then used their businesses, networks and hard work to turn $1 into far more than $100 in a week. A documentary film released last month called Learn to Earn: A Student\u2019s Journey From $1 to $100<\/em><\/a> chronicled their experiences.<\/p>\n Both Ramsey and Jordan initially grappled not just with the math, but with the reality of trying to build something<\/a> in \u201cthis economy,\u201d as Jordan put it, where \u201cwhat can you get for $1?\u201d is a genuine question. The time frame added pressure: They had roughly a week, layered on top of school, sports and other commitments, to turn $1 into $100. \u201cWe had other stuff to do, so it was very time-consuming,\u201d Jordan says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once the shock of the $1 challenge wore off, Jordan went directly to the community<\/a> she knew best. \u201cMy strategy was, where do people give the most money?\u201d she says. \u201cSo for me, I was raised in a church; my church is like a big family. So I said, let me go to my number one supporters.\u201d With that single dollar and her existing relationships, she offered labor and creativity<\/a> instead of products she couldn\u2019t afford to buy.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually what I did was I cleaned their yards, I cleaned the church,\u201d she says, describing how she exchanged services for donations and payments.<\/p>\n Then she layered on a homemade snack that became an unexpected hit: Kool-Aid<\/a> pickles.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s weird,\u201d she says. \u201cBut a lot of people bought them. Everybody bought them, like everybody was going crazy over them.\u201d<\/p>\n She explained the process simply: \u201cYou get the pickle jar, you pour out the pickle juice and then you just mix Kool-Aid packets and sugar with it, and then pour it back and let it ferment in the refrigerator for like a day or two, and then after that you put them in a Ziploc bag and you just sell them.\u201d<\/p>\n With cleaning work<\/a> for local small businesses and a snack that turned heads, she surpassed the $100 target.<\/p>\n More than two years later, Jordan, 19, runs a business called Blended Threads LLC<\/a>, which centers on childhood diabetes, a condition she was diagnosed with in fourth grade.<\/p>\n She wrote a children\u2019s book, Why Did Diabetes Pick Me<\/em><\/a>, chronicling her struggles and how she overcame them. She is now working on a second book, this time a chapter book. She\u2019s also a keynote speaker, turning her lived experience with juvenile diabetes into education and advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to broadcast and bring awareness to it, because you rarely hear anybody talk about childhood diabetes or juvenile diabetes,\u201d she says, adding that people in her community were \u201cshocked\u201d to learn more and \u201cglad\u201d she published the book.<\/p>\n For Ramsey, the turning point came when he realized that the $1 was less important than the relationships he already had. He was part of the CEO program<\/a> at his high school, and the program had taken students to tour businesses in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a journal, and I wrote down each business owner, their name and their contact,\u201d he says. When the $1-to-$100 challenge arrived, he asked himself: Why can\u2019t I just reach back out to these guys to see if they can help me?<\/em><\/p>\n He recorded a simple one-minute video for those contacts: \u201cI tried to keep it real short and simple, explaining, hey, my name is Darrick Ramsey. I talked to you in the CEO program before. I\u2019m just wondering if you had any advice or if I can pressure wash<\/a> your car or detail it for you,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n He had bought the power washer before the challenge with money from an hourly job.<\/p>\n The response was overwhelming. \u201cI kind of overbooked myself with all the people that we had met and all the people they know,\u201d he says. \u201cI really got to see the community coming together. It was just great.\u201d<\/p>\n He focused first on pressure washing and later added car detailing as demand grew. \u201cIt got to the point where I had to pressure wash in the cold, had to pressure wash in the rain; we had the car detail in the freezing cold, like cars were icing over as we were washing them,\u201d he says, describing one of the busiest weeks<\/a> of his life. By the end of the challenge, he\u2019d far exceeded the target, earning $2,065.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ramsey, 20, was born in Decatur, Alabama, and moved between Chicago, Atlanta and Alabama before settling back in Decatur. He struggled \u201cacademically, financially\u201d in school, which shaped his purpose now: \u201cI feel like one of my life\u2019s purposes has been trying to help the youth with what they do best, and keep excelling,\u201d he says. He is a physical education teacher<\/a> and mentor who \u201cgoes all over Decatur city schools\u201d to connect with kids, pulling them aside to talk through \u201cbehavior issues and really just stuff I was struggling with.\u201d<\/p>\n His business, PeerPressure, was born out of personal grief and bad influences in middle and early high school. After a close friend died the summer before ninth grade, he says, \u201cI was peer-pressured<\/a> into doing a lot of things that I really felt like I wouldn\u2019t have done if I wasn\u2019t around those bad friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In his sophomore year, with the help of teachers, he turned that story into a brand. PeerPressure now offers pressure washing, mobile car detailing, house washing and automotive light work, built over \u201cabout four years\u201d and expanded through work with \u201cmany business owners<\/a> within our community and outside of our community,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ramsey says that he was his own \u201cbiggest enemy\u201d solely because he didn\u2019t really believe in community or family at the time. Academic<\/a> and financial struggles left him feeling isolated and under pressure, which \u201ccreated a lot of self-doubt\u201d during that week.<\/p>\n Reaching out to people changed that perception. \u201cThey started showing me that I wasn\u2019t alone,\u201d he says. \u201cThen I started to see a bigger vision.\u201d<\/p>\n The lesson<\/a> has stayed with him. He endured years of \u201clong nights, a lot of crying, a lot of work.\u201d Those years helped him define his purpose: \u201cIf I can change somebody\u2019s life through teaching and mentoring, then I feel like I\u2019ve fulfilled my purpose,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n This article is part of our ongoing\u00a0Young Entrepreneur\u00ae<\/a>\u00a0series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a\u00a0young business owner.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n When Darrick Ramsey<\/a> first held the single dollar bill<\/a> he\u2019d been given, anxiety<\/a> hit him hard. \u201cI was very nervous, like I was anxious,\u201d he recalls in an interview with Entrepreneur<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alexis Jordan had a similar reaction<\/a>: \u201cFor me, I was very nervous,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n In February 2024, a documentary film team tasked these two students, along with about two dozen of their then-high school classmates, with an unusual challenge: Turn $1 into $100 in a week using all of the resources at their disposal. They started the challenge terrified of failing, then used their businesses, networks and hard work to turn $1 into far more than $100 in a week. A documentary film released last month called Learn to Earn: A Student\u2019s Journey From $1 to $100<\/em><\/a> chronicled their experiences.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHow Jordan flipped $1: services and Kool-Aid pickles<\/h2>\n
Where she is now<\/h2>\n
Where he is now<\/h2>\n
His biggest challenge was internal<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n