Making Their Mark These young entrepreneurs aren't following anyone's rules--they're too busy blazing their own trails to multimillion-dollar success.
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Billy Stade, 35, & Kari Stade, 25
The Closet
Costa Mesa, California
Projected 2005 Sales:$6 million
Description:High-end clothing retailer with three locations in Orange County, California
Snowboard Season: Billy Stade's passion for snowboarding led him to start selling snowboards out of a tiny 5-foot-by-20-foot retail space in 1993. With only enough money for first and last month's rent, Billy negotiated deals with vendors he knew to front him product. The snowboards sold well that first season, but as warmer weather approached, Billy realized he'd have to expand his product offering if he was going to stay in business during the spring and summer months. As he looked at the surf and clothing shops in his high-traffic Huntington Beach, California, location, Billy decided to get into the fashion arena. And there were other expansions: About six years ago, Billy hired Kari as an office manager, and the pair married in 2003.
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