Denver-based Mary MacNeilly’s children’s project, The Million Dollar Butterflyburnt!
Salesperson, business strategist, and author of the successful book EXTREME BUSINESS BUILDING: From Concept to Profit in 60 Days, Mary realized that to build a strong and stable economy, we need to start training the next generation of entrepreneurs while they are still young enough to incorporate innovative perspectives. and basic business skills into their growth mindset.
Communicating through the joys of music and dance, her programs teach children life skills such as responsibility, accountability and leadership while introducing entrepreneurship, money and business concepts.
Now, Million Dollar Butterflies have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to produce a nationally televised show, allowing them to reach thousands of children, youth, and parents. Their mission is to teach entrepreneurship to children aged 6-18, at a time when they are easily excited, and their creativity is not yet limited by the harsh realities of our world. Their goal is to help kids turn their passions into goals, monetize them and become innovators!
Million Dollar Butterflies have been broadcasting in Denver since January 13, 2013, when they launched their radio show on KLZ 560. Currently, their audience numbers around 100,000 listeners. They premiered their 30-minute Saturday morning TV show on FOX31 Denver on April 27, 2013. Their preliminary ratings indicated that 20.1% of all television viewers for that hour were watching their show! Their Internet TV channel currently has around 22,500 views, with over 68,000 people involved in their online brand (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Website, etc.).
Says Mary, “Working with Million Dollar Butterfly is a FUN! It’s not a “job”. This is a dream come true! I can sing, act, dance, rap and write poetry, music and TV scripts. I can “preach” directly to children and families about building a responsible life. It’s nice to know that the words that come out of my mouth are “heard” and accepted by this young generation and their parents! Working with children brings out more creativity and ideas from me. I’ve always been a creative person, but now the kids are pushing me to actually build this program in their language! They have taught me new social media networks, video game apps and video editing skills! Together, we make an extraordinary team. They study, I study, and their parents study!”
Working with budding small entrepreneurs on their programming was a great experience for Mary and the kids too! 14-year-old Rylie used to be a shy girl. Now, he works side by side with Mary as co-host of their radio show, and the pair have even started filming “Behind the Butterflies,” a reality TV show, which documents their fun journey. He is happy to share his wealth with thousands of other children by making their program national!
As Mary likes to imagine, “If we could get thousands of kids who wanted to build successful lives before they left school, what would that do for our economy?”
Update – Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this article, the Kickstarter campaign has been cancelled. For more information, visit The Million Dollar Butterfly
