Gold Coast Glitter Girl, Sophia Rizzo shares how she created her successful business

A teenager has shared her secret on how she was turning over hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time she was 10.

What were you doing in Year 11?

Studying? Maybe working a part-time job?

Well, Gen Z is doing differently. Just look at Sophia Rizzo.

Setting up her Glitter Girl business at age nine, she was turning over hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time she was 10, she won the Gold Coast Bulletin’s Young Woman of the Year Award at 14, and now, at just 16, she is busily fielding offers from TV execs and even guest lecturing in high school business classes across the Coast.

From selling little pots of loose glitter to glitter makeup, glitter accessories and sparkly fashion, Sophia is beloved by pre-teens, drag queens and Swifties alike.

But she knows she’s not the only one who is chasing her dream.

16yo Sophia Rizzo, aka Glitter Girl, was Gold Coast Bulletin's WOTY Young Woman of the Year award winner in 2022 and now is sponsoring the category in 2024. Picture Glenn Hampson

It’s the reason why this Glitter Girl boss is sponsoring the very category she won back in 2022, because she wants to keep building and supporting her tribe.

“Being nominated for the award and then winning was amazing, but the best part was meeting all these other incredible women,” said the Marymount College student and competitive cheerleader.

“I just remember being in that room and thinking ‘these are my people’. Every single person there was so positive and so enthusiastic, I walked out of there feeling more empowered than ever.

“I think the Gold Coast is such a great place to start a business, because there are so many of us out there, there’s so much support and advice to help us on our way.

“That’s why I want to give back, I want every other young woman to feel like she can go after her dreams.”

Speaking from her million-dollar warehouse in Burleigh Heads, Sophia’s passion for business sparkles in her eyes just as much as the glitter on the walls … on the desks … on every surface.

The idea for Glitter Girl was sparked during a family holiday, when Sophia suggested to her parents that selling little pots of glitter at school would be fun.

16yo Sophia Rizzo was recently asked to compete on Shark Tank and her business, started when she was 9yo, is turning over hundreds of thousands of dollars from its million-dollar warehouse at Burleigh. Picture Glenn Hampson

But it wasn’t just fun, it was successful. With the help of mum Megan, they created a website and social media sites and soon started taking orders from around the country.

Mrs Rizzo, an award-winning photographer, said she was often asked how to raise an entrepreneur, but she said the drive had to come from the child.

She said the family invested $2000 into Sophia’s sparkling dream, but only after she had convinced them that she was serious.

“I would go up to Mum and Dad with all these notes in my unicorn notebook about how I could make this work and I just kept pushing and pushing,” she said.

“The whole family has supported me, my dad and brother work in the upstairs of our warehouse on their own businesses and Mum and I are downstairs, packing orders.”

From selling her first pots of glitter in 2017 to turning over $350,000 per year with new products regularly dropping, Sophia said there were some dark times behind the glitter.

In 2019, Mrs Rizzo was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, but did her best to hide the worst from Sophia.

“I just wanted her to be able to focus on the good things, and the business has always been that for her. She knew I was home a lot but because we kept calm, she did too,” said Mrs Rizzo.

“I still have some lumps that we have to monitor, but that’s just something I have to manage. I’m grateful to be here and be with Sophia on this journey.”

Megan Rizzo and Sophia Rizzo at the Women of the Year awards 2023, The Star Gold Coast. Picture: Celeste Humphrey

Sophia said while her initial imagined market was pre-teen and tween girls, she had found multiple audiences, including drag queens and Swifties.

In fact, Sophia is a regular exhibitor at the Broken Heel Festival and the Sydney Mardi Gras, while Taylor Swift’s Australian tour earlier this year saw their phone ringing off the hook with pleas for glitter.

“It’s just the best feeling when you know you’re sending a product out that makes someone so happy,” said Sophia.

Set to graduate from high school next year, where she’s already studying her diploma of business, Sophia knows exactly what she wants to do.

“I will literally walk out of Marymount, cross the road and walk right into the Glitter Girl warehouse. It’s all I want to do, I just love every aspect of this and I can’t wait until I can do this full-time.”

Meanwhile, she’s looking forward to the Women of the Year Awards on November 16.

“I’ve been to so many functions, but this one is the best.

“It almost reminds me of cheerleading … we’re all supporting each other. Those are definitely my people.”

Originally published as Gold Coast Glitter Girl, Sophia Rizzo shares how she created her successful business