Andreea Ayers, New York working mom and entrepreneur, has turned her brave birth plan into a profitable business.

In 2007, pregnant with her first child, Ayers was planning a home birth but faced numerous negative responses.  She created a tee shirt for herself with the message "Be Courageous" and with that tee shirt, a seed was planted for a hot-selling product.

Today, Ayers' Tees For Change come blazoned with numerous messages including "Choose Happiness" and "Inspire Change".  Ayers' fair trade, sweatshop-free tees are made of organic cotton and bamboo fibers;  the shirts are as velvety soft as they are eco-friendly. 

Ayers has a degree in Marketing and worked previously as an Assistant
Marketing Manager at New York University's School of Continuing and
Professional Studies. But, Tees For Change was not Ayers' first entrepreneurial endeavor.  In fact, in one of her first post-college office jobs, she installed two candy machines in the office kitchen.  Ayers notes:

I was making a few hundred dollars a week without doing
much work and it was so much fun to chat with my co-workers about the candy
machines.

Today, Ayers has expanded well beyond those original two candy machines.  Tees for Change are available in about 150 stores, including yoga studios, spas and eco-boutiques, as well as online at www.teesforchange.com. For a complete list of retailers, visit www.teesforchange.com/retailers. 

By the way, interested in tips for starting your own tee shirt business?  Ayers is not stingy with advice.  Ayers shares some of her secrets to success in her new e-book, T-shirt Profits:  How to Run a Successful T-shirt Company, available on her website.

 A great holiday gift for the men, women (and kids!) on your list, each Tees For Change purchase results in a tree planting as part of a partnership with Trees for the Future.  Order before December 31, 2009 and receive a 20% discount  with code EXAMINER.