I know we’re only halfway through the year but if I could nominate one person right now to become the official mascot of 2024, I would definitely choose lyricist extraordinaire and meme icon JoJo Siwa. To some, the 21-year-old artist just appeared one day on their feeds, dancing erratically and wearing too much neon. But for those of us who were chronically glued to our televisions back in 2015, we know all too well that Siwa is sitting on a business empire that she’s been growing for almost a decade.

From reality TV stints and being the poster child for Nickelodeon to plastering her face onto every and any accessory or clothing item you can think of, let’s dissect the business savviness of one of TikTok’s favourite drama queens. And just so you know JoJo, I say that with love.

JoJo Siwa first graced our screens back in 2013, on the second season of Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition. This was a show produced by Abby Lee Miller, the terrifying yet insanely entertaining matriarch and leader of Dance Moms, a show that was arguably a cornerstone of American reality TV.

Siwa joined the Dance Moms cast in 2014 and quickly became a staple in the series, recognisable for her bleach-blonde hair and perpetually oversized bows.

@officiallifetimetv

she’s the Rapunzel of 2013 👸🏼#DanceMoms #JoJoSiwa

♬ original sound - LifetimeTV

In 2016, Siwa and her team started really ramping up the business end of things, with the then 13-year-old releasing her first two songs ‘Boomerang’ and ‘I Can Make u Dance.’

‘Boomerang’ was an anti-bullying anthem and the music video on YouTube currently has one billion views—not Miss Siwa literally putting the likes of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus to shame.

2016 was also the year of… the bows. If you know anything about JoJo Siwa, it’s that her bow collaboration with nostalgic accessories mogul Claire’s was an incredibly profitable venture. Having never properly spoken about the sheer magnitude of this business partnership, Siwa finally spilt the beans in an interview with Forbes in 2020 and revealed some pretty crazy insights.

“It all started with the bows. So far, we’ve sold over 80 million bows,” Siwa shared. And, as deduced by the Forbes math team, with the pricing of the bows ranging from $5 to $16, even if you take a conservative estimate, that’s $400 million in sales—just on bows.

Signing with Nickelodeon in 2017 was massive for Siwa. Aligning herself with such a massive company and brand opened a lot of other doors. The singer starred in films and TV shows, and also went on to pursue another business collaboration, partnering with J.C. Penny to release a line of accessories, bedroom decor, and a doll made in her likeness.

This business empire kept growing and growing. And her social media presence grew alongside it. Siwa currently has 45.8 million followers on TikTok, with a majority of her videos receiving at least over 500,000 views.

@itsjojosiwa

NYC PRIDE RECAP.🌈 GUILTY PLEASURE ON 7/12.🖤✝️🛠️🦺🐻❣️ What a lucky human i am. Truly. Thank you to everyone who came out to one of these pride shows. I had the best time on stage with you and always felt your love and energy. To end off this pride tour run in nyc with my best friends and family watching me meant the world. So gratful to have the best bubble of people around me. Love is an understatement.

♬ original sound - JoJo Siwa

@itsjojosiwa

Replying to @✰-𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑑𝑒𝑛-✰ ur guilty pleasure for sure

♬ Karma - JoJo Siwa

These days, Siwa is somewhat of a controversial character. There was, of course, the online drama about her having potentially stolen the single ‘Karma’ from smaller independent artist Brit Smith. Most recently, the 21-year-old made headlines for cursing at fans after getting booed during a performance at New York City Pride 2024.

Siwa allegedly shouted “Who the living f*ck just booed me?” into her microphone, swiftly following it up with “Where the f*ck did that come from? Which one of you?” After being unable to identify the culprit, the singer said: “Respectfully, f*ck you.” Feisty JoJo.

JoJo Siwa evidently has a number of different revenue streams, many of which have been in operation for many years. And while Siwa’s official net worth is of course not known, there are a lot of speculatory figures, the most popular guess being a whopping $20 million.

So, whatever your thoughts are on the singer, you have to admit one thing: under all those bows, that girl has some serious business strategy.