A young entrepreneur who was chosen as an exemplary contributor to her local community in Minnesota has revealed the secrets of her success.

Nickie Froiland started out selling cookies as a child, worked at McDonalds as a teenager, and spent time with various businesses before opening her own, the Rochester Post-Bulletin reports.

Among her achievements is the founding of mark it! advertising in 2001, which developed into a full-service agency covering areas such as graphic design, marketing and video production.

Ms Froiland took an unusual route to success by forgoing university for real-world experience.

She told the newspaper that this experience helped her "learn from life, to prove that I could stand on my own two feet."

Customer service is one of the most important elements of running a business, according to Ms Froiland, who says: "Every career has elements we love, and others we complain about, but I think it is most important to just focus on the job of being helpful."