Madeleine Gertsen, Features Editor
@MGertsenCourant
As a little girl, senior Taylor Achille enjoyed arts and crafts, specifically making bracelets. During summer, she would make lemonade and friendship bracelets with her sisters and friends to sell in front of the beach. With fond memories of her childhood, Taylor decided to start a bracelet-making business, Beaded for Life with senior Lily Baer.
Entrepreneurship has long been a way for students to make profit while creating items that they have a passion for. With this incentive, Taylor and other students at NCHS have created their own businesses, ranging from bracelets to candles to nail polish. “I immediately remembered the memories of my childhood and how fun it was,” she said. “I thought that doing a business like this with your best friend would be even more of an amazing experience.”
A variety of online websites spark student interests in creating their own jewelry. Taylor found inspiration in the variety of arts and crafts on Pinterest. “People always say to do things you enjoy and stand out,” she said. “I felt like this was neat way to show people who I am as well as be proud of what I was doing.”
High schoolers interested in business have developed a range of creative and unique products over the years. Senior Chloe DeMauro started making candles this year and chose to design her own candle labels. “I needed something that made my candles different from just any average candle, so I made them with a purpose,” she said. “Each smell matches a mood. If you want to relax before bed, lavender, if you want to cheer yourself up, citrus basil, and many more.”
Not only do students make their own products, but many also sell their products during and after school. “It’s a 24/7 job. I always have to have materials on me,” Chloe said. “Ninety nine percent of the time my backpack is heavier than any second semester senior’s backpack should be.”
With the typical academic and extracurricular strains of a high school schedule, most student entrepreneurs learn how to balance school and business. “One challenge we had to face was finding the extra time to make these bracelets and keep up with peoples orders,” Taylor said. “But it really challenged me to push myself to learn how to manage my time and balance the things I do in life.”
Keeping track of orders and expenses is necessary in managing a business.. Taylor found that making a chart on Google Doc’s helped them to stay on track. “We kept a running total of our expenses and the profits we made,” Taylor said. “A week in we already broke even and began making profits, which was awesome!”
Not only does owning a business teach organization and creativity, but students acquire proficiencies in the skills demanded of their specific jobs. It took Chloe, who had never made candles before, three batches of candles before she perfected her candles. “The scents in the first batch weren’t nearly as strong as I anticipated, so for the next batch I cranked up the fragrance,” she said. “After distributing that batch, I got complaints that the wick would fall into the candle as it was melting. I fixed that by ordering wick-weights and pretty much perfected my third batch.”
Not only does owning a business teach organization and creativity, but students acquire proficiencies in the skills demanded of their specific jobs. It took Chloe, who had never made candles before, created three batches of candles before perfecting her candles. “The scents in the first batch weren’t nearly as strong as I anticipated, so for the next batch I cranked up the fragrance,” she said. “After distributing that batch, I got complaints that the wick would fall into the candle as it was melting. I fixed that by ordering wick-weights and pretty much perfected my third batch.”
Students also learn how to publicize their businesses through social media such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Chloe, who plans on creating a website, uses her Instagram account @clotildascandles to notify customers of her latest candles.
Instagram has become a popular tool for business owners. “Our main way of promoting our bracelet sales was through our Instagram account @beaded4life,” Taylor said. “We posted new pictures daily of the things we made and products we sold to our friends.”
Seniors aren’t the only ones starting their own businesses. Freshman Eliza Farley started her own nail polish business, Prism Polishes. “My business has taught me how difficult it is to get things done in today’s world and the type of perseverance needed in order to be successful in the future,” she said. “It has opened a window into what the future will be like once I’m out of school, and has given me immense respect for entrepreneurs who have been able to create large companies.”
Whereas some students start their own businesses for the profit, Eliza started hers because she found that many stores didn’t carry the right nail color in their stores. “It was entertaining and exciting to keep painting my nails until CVS didn’t have the nail polish colors I was looking for,” she said. “There were times when I had a perfect hue in mind, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I asked myself, why couldn’t I just make it myself?”
Caren Forbes and Co., a boutique in New Canaan, has promoted Eliza’s nail polishes by selling them in the store as well as posting pictures of the polishes on the store’s Instagram account. “I am working on making an Instagram page dedicated to Prism Polishes and I am also creating an online Etsy shop,” Eliza said. “I have made acquaintances through business because there is a lot of networking involved and I had to meet with many people before my product even went on the market.”
Desire for a sense of independence and ownership as a teenager is often motivation for student entrepreneurs. “I learned that if you want to be successful in something you really have to put in effort,” Taylor said. “Making the money was definitely motivating enough to continue because it gave me a sense of ownership and independence.”
Students found outlets for their creativity and independence by turning passions into products. “Nail polish is something that I’ve always loved and it will never go out of style,” Eliza said. “Instead of buying a $100 dollar dress, a woman can buy a $9 bottle of nail polish and still feel beautiful.”
As students become more and more conscious of their futures, many agreed that starting a business is a beneficial experience, evoking independence and economic understanding. “It’s good practice for the future. I like to do my own thing, so I would recommend it more for the independent personality,” Chloe said. “Don’t doubt yourself, there’s always a chance your idea blows up and becomes extremely successful, but you never know until you try.”
Although failure is a possibility when creating a business, trial and error can often lead to success. “Most businesses fail, but that’s okay. It’s better for them to try and fail than to sit back and wonder if their idea would have been successful,” Eliza said.
