For as long as I can remember, I was always a pretty crafty
and hands-on individual. Whether it was molding shapes and animals out of clay,
or figuring out crazy new ways to utilize a mason jar. My favorite activity as
a child was always hand-making jewelry out of beads (primarily seed beads).
This is an activity my older sister exposed me to at just the age of 5.
Fortunately enough, I mastered the skill pretty quickly. As I grew and gained
more experience, the products I would make would come out more intricate and
polished (it would actually look like something you can buy in a store).
Beading became a hobby for me, and it was always a fun way to get creative and
make some cute accessories for myself after school.
It took me
all the way until the 4th grade to realize “wow, this could be
something I could sell in school.” I would always see kids selling candy or
silly bands, so I figured why not sell some hand-made authentic jewelry. I was
a little skeptical towards the idea at first because 1) selling in school
unless it was for a school sponsored fundraiser was not allowed and I could
have gotten in a lot of trouble, 2) what if nobody buys my products. I decided
to risk those two factors and go for it anyway, like a real entrepreneur. I
started off with a few necklaces and bracelets and I priced them cheaper than I
normally would; just to see if people were even interested in them at all. Low
and behold my first customer bought 3 items from me! For me, this was probably
the happiest moment in all of the fourth grade. All my hard work payed off, and
all my doubt vanished. 3 weeks later I was bringing in about $20-$30 on a
weekly basis. Not too shabby for a fourth grader. Unfortunately about a month
later, someone had told a teacher about my succeeding side hustle and I had to
shut it down. It was either that or suspension. So after that, my jewelry
business solely became a hobby and not so much a business anymore.
Fast
forward to the 12th grade. After finishing all my SATs and college
applications, I had a lot of time on my hands. And with that time came even
more beading and jewelry. I was making so many cute chokers and bracelets from
just pure enjoyment that I later realized, I’m not going to wear ALL of this.
There’s no way one person has a need for all of this. So I channeled my inner
fourth grader and started selling once again. Business skyrocketed within the
first 2 months. I was getting orders from people in school, people were
messaging me online asking me to ship my products to them, etc.. The business
itself was pretty sustainable with respect to cash flow and costs. Bracelets
and necklaces would cost about 10-50 cents to make (depending on the size and
style), and I would sell them anywhere from $3-$10. The only downside was all
the labor I was putting in. I hand-made everything I sold, and with that comes
a lot of hours. But to me it did not matter. It was an activity I enjoyed doing
and it was making me a lot of money as well.
Although my
business lasted me until the end of my senior year of high school, it was an
experience I would never trade. It left me with such a satisfaction and an idea
of “wow, this could be something I would want to pursue in my life” (the part
about being an entrepreneur). Making my own money from something I would make
myself was truly an empowering feeling. But the most empowering was probably
watching my small little side hustle take off, and people really loving my
products.
I enrolled
in ENT3003 mostly because it is a requirement for my innovation minor. Early on
this semester I came to the conclusion that I want to switch my major from political science to marketing.
This class is very beneficial to the area that I want to enter in. I think it
is also very beneficial for anybody who actually wants to become an
entrepreneur and wants to learn different frameworks and strategies. Gaining
knowledge, different logics and strategies into creating and owning a business
is probably want I want to get out of this course the most. I do one day see
myself owning my own business and for that I need to fully understand all the
aspects of doing so.
