Student businesses: an alternate option

Posted: June 1, 2023

Summer is just around the corner and so are work hours. Many students dread getting a job, but find the idea of starting their own business attractive.

In a study conducted by CNBC (a news network), it was reported that 60% of teens wanted to start their own business. It’s fairly easy to set up a lemonade stand, but it’s a completely different game to go public and actually make money from it.

First-year TaShaya Johnson-White is the proud owner of T’s LipGloss, which she started a year ago. Her main export is lip care.

“I know what the girls are like, [it’s for] whoever really wants to use it. …” said TaShaya Johnson-White. “They can’t help with their self esteem and it gives them confidence and gives you a boost.”

She shares how she has experienced feeling distanced, and how she wished for a little something to give her the boldness to stand up for herself.

Johnson-White has been a part of the Midtown Farmers Market for roughly 11 months, after noticing a sign near the train transit.

Midtown Farmers Market is a gathering of vendors with fresh produce, assorted crafts, self care, and food ready to be immediately eaten. The Midtown Farmers Market starts in the spring, beginning on May 6 and closes in the fall, ending on October 31.

While this is a sure fire way to introduce a business to the public, it is important to consider if it is worth it.

The Minnesota minimum wage is 15 dollars per hour, so after five hours there would be 75 dollars. If the average item price is 10 dollars, and 20 items are sold, that is 200 dollars.

If the vendor chose an 80% profit margin, the intake would then be 160 dollars. Then taken into consideration the basic entry fee for the Midtown Farmers Market of 30 dollars, the final profit is roughly 130 dollars. That is a difference of 55 dollars.

This demonstrates how starting a business can lead to a larger money intake.

There are important steps to proceed with when opening a business. The first step is to make a plan. You need to know where you’ll get your money, if you need to hire people, and how you would like to run it.

Then you need to arrange your workspace, whether it be a simple room set aside for the job, or renting out an area. This all depends on what kind of goods you produce. You then must figure out your name.

Your name reflects the business, so it is important to put great care into it.

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