Fifty years ago, high school students were limited to waiting tables and babysitting when they needed a little extra cash. However, teenagers now have more options than ever. Many students have even taken the leap to start their own business.
Starting a business is challenging enough as an adult, but as a teenager, juggling school and work, it becomes even more difficult. Regardless, many high school students have started to turn to entrepreneurship instead of the typical fast food and retail jobs.
Many of these small businesses run through social media and word of mouth, but some are Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). An LLC is a type of business that protects the owner’s assets from potential lawsuits, helping to ensure that not everything the owner has is lost, in case a problem arises. This is a lengthy legal process though, so many businesses do not take the steps to become an LLC when they are early on in the process.
One of these student-run businesses is Blooms By Daisy (@bloomsbydaisy on Instagram), a business which is run by junior Daisy Theodore. The flower-arranging business was founded in early 2021, after Theodore took an Intro to Horticulture course at Oakwood Middle School. What may have seemed like an insignificant class turned into a passion that has pushed Theodore to become a young entrepreneur.
“I just really like working with flowers,” Theodore said. “So I started making boutonnieres and then I learned how to make corsages by myself and that is what I have always wanted to do when I grow up.”
While Blooms By Daisy may not be an official LLC, Theodore plans to continue the business through her adult life.
Theodore is not alone in wanting to run her own business instead of working a traditional nine to five. In fact, 60% of high school graduates are more interested in running their own businesses than traditional jobs, according to a study conducted by Junior Achievement USA.
There are many reasons for young adults’ shift away from typical high school jobs. Economic insecurity, time constraints and the economic preference for older and more experienced workers all play a huge role in this phenomenon.
Additionally, many high school students are just not interested in working “teen jobs,” instead preferring to look for opportunities that play to their interests and schedule. Entrepreneurship is an option that is becoming increasingly popular, with many schools offering programs that help students learn how to run their own businesses, like GlenOak’s business program.
Not everyone is interested in taking classes to learn how to become an entrepreneur. Many teens start businesses with just the help of their families and communities. One example is sophomore Francesca Codispoti, who started her culinary business, Codispoti Cuisine, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was only 10 years old.
Codispoti got the idea for her business from her parents, who have always emphasized the importance of a good meal, and from the take-out culture of the pandemic. She wanted to give people a healthier alternative to fast food, while also helping to connect her community with a good meal.
“I already knew I wanted to provide meals, but this was also a terribly convenient way of providing that,” Codispoti said. “So it definitely became easier because of COVID because no one actually wanted to just order in fast food every day. This was a healthier version, and it got people out of the house,”
Codispoti spent a lot of time researching and cooking for Codispoti Cuisine over the years, with much of her free time being devoted to filling orders. In fact, the hardest part of starting it was the time commitment; Codispoti spent most of her free time cooking and preparing orders for the week.
Codispoti Cuisine ended this summer, after four years in business, as Codispoti wanted to have the time to get a real job that she hopes will help her fill a resume and get real world experience.
“I knew that I did not really want to go into cooking as I got older, and it wasn’t like a future career for me. I thought it was kind of time to get real world job experience rather than just working in the safety of my own home,” Codispoti said.
While Codispoti Cuisine may be no more, the lessons it taught will stick with Codispoti for years, as it taught her the importance of collaboration and skills that will help her as a future entrepreneur.
Many students are growing tired of the current job market for high school students and are instead choosing to take a page out of Codispoti’s and Theodore’s books by starting their own businesses. This rising rate of young entrepreneurs is fascinating, and it is intriguing to see what will happen in the future.
