Coral Glades High School is home to a plethora of entrepreneurs. These versatile students make a profit while also balancing school. Supporting small businesses in high school can play a huge part in the development of the young entrepreneur’s business.
In high school, the student does not have the time to fully invest in their business, however when they leave high school, they will have an advantage over those who started later in life. For example, set clients. There is also a downside like not having enough time for school which at the end of the day should be their top priority. Understanding how much these students really do is important. Let’s take a look into one of the school’s small businesses along with teacher input of how this may affect the student.
Saniyah Tulloch, student-athlete and small business owner at Coral Glades, shows us how she uses her small business to express herself when she said, “I chose to be an entrepreneur because I wanted to turn my passions into a reality and create something that reflects who I am. I have a hard time expressing myself at school but when I do hair, I feel like I am being my true self.” She also tells us how having a work-life balance can be important. “Balancing school, volleyball, and running a hair braiding business requires discipline and time management, but it’s about prioritizing what matters most and making every moment count.” Saniyah is a perfect example of a student entrepreneur. Being a student athlete and a small business owner means that she not only has to focus on school and sports but also managing her appointments, clients, and money.
Even though students benefit from this, some teachers would argue that having a business interferes with the student’s education. “It teaches the students work ethic and discipline, but it switches the focus from school to earning a profit, which can make it hard to get the curriculum in their head,” says Ms. Blaise, an English and AICE Thinking Skills teacher at Coral Glades.
Not all students know how to manage their time and when they take on a task like a small business, they become fixated on doing all the things that go into being an entrepreneur and put their education second. Being a serious business owner requires proper education on how to properly run a business and without putting effort into school, the student entrepreneur cannot get all the resources to be successful business owners.
Student entrepreneurs show how teenagers can balance academic responsibilities while maintaining their small businesses. By networking and using resources around them students can turn their ideas into a viable business.
