Minding their own business

Two youth from TAHS enjoying their time with CEO program

The first full week of May is officially National Small Business Week. However, the Tyler Golf Club was celebrating a week early as this year’s class of the Lyon and Murray County CEO program showed off their newly-launched small businesses during the annual trade show.

The Lyon and Murray County CEO program consists of juniors and seniors from Marshall, Murray County Central, Tracy Area and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton high schools. This year’s class included 18 students. The students spend the school year immersed in entrepreneurship education learning the many aspects of starting and running their own business. The class includes creating a badge business, a class business, tours of local businesses, speakers, working with mentors, and finally creating and starting their own business.

This year, Tracy Area High School has two students participate in the CEO program.

Ada Moua is a senior and created her business “Bloom Craft,” which consists of crocheted flowers from a hobby she’s had for many years.

“I’ve been crocheting since I was 12,” Moua said. “So I had the skills and ability. Stonegate Orchard had crocheted chickens and I was telling my peers that I could do that. They convinced me that I could do that for my personal business and I thought it was an amazing idea.”

As that idea blossomed, she found herself taking a path she didn’t think was possible before the CEO program.

"I was really nervous at first and I did not think I would actually create my own business and doing my hobby and actually be making money now,” Moua said. “I learned a lot of professional skills that I will need for my future.”

Throughout the CEO class, Moua enjoyed visiting the different businesses and hearing from small business owners.

“A lot of businesses told us about their struggles and honestly I thought that was mind-blowing,” Moua said. “I understand everyone struggles, I didn’t realize how big of a struggle it was.

As someone that started a businesses themselves, I finally see that now. And I also really liked that they are willing to give us advice. A lot of people don’t do that for free.”

While creating Bloom Craft, Moua said building her inventory in bulk was one of the hardest parts, ss well as learning the finance part and having to ask for a loan.

However, she said sometimes the hardest part is one of the best parts as she does love the crocheting part of her business.

“Sometimes I’ll hate it, sometimes you’ll love it,” she continued. “I think it’s just really great to see people’s faces when they buy it.”

Moua said the schedule of the class (meeting at 7:30 a.m. five days a week) gave her even more life skills “These are skills and a schedule that you don’t see as a high schooler,” Moua said. “It’s helpful and hard. As soon as you get out of high school, it’s going to be hard, and this is a good taste of it.”

Moua plans to continue her business after the class ends and is looking to create a website and have more crocheted products available beyond flowers.

TAHS junior Adam Hippe didn’t know what to expect when he entered the CEO class this fall but was surprised at all the local businesses he was able to tour and connect with.

“I didn’t have any expectations other that I was ready to learn what it was,” Hippe said. “I didn’t know that there were a whole lot of businesses just in the town of Tracy. There is a ton of cool businesses that I didn’t know existed, and I have actually plan to do business with in the future. I found a lot of interest in the class.”

For his business, Hippe created Hippe’s Woodworking and Epoxy. He specializes in cutting boards. He also creates epoxy coaster sets and by special order will create chess boards. The decision as to what to do for his business was an easy one for him.

“I’ve always liked doing this,” Hippe said. “I’ve always helped my grandpa in the shop working and I’ve enjoyed watching people work with wood and make tables and stuff. I figured this would be a good starting point for me.”

While deciding what he wanted to do for his business was easy and making the products is his favorite part, through the program he has learned the many steps that go into starting a business and some of the pieces that are a little more challenging.

"How much effort it takes on just the legal side alone, filing your tax number, getting your business account, etc.,” Hippe said when discussing the most difficult parts of starting a business. "Just that alone to me is a lot of work and effort.”

In addition to working through the difficult parts of starting a business, Hippe said through the class tours and speakers, he enjoyed getting to meet new people and have the networking and connections in the community. He also was honorable mention in the National Pitch Competition.

While the trade show is finished and the class is wrapping up, Hippe doesn’t plan on letting his business stop.

“I am looking at continuing my business outside of high school for sure,” he said. “I’m going to help my dad out this summer and use this more of a part-time deal. I’m still going to have it around me and still continue with it. I’m hoping to be at some farmer’s markets and craft shows. Any odds and ends that chambers advertise, if I have time and inventory and I’ll try to be there.”

When asked what Hippe would tell future students looking into the CEO program who may have the same reservations that he had, his advice was simple.

“Don’t be afraid to do it,” he said. “It might seem scary at times and it might seem hard to be in this class, but if you just stick it out, you can go far.”