Photo submitted by Julian Jackson

Julian Jackson (10) work with his father to make custom sweatshirts. “I really want to make it [bigger] because right now we make the hoodies in his basement and I eventually do want to make it a lot bigger. I want to get an actual store or an actual place outside the house and start selling them outside to other people who don’t know who we are because we mostly sell them to family and friends and stuff like that…” Jackson said. “But I eventually want to get it to people who don’t know who we are…” They started the business a few years ago.

After school, students go off to do their homework or head to their jobs. But for some of them, their jobs are their own family businesses. 

Karlie Farnam (10) is one of these students. She makes and sells tack, or equipment used in horseback riding, with her family to toy plastic horse collectors. 

“We started it because we went to this convention before and the tack and stuff was so expensive, and we were not going to pay $30 for one item,” Farnam said. “And we were going to target younger kids, and so we wanted to make an affordable company so people can actually afford to buy [items].” 

There is another OHS business owner, Julian Jackson (10), who works a business with his dad. They started the business a few years ago and make customizable sweatshirts with their logo on it. 

“You can make anything thing with you really want,” Jackson. 

With these small businesses, students have been able to grow up with some knowledge of how to run and work in a business. It has also shown them how to juggle their everyday lives with owning a business. 

“It is pretty easy because it is kinda family run, like me, my cousin, my aunt, my mom and my grandpa all do it together,” Farnam said. “So it is pretty easy to manage life and my job — my boutique.“ 

While Jackson and his dad started their business in 2020, Farnam has been doing hers for about seven years. During that time, her family’s small business has done well. 

“In July we went to the convention, and we sold over $10,000 worth of stuff,” Farnam said. 

Having a small business also means that students have to help promote their products and communicate with people on why they should buy their products.

”We will sell on Facebook. We have a Facebook group that we talk to people and stuff. We have a Facebook that we’ll sometimes sell off of, but usually Etsy and the conventions are our two [main forms of promoting our business],” Farnam said.

Jackson and his dad did a photoshoot with his dad’s friend to promote their business, which assisted in getting the word out as well. In addition to giving those involved in the business knowledge on how to promote their products, it can show them if they want to make a future career out of their small businesses. 

“I really want to make it [bigger] because right now we make the hoodies in his basement and I eventually do want to make it a lot bigger. I want to get an actual store or an actual place outside the house and start selling them outside to other people who don’t know who we are because we mostly sell them to family and friends and stuff like that…” Jackson said. “But I eventually want to get it to people who don’t know who we are…”