The number of student owned businesses have risen. According to Online Schools Center, 41 percent of middle school and high school students plan to start their own business. Angela Rodriguez and Joarcy Sanchez, are among a few at Schuyler Community High School that own a business.  Angela, a freshman at SCHS, makes flower bouquets from ribbon. She shared what inspired her to start was that she “had nothing to do throughout my day, so I started to make flowers, and it became more successful than I thought.” Angela has been making flowers for three months and the advice she would give is “just don’t give up on it, even if it’s too much for you to handle, it really does start to get easier.” Angela also shared that young entrepreneurs should trust the process, because you can lose money before you make some. Angela explained that for her it can be difficult to balance school and her business, but over time it gets better. You can find Angela on Instagram @g0.10.h311

Joarcy is a sophomore at SCHS, and he is a sports and portrait photographer. He shared that he started photography, because he “ found it really cool how cameras work and how well the photos come out after editing them.” His piece of advice is to invest in your business and to be patient and customers will come. Joarcy shared that he does not find it difficult to balance his business with school.  Angela and Joarcy both shared that they gained customers by posting on social media, telling family, friends and getting referrals from customers. You can also contact Joarcy on Instagram – @jsanchez_photography