Many people don’t realize just by looking at an individual that they have lives outside of school. And for a lot of people in high school, having a job isn’t abnormal.
Senior Jeffery Kunzman currently cuts hair for his side hustle and does that throughout his weekends. According to Kunzman he creates awareness about his side hustle by posting on his social media and telling people around the school. His inspiration was formed by seeing former students also cut hair in their free time, which Kunzman said might influence his future since he is looking at becoming a barber as a backup option.
“I’m going to college to play football, and cut hair while doing that,” Kunzman said. “The main goal is to be an architect, and if that fails I will be okay.”
Senior Alexa Catts said in an email that she started her Polaroid business in 2020. She said she lived in Germany, making it hard to find a place to print off her photos. She started manually printing off her own photos, and selling them to customers. Catts charges $2 per print, however she said she has regular packages for different holiday events such as prom, military ball, and Mother’s Day making her prices cheaper.
Senior Kenzie Heyen said in an email that they started their crocheting side hustle in December 2022. Growing up, Heyen’s grandmother taught them how to crochet, but it wasn’t clicking for them so they went to the next resource: YouTube. Heyen said that they promote their hustle by promoting on social media platforms, business cards, and by Facebook posts and Instagram reels to reach more people.
“I would sell to anyone who asks,” Heyen said. “People at school, my family, other friends, and I go to craft fairs somewhat often.”
Senior Colby Schreck said in an email that his grandpa taught him how to mow yards around the age of ten. Schreck said that he actually started mowing other people’s yards at age 13 which is how his side hustle started.
Currently Schreck mows about 32 yards a week, charging anywhere between $45-75 depending on the width and length of the yard. The encouragement from the money and how quick his side hustle grows is what is keeping him motivated, he said later in life he’s hoping to flip the whole script and have people mow for him and hopefully run his own business.
“I could never work a regular job,” Schreck said. “It is way too boring and I get paid nowhere near the same.”
