Students juggle schedules with early business training

By Grace Hartdegen
St. Scholastica Academy

There are many small businesses all around us, providing people with full-time jobs and a steady income, but some of these small businesses are owned by teens who manage their businesses alongside schoolwork, sports and extracurriculars.

Three of these teens are Grey Flattmann, Devon Carter and Alli Badeaux.

Grey runs Grey’s Cookies Co., a cookie and macaron operation. She is a freshman at St. Scholastica Academy (SSA) and has been operating her business for almost a year. She sells custom-decorated sugar cookies and macarons, usually for special events.

“Having a business while trying to balance school and sports is very challenging and takes a lot of motivation,” she said. “You have to really love what you are doing to make it worth your time.”

Grey got good feedback
Grey was first inspired to start her business because of how much her friends and family loved her homemade goodies the first time she made them. She has always loved sharing her treats with others.

“I hope to share my joy of baking with everyone else,” Grey said, her impetus for starting the business.

Grey said an order can take anywhere from three to eight hours, plus an hour a week for updating her business’ social media and advertising. Along with managing her business, Grey is on SSA’s volleyball team and is an honor roll student.

“You have to be very organized and know your limits,” she said. “Sometimes, I have to decline orders because I know I need that time for school or sports. You have to know when to stop so you don’t overwhelm yourself.”

Sweet smell of success
Devon, a sophomore at Fontainebleau High School, owns a scent company that has been making candles and wax melts for about a year. His business associate Sunny Bergeron, who attends St. Peter Church in Covington, said the business mostly operates in the summer as a way to fill time and make some extra cash. Most of the profits go into a college savings account.

“Seeing how others were doing with different businesses inspired Devon to start his own,” Sunny said.

A major startup struggle was getting the word out.

“Sales were slow at first, but when my friends told others, it really came together,” Sunny said.

Getting business experience as a teen has inspired Devon to possibly make this a career.

A quarantine success
Alli has run Bake N Flake, a baking company, for the last 18 months. She is a junior at Fontainebleau High and attends Ascension of Our Lord Church in LaPlace.

Alli makes cakes, treats and pretty much any other baked goods that her customers request. She got the idea during quarantine, when she was baking every week. She had a few successful bake sales, and people asked her if they could order from her directly.

“It is a very special thing to me to be creating something that is so special to people,” she said. “I get to make people smile and gather together.”

Alli began advertising on Instagram before switching to Facebook and printing flyers, which has been much more effective. She is now booked months in advance!

When asked who has supported her the most in her business endeavors, Alli said it was her parents.

“When I didn’t have enough money to invest in my business, they did,” she said. “They helped me get on my feet.”

Like Grey, Alli is also an athlete – a top state swimmer.

“Time has been more of a struggle as I am becoming more successful,” Alli said. “I love what I do, so I find time for it, but it can definitely be challenging.”

All three students have found that running a business as a student can be demanding but also can be rewarding – whether that’s in the form of people coming together to eat your baked goods or having enough money to pay for college.

Grace Hartdegen is a student at St. Scholastica Academy in Covington.