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Several Armuchee students have created their own small businesses. Typically, small businesses host their products on sites such as Etsy, ebay, and Facebook. Juniors Ivey Whitaker and Logan Benedict and Freshman, Caden Graves, have all started small businesses, for which they share a passion. 

Ivey Whitaker’s Merry Slumberland decorates houses for birthday parties and special events with sleepover decor. Whitaker found it shocking how much support she and her mother received when creating this business over the summer. She finds it difficult to balance school, extracurricular activities, and the business but with the help of her mom, they manage their workload. Getting her business off the ground was surprisingly very easy. She said, “The process of finding clients and gaining support was very easy and we were blessed for that.”

Using mostly social media and word of mouth, her business spread across Rome like wildfire. The main idea when starting her business was to provide Rome with a creative service to make celebrations “more unique and simple,” and supply resources most households would not have to throw an extravagant slumber party. In the near future, she hopes to expand Merry Slumberland.

The advice she gives to other students interested in starting their own business is to make sure they’re passionate about it, willing to devote time and work towards it. Whitaker said, “Make sure the business is suitable to their best ability and their schedule, so they can present the best outcome.” Soon, Whitaker wants to pursue a career in business to express her interests.

Logan Benedict makes and sells shirts, specifically shirts with people’s faces on them, for fun and to make money. Many students have been seen around the school sporting shirts made by Benedict. Since he doesn’t get much business, he doesn’t have a hard time balancing school and his business. Getting his business off the ground was difficult for him due to having to buy the supplies required to make the shirts. His biggest supporter through all of this is his mom. Benedict does see himself pursuing a career in business in the future, just not this one. Advice he gives to other students that may be interested in starting their own business is to make sure it works and get their money back.

Caden Graves, a freshman at Armuchee, sells fishing bait. He enjoys fishing, so when he attempted to make his own fishing bait and enjoyed doing it, he decided to expand his hobby into a business. Balancing school and a business is seemingly difficult, especially since making his own bait can be very time-consuming. Trying out new colors and different designs for bait keeps Graves interested.  In five years, he hopes to see his bait in a few shops and hopefully online. He promotes his business on Instagram. Though the creation and upkeep of his business have been difficult, Graves believes that his small business has the potential to become a full-time career, and his advice to other students who may be interested in starting their own business is to pursue their interests as well.