What’s Your Hustle?
Some seniors have built small businesses that have made them lots of profit. BY GEORGE BERNARD, ’23 AND PARKER BADAT, ’22. GRAPHIC BY MOLLY HENCH, ’22.
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fter school, many students hit the books, go to a sports practice or hang out with friends. However, some seniors go work on a side-hustle. JT Schenk sold his fourth lionfish in early May. Doug Ryan, an up-and-coming landscape mogul, mows over 60 lawns a week. Zac Yoakam regularly visits the post office to ship out baseball cards that he has sold. In his freshman year, Schenk bought his first freshwater fish after seeing a video on retailing various live bait and pet species. “There was a buying opportunity out there, and we were looking to make some quick cash,” Schenk said. Although he couldn’t disclose the details of his buyers, he has focused products on the most affluent families in the greater Columbus area. For Schenk, the aquatic retail industry has been fierce. At a local fish meet-up, the true risk of this business came to light. “A guy tried to break into my car and steal my tank,” Schenk said. However, although there’s a degree of danger in this business, Schenk claims the money has made it all worthwhile. “From selling fish, I have over $12,000 in my bank account,” Schenk said. While aquatic acquisitions prove to be an adrenalized market, another senior is playing it more safe. Doug Ryan spends every day mowing lawns until the end of the summer months. In the fall, he performs leaf removal. In the winter, he plows snow for the city, and in the spring, he does it all over again. He works with over sixty different clients a week and has been able to operate his own crews for anyone in UA throughout the year. For the high schoolers looking to make some extra money without sacrificing their sports or schooling, there’s another senior side hustle knocking it out of the park: baseball cards. Yoakam purchases bulk quantities of non-fungible vintage baseball cards FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @UAARLINGTONIAN
which, when individually separated, can be sold for thousands or just a few dollars. Yoakam uses his card trading as an alternative to an after-school job. “It gets me enough money to do normal high school things like going to the movies or taking my girlfriend out to eat,” Yoakam said. By selling individual high-value cards or sets including multiple more common cards, Yoakam is able to both grow his personal collection and make some passive income on the side. He claims that anyone can enter the collectibles business, but he forewarned against its pitfalls. “You have to actually enjoy collecting the things you’re going after, otherwise you’re going to fall out of it,” Yoakam said.
For students interested in entering the business world, Ryan has some advice. “It’s pretty easy; you just have to hustle,” Ryan said. “You have to be willing to put in the work, and whatever you make, you have to put back into the company. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to be able to scale or even make money.”
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