CAIFÉ ASPIRE A Student Hub for Success

Written by Ray Berg and Joe Walsh

Manchester Community Schools recently launched a series of studentrun business ventures in the former Ackerson School Building, now owned by Riverside/Jr-Sr High STEM teacher Joe Walsh. These businesses operate under a model entitled “Caifé Aspire,“ whose general mission is to provide a student-centric hub where they can develop new aspirations to guide future careers, understand how to operate a business with the goal of becoming profitable, and connect with shoppers in the community.

It’s been a long, slow start for Caifé Aspire, but things are happening, and it is evolving into a successful vision of a business hub for the school and community in Manchester.

Four student-run businesses are currently operating in the Ackerson Building:

1) Bamboo Accessories and More (BAAM) – customized bamboo and stainless products, using a laser engraver, as well as creating customized clothing. Website: www. baamboo.org.

2) Bender Baits - custom lures, utilize injection molding for softbody lures like worms, custom airbrushing hardbody lures like crankbaits, and tie flies.

3) Burning Sensations – homemade, unique, great smelling candles. We have a small selection to start with, however, it is ever growing!

4) 40-13 - unique hand-made soaps and some custom jewelry, leather products

The Manchester Robotics Team also has a permanent home in the building, including a small engines component, a woodworking component, and a new underwater robotics program, which is really exciting.

Students have held trade show exhibits and demonstrations at various locations around Washtenaw and neighboring counties.

Walsh credits his son, Luke, for inspiring the idea behind Caifé Aspire. At age 7, Luke decided he wanted a Newfoundland puppy. Two years and a lot of hard work later (snow shoveling, lawn mowing, window washing for people in the neighborhood), Luke had earned the $2,000 needed for his puppy. He learned through this experience that “things don’t just come to you instantly; you have to earn it,“ and one of his dad’s proudest moments of the whole venture was hearing Luke tell a friend, “If you work hard, you can get anything you want.“

Joe applied this same philosophy to the businesses that now reside in the “entrepreneurial hub“— also known as the west wing — of Caifé Aspire. And some of the young students have caught the vision — for example, he has nine 14–15 year-olds in the BAAM business, which currently has a net worth of $50,000 and is now putting 10% of its sales into long-term investments. BAAM has really taken off, with Amcor as a major supporter and River Raisin Distillery also carrying their products.

“These kids are motivated,“ Walsh says. “They really can see the vision. This is exactly what I hoped would happen when I started this.“ All of the business proceeds go back into the individual businesses. And those who do the most work are rewarded most highly. “The percentage of hours worked is equivalent to the percentage of ownership,“ Walsh explains. “And I have to say, the girls are doing extremely well in these traditionally male-dominated fields. It‘s really rewarding to watch. I couldn‘t be more proud of these kids. They are pretty amazing.“