Rachel Maples

age:12

Living along the water, Rachel Maples noticed the sea glass she and her family would find.

And in the sea glass, she found an opportunity.

Rachel, 12, along with her friend and Nansemond-Suffolk Academy classmate, Eliana Carson, started the business, Seaglass Co., during a sleepover, using that sea glass to make art and handcrafted jewelry.

Their business earned them the Most Original Business honor and $200 at last winter’s Young Entrepreneur Business Expo at the Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront, and the two seventh-graders donated 10% of their profits to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.

“We live on the water, and we talked and were like, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we started a business,’” Rachel said.

Having seen others do interesting things with sea glass, the duo thought they could also. They started with easier things to make, and progressed from there, pricing out supplies and their creations.

They had found a local business to help them sell their creations, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, it put a pause on the business, and with school and other new things on the horizon, they haven’t been able to restart it yet.

Whether it does or not, Rachel hopes to use the skills she has learned in a different challenge in the future. By learning how to manage money and work together, she believes those things will prepare her for college and future jobs.

“It’s been really interesting, and I would want to do something like this again,” Rachel said, “because I enjoyed it and I also learned a lot about how to do stuff, and I might go into business in the future.”

What advice would she give to a young person like herself wanting to start a business?

“I would say that you should definitely do it,” Rachel said, “because, especially at our age, the worst thing that could happen is that you stop doing it, and maybe you lose a little bit of money. It won’t ruin your life, and it will give you practice for the future no matter what.”

— Jimmy LaRoue

In a word or phrase, how would you describe yourself? Socially awkward

What is your favorite TV show? “Umbrella Academy”

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