As a sixth grader and new to middle school, there were a lot of clubs and activities to join. The idea of joining TREP$ was interesting to me at first, but I dd not know if I would have enough time between all my activities to get everything done. However, I am glad I did it, because I learned a lot about what it takes to have your own business and about making the product itself.
My business name was Dazzling Doormats, and I sold homemade, painted doormats. I did this without a partner, which was fun but challenging at times. When I was trying to decide what my product would be, I did some research. I wanted something that I could do on my own, but also something that could be customizable and personal for the customers. Making doormats looked fun, and there were a lot of different designs. I found a lot of helpful sites and videos on making them.
Something I struggled with was trying to figure out which supplies would work best. I went to Home Depot with my Dad and found blank doormats easily, but figuring out which paints would work on the coir mats was tricky. Some craft paints were too thick and didn’t spread nicely, and others were too thin and runny when you painted them on the mats. I tried a lot of different types of acrylic paint but eventually found one that worked best.
The night of the TREP$ Marketplace was exciting. Standing at my table, I felt proud of what I did. I had a lot of customers and sold out in the first 40 minutes of the event, which made me feel happy with my decision to make the doormats. Even though I sold out, I was able to take orders from customers, and they were able to personalize what they wanted painted on their mats. I did make a profit from the doormats, and I plan on using the money to fund my TREP$ business next year.
Some things I would do differently would be to have more stencils and increase my price. I would also start making some doormats earlier in the school year, so that I have more on hand at the TREP$ Marketplace and I would not have to take as many orders.
I am most proud that I did this project on my own. I was able to research and find a product that I could make myself, and through my own work I made something that people wanted to buy. Making doormats is something I had never done before, and it makes me happy to know I did something entirely on my own and that people really liked them.
