My name is Maya and I am 13 years old. I am an eighth grader at Academy of Our Lady School in Glen Rock, NJ. This is my third year doing TREP$, and my first year starting a business without a friend.
I have always made handmade cards for my friends and family, so I thought it was a great idea to make handmade cards as my TREP$ business. For the past couple of months I tried to create about 2 cards a day. Each card took a lot of time and detail, so it was very hard to find a lot of time with playing volleyball and school work.
I enjoyed making them because I am constantly making artwork with all different mediums, so making cards was a great way to do what I love and make money! I started to make all different designs of cards, such as Christmas, Birthday, Thank You, Miss You, etc. Once I made about 30 cards, I asked my friends and family which ones were their favorites. I then sorted through them and one Saturday afternoon I made about 2 or 3 more of each card they selected.
On the TREP$ night I had 55 handmade cards and I sold out in one hour! I did not expect that I would sell the cards so quickly and I was flattered by all the compliments. Since TREP$ I continue to make cards and receive orders. I decided that I want to donate half of all proceeds from my cards to a Catholic school in Guatemala that my mom volunteered at 20 years ago.
Note: Maya participated in the TREP$ entrepreneurship education program as after-school enrichment, right at school. This extracurricular activity is a PBL (project based learning) experience that helps kids gain an entrepreneurial mindset, financial literacy and life skills to prepare them for and improve their futures.
