Social Media Overflows with Student Businesses

While browsing through your Instagram feed, you may have seen story after story infused with student business promotions. As the pandemic, currently over 200.000 confirmed cases in Indonesia, continues to drastically impair the country’s economic status, the students of Springfield School have turned a new leaf in starting their own online enterprises.

Why the sudden trend? According to Brian Witte, a veteran SAT instructor, starting up your own business as a teenager gives you that extra boost for being admitted into prestigious universities, as well as securing the scholarships these colleges scarcely offer. In an article he wrote for the U.S. News and World Report Magazine, he further elaborated that most colleges - or more specifically, Ivy League colleges - target students capable of evolving into global leaders, and creating a small business serves as evidence of that for admissions officers.

Brian Whitte explained that these universities chiefly take the courage you have in actually starting a business into account, but of course, your application would look even better if your business prospers. The businesses you start don't even have to be a traditional, commercial business - a website or an app are both reputable as well.

Furthermore, during an interview conducted by USA Today College, Kat Cohen, the founder of IvyWise—a company to guide students in college admissions— mentioned that “grades are still the most important factor in admissions." However, she went on to discuss that Harvard, along with most top tier universities, does not place its focus on manufacturing students who are academically diligent. Instead, she disclosed that these universities aim to produce world leaders, those courageous enough to initiate solutions to solve real-world problems; which can take many forms, such as being the president of a school club, governing student councils, and of course, starting up your own business.

With the virus going rampant in the country, schools have closed down, limiting student bodies from proceeding with their activities, while online businesses continue to flourish—unaffected by the pandemic. Not only will reports of being a proprietor of your own enterprise make you stand out amongst your peers, the profits that you make along the way could aid with college tuition fees.

In spite of limitations from the pandemic, Jaedon Hu and Jessalyn Clarrisa have managed to turn their excess leisure time into business powerhouses. Jaedon from Grade 10 with his own gelato company Koron, and Jessalyn Clarissa from Grade 9, who manages linktr.ee/daebakbox.id, as well as cloudspot.carrd.co, with the former being a Kpop merchandise reselling store and the latter selling fanmade Kpop merchandise instead.

To minimize the gap between Koron and its professional competitors, Jaedon Hu uses naturally diverse flavors, such as Musang King durian.

Within the relatively new Kpop merchandise industry in Indonesia, trusted and reliable suppliers are difficult to come by - which is where Jessalyn shines, steering the low supply market into an opportunity by slowly building her brand’s reputation, which aims to sell premium quality goods.

When asked whether their fellow peers should follow their steps, Jessalyn elaborated “I do recommend it”. Despite his financial and entrepreneurial experience, Jaedon Hu disagrees.

However, after taking a deeper dive into the specifics of starting a business, the benefits of youth entrepreneurship clearly outweigh the repercussions. In the ever growing competitive world of college admissions, grades are no longer enough to make you stand out. Institutions such as Monash University and Boston College offer leadership scholarships on top of the usual merit and community service scholarships. According to the NPSAS, only 0.2% of students were able to take hold of upwards of 350 million rupiah a year without student loans to cover their tuition fees. Filling your CV with major experiences and extracurricular activities in your life—such as starting your own business—could enhance your possibilities in living a loan-free life.

With the growth of successful student businesses such as Koron, linktr.ee/daebakbox.id, and cloudspot.carrd.co, don’t expect the promotions and advertisements you see on Instagram and Twitter to go away anytime soon.