I tutor students during the week, and I always like to ask a little about what their passions are so I can get to know them a little better. This helps me tailor the lessons a bit, but also gets them comfortable in class.

Last week, I was working through a cost/revenue problem with a high school student and he just casually said “Oh, I get it. It’s kinda like the business I started.”

I’m sorry, but you can’t just say that around me and NOT expect to get quizzed about it. Afterwards, I asked him if I could share his story anonymously on here and he agreed. For the purposes of our story, I’m going to call him Evan.

Evan’s story

The business began with a hobby, which we’re going to say was building models. Evan was part of a group who built models together. At some point, Evan was looking to purchase some materials for his models and went looking online to find them. The cheapest decent items he could find were only sold in bulk from China. The price per unit was too good to pass up, though, so he bought a big old box.

Obviously, he had way more than he needed, so he started selling off the others to members of his hobby group. The next time those other people needed something for their models, they turned to him, and he turned to the internet again.

Soon enough, he was the go-to guy for model-building materials. Already, he had a little business.

What really kicked him into gear, though, was when a friend who attends a nearby university started a model-building club there and hit up Evan to provide gear for the club.

Evan suddenly found himself making enough money that he was able to quit the part-time job he had. He’s now saving money for college and planning how he’s going to move the business online so he doesn’t have to lug the boxes around himself.

Lessons to take away

I love this story for a couple of reasons.

First, Evan is a high schooler, but he’s already learned that he can take the idea of supply and demand and turn it to his advantage. He used his own needs to tell him where there was an opportunity and didn’t think “Oh, I’m a kid, I can’t do that.”

Secondly, when people in his club started asking him for other materials, Evan didn’t just tell them where to buy their own boxes, he took the initiative to order them himself. He saw the demand as opportunity and realized he could use his experience to help his friends AND himself. They still got materials for cheaper than they could otherwise, and he made some money.

Lastly, he is thinking of the future. He’s already done more than many people his age would have with his idea, but he keeps thinking about the next step. He said he plans to to continue the business in college, and he’s going to learn so much about entrepreneurship that I’m kind of envious.

Wrap up

Are you secretly yearning to be an entrepreneur? Take a look around at the stuff you take for granted. What activity or passion do you have that you could monetize?

Whether you sell a physical good like Evan is doing or you sell services like mowing lawns or scooping dog poop, there’s something out there you can try. And for those of you who are applying to college soon, I’ll tell you what I told Evan: taking initiative and putting yourself out there looks killer on a college essay. Go stretch your entrepreneurial muscles!

Need a little side hustle inspiration? Check out Side Hustle Nation’s list of potential side hustles to see if one could be for you. or Penny Hoarder for some ideas.