At just 15, 13, and 13 years old, Andy, Ben, and Matt are proving that entrepreneurship knows no age limit. These young business owners from Belleville, IL, have turned their passions into thriving ventures—Andy with Aroma Brewery, a handcrafted candle business, and Ben & Matt with B&M Soft and Hard Baits, a fishing lure company! Read on to see what they had to say about running their small businesses.
CEM: Tell us about your business. How did you first get the idea?
Andy: I essentially needed a hobby to get into –a time filler and I thought, “how are candles made?” and I’ve always loved going to craft fairs So I was like “we can do something with this and with this” so I’ve made Aroma Brewery, which is essentially we collect our own scents and then make different kinds of candles.
Ben and Matt: Our business was about making fishing lures and testing them out. We already had the inspiration from like content creators on YouTube, especially. We both kind of started talking about it in school, just like a joke and we kind of got serious into it after I bought some molds after a while and tried to do it for fun. Then we kind of found out that craft fairs were kind of the way to go.
CEM: What supplies and resources did you need to get going? How did you get a hold of them?
Andy: I started with Amazon and then learned how expensive that is versus wholesale products and then moved towards buying my wax, containers, and wicks and everything in between. Um, from, it’s like wholesale websites and resale shops.
Ben and Matt: So I had to get a lot of stuff. Glitters, paints, molds, plastisol. A lot of it was mostly from a website called, do it molds. They are my main supply and source for all this. With my wooden lures, my dad, he’s always has scrap wood laying around and he has power tools, and a lot of different tools, and knives and stuff and I just pretty much got it from there and I buy some supplies every now and then.
CEM: What are some challenges you’ve faced in business, and how did you overcome them?
Andy: The hardest part so far has been trying to find quality while, not breaking the bank. Essentially ensuring that we are giving our customers an experience but also not making them lose their wallet.
Ben and Matt: Probably getting ahold of resources like the plastisol and money to start up the business. Paint is something that’s been hard. I need to get some more paint.
CEM: Do you have any advice for other aspiring kid entrepreneurs?
Andy: There are so many resources there you know, YouTube is a big thing now and that’s where I learned a lot of concepts and even like how to get into it was the first thing I did– YouTube that has essentially been a great teacher for me.
Ben and Matt: I mean, if you want to do something that you really want to do go for it. Talk to your parents about it for sure.
CEM: How can potential customers get in touch with you?
Andy: We are starting up a Facebook page soon, and a website is in the making. But for now, If anyone has any questions email tjandk.llc@gmail.com
Ben and Matt: We are starting up a Facebook page soon, and a website is in the making but the same email address will reach these businesses.
