- Four Canton City School students started a vending machine business at McKinley High School.
- Students participated in the Stark County Minority Business Association Youth Entrepreneur Program.
- The vending machine offers convenient items for students and staff such as pencils, deodorant, lotion, gloves and socks.
CANTON – Marlon Castellano Del-Cid has always seen himself as a boss, but as a native of Honduras, he wasn’t sure it would ever happen.
His dream came true last week when Castellano Del-Cid and three peers debuted their new business – Everyday Sales.
The vending machine, located at McKinley Middle School, is stocked with items that students, teachers and staff may need throughout the school day, including pens and pencils, deodorant, a hair brush and socks.
A new business venture is the culmination of hard work, dedication and a little guidance from the right people.
Last school year, 36 eighth graders from Crenshaw Middle School, STEAMM Academy at Hartford Middle School and Lehman Middle School (12 from each school) came together as part of the Minority Business Association Youth Entrepreneur Program Stark County, a free initiative for eighth graders in under-resourced communities.
During the program, students are encouraged to take their ideas and turn them into a business.
Castellano Del-Cid, Allona Lee, Elias Reynoso-Solis and Jae’Leah Mitchell joined together. Some were familiar but mostly foreign. Today they are business owners.
‘This is their business’
Lydia Lee, program director for the Stark County Minority Business Association, said students participated in the eight-week program during the school year and later spent another 10 weeks giving up Fridays during summer break to continue the program. and to cultivate their business ideas. .
During a ribbon cutting for the vending machine business last week, Lydia Lee said the opening of the company was not just a vending machine, but it represented innovation, hard work and the future of young students.
The students started their own vending machine business with the help of the business association and donors. Now, the student-owned business will maintain the car, provide items for it, stock the merchandise and back it up.
Lydia Lee pointed out that students are looking for business partners to donate items or provide items at a lower cost in hopes of making a profit.
“I’m here to supervise and help them, but that’s their job,” she added.
As a business owner, association CEO Leonard Stevens was especially proud.
“It was a dream of mine to have my own business,” Stevens said. “And now I see the next generation of business owners (in front of me). It’s very exciting for me.”
It was great to see students move beyond training to become entrepreneurs, he added.
The program is designed to foster entrepreneurs and expose them to successful entrepreneurs from their community, Leonard said.
Nate Chester, who worked with students in the program, said students spend their days striving to succeed and have had to make difficult executive decisions along the way.
“Every day, they’re hustling,” he said, adding that they were able to see a non-traditional path to success. “It’s pretty cool to see at a young age (their success). It’s your business. You control what you’re doing. Be ready to adapt.”
Allona Lee, president of Everyday Vending and a freshman at Lehman Early Learning College, said they are proud of their accomplishments and ready to grow their business.
“It’s not just about convenience, it’s about showing what we can achieve with the right guidance,” added the 14-year-old McKinley High student.
Fifteen-year-old Mitchell, a freshman at Early Learning College, said many people didn’t believe she owned a vending machine company.
Sometimes they were shocked that they had a business, Reynos-Solis added.
But in business, they know they always have to prove themselves, they said.
Reynos-Solis, a 14-year-old freshman at Early College of Learning, always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and own his own business. His father owns a retail store.
For 15-year-old Castellano Del-Cid, he’s not worried about business. He knows they will succeed and hopefully be able to expand the vending machines to other businesses and schools.
Contact Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.