Growing up, senior Srihansika Penugonda said she had an interest in art and since then, has taken a variety of classes to explore her passion. She said she started her business, Art for Hearts, to inspire children.
“I started this class to teach kids how to learn the basics of art, but also how to spark their creative mind,” Penugonda said. “And to make sure they learn how to draw from their mind and not looking at a paper.”
On the other hand, junior Reece Olmsted started her business, Nails by Reece, for herself. She said she has enjoyed the freedom of designing her own nails and it led to her doing others’ nails.
“I did a lot of things [to start my business] like teaching myself different techniques, researching different products and the dangers of gel nails,” Olmsted said. “Then, I started practicing more and more and doing my own, and then it led to [doing] my friends’ [nails].”
After seeing his friends start their own businesses, junior Levi Oestreich said he felt inspired to follow in their footsteps by starting his own pressure washing business, Ginger Jet Pressure Washing. He said his clients come in waves based on his advertising on Facebook ads and the Next Door app.
“A client will see one of my advertisements, then they’ll text me and I’ll give them a quote, then we’ll set up a time,” Oestreich said. “Depending on whatever the job is, I’ll do it, and it might take me an hour, it might take me four hours. And then, afterward, I’ll get some pictures.”
Instead of having scheduled appointments, Art for Hearts meets every Saturday. Penugonda said she has known most of the children since she was in middle school and describes them as fun and outgoing.
“A big pillar in our art class is telling each other our story. So we always talk for the first 20 minutes about [their] week and what they’re doing this weekend while they’re drawing to get their creative mind flowing,” Penugonda said. “From there, based on what we’re working on, we either have a time where we teach them or a time where they’re working on their project.”
Oestreich started his business in May 2025. He said it has not impacted his schedule too much, as he only has two or three clients weekly.
“My favorite part of owning my own business is being my own boss,” Oestreich said. “Everything is up to me, I can control my advertisements, my social media and just go at my own pace.”
Penugonda said owning her business has helped show her what happens behind the scenes, whether it be who hasn’t paid their dues for the month or which students will miss the following class.
“[Owning my own business is] different from working at an art studio because you teach kids, but starting it from the bottom, you really know that everything you’ve put into it has been put in with your full heart,” Penugonda said. “It’s not just teaching somewhere or having a job because everything that we do and everything that we’re working for, we know it’s either going good or bad.”
As with starting anything, Oestreich said the initial investment of getting his equipment was difficult and said he has goals to upgrade his setup in the future.
“The biggest challenge is definitely getting started,” Oestreich said. “After you spend a bunch of money, you feel anxious and you just want to make it up so quickly, but you just have to be patient and everything will be all right.”
Thinking to the future, Olmsted said she hopes to continue her business in college.
“I kind of want to do a side hustle like doing people’s nails alongside my education,” Olmsted said. “And hopefully getting a nail degree or maybe [going to] cosmetology school.”
Oestreich, Olmsted and Penugonda all agreed and encouraged other students to start their own business. Penugonda said starting her business has opened her eyes on her future plans and said it has helped her discover what owning a business is like.
“I know a lot of people think businesses like, ‘why would I start [a business] if I’m going [into] to med or law or engineering?’ but really just creating something by yourself has taught me so much,” Penugonda said. “When you know what you want to do in the future, it’s really powerful to start something by yourself because you know in real life what that will look like.”
