On Wednesday, January 31, school administrators, city council members, representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, and others gathered with students at Martinsville High School to celebrate the grand opening of Martinsville City Public Schools' second student-run small business, Stitchify.
Stitchify is a t-shirt printing business founded by four MHS students: Niikko Dews, Bryan Amaya Turcios, Jonathan Sanabia, and Nevaeh Norman. Over the course of the school year, these students have put in all the work to build Stitchify from a dream into an operational (and profitable) reality.
Shirt and hat created by the student entrepreneurs of Stitchify
Stitchify joins The Kennel as the second school-based enterprise to celebrate a grand opening this school year.
The Kennel, based in Martinsville Middle School, is a snack bar and lounge for teachers and staff during their breaks between classes. Customers can purchase coffee, sodas, and even freshly-made smoothies blended from a secret recipe perfected by the student-entrepreneurs.
School administrators, Chamber of Commerce staff, and Martinsville's mayor all came to celebrate the ribbon cutting for The Kennel
Earlier this year, the founders of Stitchify and The Kennel came together in the board room at New College Institute for a day-long corporate retreat to create business models, financial estimates, mission and vision statements, and set goals and milestones for growing their businesses.
Niikko Dews, co-founder of Stitchify, works on a business plan at the School-Based Enterprise Corporate Retreat in December.
School-based enterprises like The Kennel and Stitchify give our students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience running a business while still in school. These programs allow students to apply classroom lessons about business, economics, and finance to real-world situations. Operating school stores, restaurants, or service businesses requires students to develop professional skills like managing inventory, marketing, customer service, and accounting. Immersing students in authentic business scenarios prepares them for future careers and gives them a taste of what it takes to be an entrepreneur.