Spring Break
Students find alternative ways to make money through entrepreneurship
By: by Kevin Burns
Issue date: 9/5/01 Section: Aggie Life
Ewing estimates that his mom goes through 100,000 shirts each month.
“I don’t know what the story is behind the popularity, but there does seem a recent craze for them,” Ewing said. “I can remember ever since I was little, people always hanging on to favorite, old shirts. I think there’s something people like when they can hang onto something that’s older — maybe it takes them to a place in their past. Perhaps it’s just something that’s comfortable that allows them to feel more at ease to be themselves. Sometimes that is the case with these shirts. It’s a mixture of a lot of things, but definitely, I think, nostalgia is a major part.”
Ewing said he is not sure what the future holds for him or his business.
“That’s up in the air,” he said. “I hope maybe to keep pursuing retail or to become an entrepreneur in some form, to see how far this can take me — definitely venturing out on my own somehow. I have really enjoyed the idea of working for myself and setting my own hours … I don’t really know what’s in store, but that’s in God’s hands.”
Dayberry, who designs dynamic, or changeable, Website graphics, joins Ewing’s rank as a new businessman. The graphics, which are customized to automatically update themselves on the Website, are the substance of his entrepreneurship venture, Skerblip.
“I’d say the dynamic aspect of our Web pages is definitely good for the person who is purchasing the Web page,” Dayberry said. “The reason they bought it is because they don’t know how to [design graphics]. So if they ever want to change it, they have to buy again. But ours, being dynamic, are easier to change … so they can update it everyday — not knowing a thing about Web pages.”
Questioned on his motives to start his own business, Dayberry said, “I’ve been working with Web pages for four or five years. I worked for another company designing Web pages similar to the ones we make.”
Dayberry said he had a particular reason for leaving his previous job and starting his new business.
“Well, my former boss tried to take advantage of my youth,” he said. “I’ve read in the newspaper where people do exactly what I do, with maybe more experience, and get paid $90,000 a year. I got paid $6.50 an hour, which is a little different. You can look at that and say, ‘that’s an isolated incident,’ but I’ve seen $20 to $40 to $50 an hour for what I do.”
Dayberry said that students interested in starting their own businesses should be aware that it does take time and money. Dayberry offered his advice for potential entrepreneurs:
“I can’t think of anything that doesn’t sound cliché, [but] I’ll say this: I didn’t have a problem with it because there is little investment, and there isn’t investment until you actually have clients. And once you have clients, you have money. So it’s been kind of easy for me since I didn’t have to worry about losing anything, and I can take on as many jobs as I want.”
“I don’t know what the story is behind the popularity, but there does seem a recent craze for them,” Ewing said. “I can remember ever since I was little, people always hanging on to favorite, old shirts. I think there’s something people like when they can hang onto something that’s older — maybe it takes them to a place in their past. Perhaps it’s just something that’s comfortable that allows them to feel more at ease to be themselves. Sometimes that is the case with these shirts. It’s a mixture of a lot of things, but definitely, I think, nostalgia is a major part.”
Ewing said he is not sure what the future holds for him or his business.
“That’s up in the air,” he said. “I hope maybe to keep pursuing retail or to become an entrepreneur in some form, to see how far this can take me — definitely venturing out on my own somehow. I have really enjoyed the idea of working for myself and setting my own hours … I don’t really know what’s in store, but that’s in God’s hands.”
Dayberry, who designs dynamic, or changeable, Website graphics, joins Ewing’s rank as a new businessman. The graphics, which are customized to automatically update themselves on the Website, are the substance of his entrepreneurship venture, Skerblip.
“I’d say the dynamic aspect of our Web pages is definitely good for the person who is purchasing the Web page,” Dayberry said. “The reason they bought it is because they don’t know how to [design graphics]. So if they ever want to change it, they have to buy again. But ours, being dynamic, are easier to change … so they can update it everyday — not knowing a thing about Web pages.”
Questioned on his motives to start his own business, Dayberry said, “I’ve been working with Web pages for four or five years. I worked for another company designing Web pages similar to the ones we make.”
Dayberry said he had a particular reason for leaving his previous job and starting his new business.
“Well, my former boss tried to take advantage of my youth,” he said. “I’ve read in the newspaper where people do exactly what I do, with maybe more experience, and get paid $90,000 a year. I got paid $6.50 an hour, which is a little different. You can look at that and say, ‘that’s an isolated incident,’ but I’ve seen $20 to $40 to $50 an hour for what I do.”
Dayberry said that students interested in starting their own businesses should be aware that it does take time and money. Dayberry offered his advice for potential entrepreneurs:
“I can’t think of anything that doesn’t sound cliché, [but] I’ll say this: I didn’t have a problem with it because there is little investment, and there isn’t investment until you actually have clients. And once you have clients, you have money. So it’s been kind of easy for me since I didn’t have to worry about losing anything, and I can take on as many jobs as I want.”
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