Meet the side hustle students who are CEOs in the making
Haileybury’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking — with students who are proving you are never too young to start a business.
Creativity, thinking outside the box, identifying opportunities and being able to learn from failure are all vital skills to survive in an ever-changing world, and they are key to being enterprising and entrepreneurial.
Haileybury has long recognised the importance of encouraging students to discover their inner Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg or Naomi Milgrom, and the School offers a number of programs that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.
Some students, while still in their final years at school, are already building businesses from the ground up. Here we showcase just some of the recent success stories.
From car washing to web design
While still only in Year 10, Oliver, Keysborough, is already a seasoned businessman. He began with a carwash business before moving on to designing and selling his own range of clothing, Verve&Edge. Oliver’s latest venture, Arise UI, is a web design and development business.
“With Berwick Carwash I’d knock door to door for a few hours each day, handing out flyers. I did that every day during the summer holidays in 2021 and after washing countless cars, I started my first online clothing business while I was in Year 6,” says Oliver.
“At the start of 2024, after working in clothing for a while, I decided to discover more about AI and began Arise UI last September because I was interested in digital design and realised so many businesses lacked clean, intuitive websites.
“Arise UI has already become my most successful business to date. Seeing businesses across Melbourne trust me to design their websites has been incredibly motivating — and it’s shown me how far I’ve come since handing out carwash flyers in my local suburb.”
Word of mouth has helped grow Oliver’s latest venture and so has taking small steps and learning along the way. Most of his customers are small-to-medium business owners in their late 20s to 40s who want reasonably priced, high-quality web design.
“Being in business has taught me more than I expected — beyond just making money. One of the biggest lessons has been resilience — things don’t always go to plan, and I’ve learnt how to adapt and move forward when something doesn’t work out,” says Oliver.
“As long as you love what you do and have the drive to continue when things get tough, you will find success.”Oliver
The sky’s the limit
In less than a year, Suvan (Year 10, Keysborough) has seen his drone photography business soar to heights he never expected. The 16-year-old is the brains behind SRS Skysnaps and uses drones to capture aerial photography for a range of clients including real estate agents and event planners. He currently has five employees.
“Real estate professionals often book our services to get eye-catching aerial shots that help showcase their properties online. Event organisers and people celebrating special occasions like weddings or birthdays rely on us to capture those memorable moments from a unique perspective,”Suvan
“We also help small businesses and tourism groups create promotional videos and social media content. Whether it’s filming homes, commercial buildings, outdoor events, scenic spots or construction sites, we tailor each project to fit the client’s needs.”
Suvan launched the business based on his passion for photography and technology, especially drones. He also grew up watching his dad run his own successful transport business.
“I saw how hard work and dedication helped Dad’s business grow and that motivated me to start my own venture,” says Suvan, whose aim is for SRS Skysnaps to become Victoria’s top real estate drone photography service and to then expand to Sydney.
“Being in business has taught me the importance of patience and persistence and I’ve learnt that clear communication is crucial. Being adaptable and open to learning new skills has also helped me stay ahead in a fast-changing industry.”
All that glitters …
Cooper (Year 11, Keysborough) has been bedazzling her customers since 2022. She has developed a loyal customer base since she started ‘rhinestoning’ a range of products while still in Year 7. Her business, rhinestoned.au, provides bespoke rhinestoned items — from cosmetics and Crocs to perfumes — and Cooper has built an international client list with fans in the US and Canada.
“The idea came in 2021 when I was listening to a podcast about adding rhinestones to dance costumes and clothes. We were in lockdown, and I purchased some materials and started it as a hobby. I’d done similar crafts in the past and after rhinestoning for a while, I bedazzled a Rubik’s cube and listed it on Etsy. That’s when it became a business,” says Cooper.
“Most recently I’ve bedazzled a Windex bottle and some Crocs for a TV producer to use in an ad. Usually, people message me with a product they want bedazzled and it can take up to four hours to complete an item.”
Cooper says being in business while still at school has taught her effective time management skills.
“Each order is time consuming, so I’ve learnt to balance schoolwork, homework, co-curricular activities, work and a social life. I’ve had to prioritise my time,” she says.
“I’ve also learnt to carefully calculate costs and how much to charge for each product — in the past I sometimes lost money on an order. I’d love to be able to spend more time marketing my products to drive more sales and I’d definitely love to focus more on the business after Year 12.”Cooper
Nathan’s cutting edge
The garage of Nathan’s (Year 11, Keysborough) family home is much more than a storage space. It is the hub of Nathan’s thriving barber shop business called Yinny Fadezz. The venture was sparked by Nathan’s disappointment at the rising cost of getting a regular haircut, so he decided to learn to cut his own hair.
He discovered he had a flair for wielding clippers and scissors and Nathan’s friends were soon queuing up for a trim.
“They were happy with the results and that’s when I realised that I could turn cutting hair into a side hustle. I spend six to eight hours a week cutting hair, depending on how busy I am with school and sport. Word has spread and I’ve built up a solid group of regular clients,” says Nathan.
He has used Instagram to showcase the quality of his cuts and that has helped bring new customers to his garage door — mostly teenagers of a similar age to Nathan.
“Barbering has taught me how to manage my time well between school, sport and business. I’ve also developed strong communication skills, especially when clients don’t know exactly what they want, and you have to help them figure it out. I plan to keep barbering once I get to university.”Nathan
The key to business success
A passion for arts and crafts motivated Amelly (Year 11, Keysborough) to launch AsturaCharms in January 2024. Using the power of Instagram posts and videos and her online Etsy store, Amelly has seen her decorative keychain venture flourish.
“Since I was seven years old, I’ve attended art classes and I’ve loved every aspect of art — from handmade crafts to sketching and oil painting,” she says.
“Scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest one day I noticed a lot of people were selling handmade keychains, phone charms and bracelets but they were expensive and hardly anyone shipped to Australia.”
So Amelly, 16, decided to launch her own creative business for customers in Australia, also offering them a chance to personalise and customise their keychains. She spends a few hours every week completing and shipping orders.
“Being in business has taught me commitment, perseverance and consistency. Any business needs a lot of attention and commitment to grow steadily and stay relevant. You also have to know your target audience and keep up with trends. I just want to keep coming up with new ideas.”Amelly
Anna Sever, Deputy Principal (Teaching & Learning) says “Haileybury has long recognised the importance of helping our students to discover their entrepreneurial spirit. With the support of their teachers, they are able to turn their ideas and innovations into real business ventures.
Along the way they learn valuable skills including time management, how to communicate clearly, how to refine their ideas and they learn financial responsibility.
These students showcase that innovation and entrepreneurship are alive and thriving in our classrooms at Haileybury.”
With their creativity, hard work and passion, we cannot wait to see our young entrepreneurs continuing to grow their businesses and enjoy more successes. We look forward to seeing the next generation of Haileybury entrepreneurs stepping up.
