Young adults always figure out ways to make money! Whether that is finding a job or helping their mothers with chores, us youngsters know exactly how to chase a dollar. We are eager and ambitious, but we are faced with new challenges every day in our fight to be successful in this modern world.

Small businesses have existed for years, but now with the pandemic, it has really taken over. As thousands in our country have lost their jobs due to national lockdowns and quarantines, more people are motivated to start a business in order to generate income and achieve a personal goal. There are more than 28 million small businesses in The United States alone and that just shows how serious people are about being their own boss and making their own money. In Passaic, there are many small businesses which sell clothes, beauty products, sweets, and even handmade products. I had the privilege to interview two of our Passaic School students who recently launched their own business in early October. Joselin Guerrero and Daniel Romero are both former students from Passaic Public schools are the founders of Aromatized by Aidée. Their business is solely based on scented candles but they do want to implement more products in the future. Their products are made 100% soy and cruelty free.

Valerie: “What inspired you to start your own business as a high school student?”

Joselin: “My mother wanted to start a business but she is currently pregnant so that is kind of getting in the way so I decided to take the role of starting my own business, trying to find something unique which is why I started making candles…”

YouTube also played a big part in her inspiration for finding a unique theme where people can identify her brand with ease. Starting a business as a student can be difficult, especially during this time where most students have remote learning, and balancing school, personal life, and a business can get very tricky.

Joselin: “…it can be distracting from school since I have to constantly keep track of my packages because they sometimes get lost along the way”

Having your own business takes time and effort for it to be successful, having patients, and working hard to have good quality products is key to having an engaged audience. Finding different ways to approach people to know what you are about, without marketing your business it can get difficult to have a flow of customers. Asking friends and family for feedback is a great way to start to know where you are and how you can improve.

Joselin: “…promoting yourself is the biggest part of marketing… I feel like I can get annoyed when I constantly post but at the same time, it’s only going to help me succeed… I have my own Instagram (@aaromatized) and Facebook account and I might be considering starting a TikTok since that’s how small businesses get customers and hopefully, I can be able to ship my products to other regions…” Joselin has been working really hard to not let things that go wrong affect her and bring her down but at the same time, things don’t always work out how we want to and how you take it is the outcome.

Valerie: “How do you handle doubt when something isn’t going well?”

Joselin: “…I get sad sometimes because I know I can do better but business is all about how you approach it, my friend Daniel also helps me out financially and helps motivate me when I feel like giving up.”

During the interview, she mentioned that she encourages more people to start their own businesses and do something positive that can help them succeed in their dreams of the future instead of doing other things that aren’t as helpful and not as positive.

Joselin: “… we’ve all done things we shouldn’t do and made bad choices but that doesn’t stop you from starting something that can go well, I rather see teens do something positive for themselves than see them being negatively influenced and do nothing for their future.”

During this pandemic, it is a great time to find ways to do something positive and earn money, starting your business and becoming your own boss is an amazing opportunity not everyone has the chance to do, but if you have the chance to, why not go for it? How will you ever know if it will work if you don’t take a risk?

Check out their website and purchase these amazing candles! https://sites.google.com/view/aaromatized/home

Below are some of her amazing work! Credits: Joselin Guerrero