So how would you describe the people who rise to the top?

Which lucky kids grow up to be SUCCESSFUL?
Are they the kids who recognize and act on opportunity?
Is working really hard to get the job done important??
Do they admit when they've made the wrong decision and adapt to the situation they are in?
Are they passionate about what they are doing and excited to share their stories?

Yes, they are.  TREP$ are all those things. 
An entrepreneurial mindset will guide these children regardless of their career path.  Enjoy these five stories written by young entrepreneurs we met at Marketplaces in the past few months.
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Do you believe in TREP$?

Help us spread the word!
To whom?
  • Your friend who's a teacher.
  • Your cousin with kids in a school that doesn't have TREP$ yet.
  • The school you work at.
  • The school you used to work at.
  • The school your kids went to.
  • The school you went to when you were little.
It's hard to believe how many schools don't know about TREP$ yet.
We believe that every kid would benefit from this experience. 
Let's make that happen.

 
E-mail us and just get us started... we'll do the heavy lifting :)

Meet Wil
George Washington School

 

Hi, my name is Wil and I'm a 7th Grader at George Washington Middle School in Wayne, NJ.  This is my second year doing TREP$ and I decided to do the same business as last year since I was so successful.  The name of my business is Eco-Terrariums.

The idea for my business came from me talking with m
y dad.  My dad is a Science Teacher that teaches a Horticulture Class.  One of the projects he does with his students is making a terrarium.  Together we came up with the idea of using glass bottles that we would have recycled.  This is called Upcycling, the process of converting waste material into new material for better environmental value.  I basically take a used glass bottle, thoroughly clean it and then make the terrarium.  It's kind of tricky to make these terrariums because the tops of the bottles are narrow.  I first put in some charcoal and gravel.  Then, I put some soil in along with the plant, center it and top it off with another layer of gravel.  I like to use many different colors so everyone can choose what they like.


The first year I did these, I sold out and this year I made m
ore and nearly sold out.  The glass bottles are free and the other materials are very inexpensive, so I make a good profit for every terrarium sold.  TREP$ has taught me so much about running a business.  I really enjoyed coming up with a business idea and making it work while also helping the environment.  I look forward to participating in TREP$ next year.

 

 

 

Meet Chayse
Arthur Stanlick School

 

My name is Chayse from Arthur Stanlick school in Jefferson, NJ.  I am in the fifth grade and this was my schools first time offering TREP$, so it was my first time doing it. The name of my company was "Natural Beauty by Chayse" and I sold lips scrubs, body scrubs, lotion and bath fizzies that I made and packaged.  What inspired me to do this business was the cosmetic store Lush.   

 

When I had visited the store in the mall, everything they sold was so interesting and I wanted to buy so many things, except it was very expensive.  One lip scrub was $10!  When I heard my school was doing TREP$, I immediately knew I wanted to join.  I wanted to make similar products that Lush sold, but more affordable.  I went online and looked for recipes and decided on four different products I wanted to make and sell.  After doing some research, I decided to make most of my products using coconut oil.  Coconut oil has so many benefits for your skin, so I wanted to use them in my products.   

 

I was very busy during the Marketplace and had many sales.  At the end of the night, I more than doubled my money!  I have had a lot of positive feedback from the customers that purchased my products.  I continue to have repeat customers and also new ones too, that place orders with me each day at school.  I really enjoyed this program.  I hope that next year when I go into middle school they will have TREP$ so I can join again.  I learned so much from this and will always remember the great experience I had creating and running my own business.  

 

 

Meet Erin
Maple Road School

 

My name is Erin and I am in 6th grade at Maple Road Elementary School. I loved going to TREP$ every year in my school. It was cool to buy all of the unique products. I was so excited to finally participate in TREP$ in 5th grade. Last year, my friend and I tried doing TREP$. Our business wasn't very successful. We really wanted to do TREP$ together, but we had separate business ideas. My friend enjoyed baking. So she wanted to sell baked goods. On the other hand, I love drawing and painting. So I wanted to do face painting. We compromised and called our business E&E's baking and face painting. Unfortunately, not many people bought our baked goods and barely anyone got their face painted. We both went home with only nine dollars! 

 

Looking back at our business from last year, I realized that baked goods and face painting did not go very good together. This year my friend did not participate in TREP$. Even though last year wasn't very successful, I still didn't give up. I decided to make a business off of what I am a little more experienced at. I decided to make drawn posters. I called my business Erin's Posters. I had some pictures mostly for kids my age, like Minecraft or Terraria. I also drew an abstract picture and a picture of a log cabin for anyone to buy. To my surprise, I had a successful night at marketplace! TREP$ had helped me learn a lot! 

 

 

 

 

Meet Teresa and Hailey
Paradise Knoll School

 

My name is Teresa, and I am a 6th grader at paradise knoll elementary school. This was my second year of the club TREP$. Both years were a exuberant experience. Both years I sold Christmas decorations. The reason why I was selling Christmas decorations was because TREP$ was right before Christmas and it was a hit! Last year I made Christmas centerpieces and ornaments and this year I made

Christmas wreaths. Last year I didn't have a partner, but this year I did. My partner's name is Hailey. 

 

Hi, my name is Hailey. I'm in 6th grade and this is my first year doing TREP$. My experience was delightful. I was always the one shopping at TREP$, but now I was the one selling! It was even better because I was doing it with my good friend Teresa. I was contemplating on a lot of different ideas then it hit me since Teresa and

I were doing a Christmas shop, why not make ornaments? We made bird feeder ornament which were a big hit. Instead of just selling the ornaments not knowing if it's going to attract birds, we decided to test them

out. We put them outside on our deck and within a few hours birds went CRAZY!!

 

Another item I contributed was pledge balls.  Making the pledge balls was easy and fun to do. First we poured a little liquid pledge floor cleaner into a clear, plastic Christmas ball, We rolled the ball around to cover the inside and then we drained it back into the pledge container. Next was the fun part! We put the glitter in using a paper cone and swirled it around. After completing a few ornaments, I started to get really creative by mixing a few colors. The final step was stickers and ribbon.   It was lots of fun to make and the ornament came out beautiful because it was made with glitter. We added stickers and ribbon to make it extra special.  The table was eye catching! Our business was so successful! My first experience doing TREP$  was amazing and I would definitely do it again if I have the opportunity! 

 

 

Meet Erin
Arthur Stanlick School

 

My name is Erin and I am a 5th grade student at Arthur Stanlick Elementary School located in Lake Hopatcong, NJ.

 

This is the first year my school participated in TREP$ Marketplace and we had a great turnout even though it started to snow earlier in the day. The classes leading up to the day of the Marketplace really helped me understand what it takes sell products and run your own business. I learned about promoting, pricing and the importance of having a product that is appealing to your clients.

 

My product was called Erin's Glass Jewelry. I knew I wanted to make jewelry and looked around on Pinterest for ideas. Pendants caught my eye because they were pretty and, as I started to research on-line how to make pendants, I learned that there were many patterns and shapes that could be created. My only limit was my imagination which allowed me to customize my product so it was especially attractive to teens, tweens and those who wanted to buy a holiday gift for their mother or friend.

 

It was a great feeling to be an entrepreneur. It was fun, challenging and nerve wracking at the same time. The challenging part was when I had to make change while people were lined up to look at my merchandise because they were also asking me questions at the same time. I had a lot of traffic at my table and I am sure it was because I had a unique product and my table display looked very professional and inviting.

 

This was a great experience for me and I learned that besides hard work it also helps to have a good support team. I was fortunate to have the assistance of my mom and enrichment teachers to guide me through this process which was a very rewarding opportunity.